Windows 10: How do you decouple the external monitor "desktop" from your laptop's "desktop"

I'm working on a new Dell Windows 10 laptop after working for many years on a Mac. I am trying to do something very simple - put some applications on my external monitor to work on while I use multiple desktops on my laptop's screen. For some reason that I cannot understand, Windows thinks it's a good idea to link the desktop on my external monitor to the desktop on my laptop. Maybe in some strange world that would make sense, but not in this world. I should either be able to change the desktop of the external monitor independently of changing the desktop of my laptop, or it should not change at all.


When you are working on complex proposals, and you need to reference multiple applications, spreading out over multiple desktops is a reasonable way to keep yourself organized... except when you keep losing the applications you are trying to work between.


Is there a way to decouple these desktops?

:)

 

Desktop shortcuts appear on external monitor instead of pc

Hi,

I will certainly help you with the issue you are experiencing in getting
desktop shortcuts on your PC from External monitor.

This issue might occur due to default settings where you are not able to view the desktop shortcuts on the PC, you are looking for.

Before proceeding further, I would like to ask few questions for better assistance:

• 
  Which edition of Windows are you working with?
  

Please follow below mentioned steps to fix the issue:

• 
  Plug in the second monitor which physically sits to the left of your primary screen
  
• 
  Right click the desktop, choose
  Graphic Options>Output To>Extended Desktop> Built-in display + Monitor.
  
• 
  Extended desktop enabled, but screen 2 (on the left) can only be accessed by moving the cursor to the right.
  
• 
  Right click the desktop and choose
  Graphic Properties - choose 'Multiple Displays' from the side menu.
  
• 
  Move monitor 2 from its default
  'Right' side to the left – all the icons go with it
  to screen 2 but the taskbar stays on the primary monitor.
  
• 
  Click 'Apply' to accept this (temporarily) - close the
  'properties' window.
  
• 
  Right Click the desktop, but this time choose
  'Screen Resolution'. Ensure that screen 2 is to the left - if not, move it.
  
• 
  Click on screen 1 and ensure it says
  'This is currently your main display'
  
• 
  Click on screen 2 and tick the box that says
  'Make this my main display' - the taskbar should move to screen 2.
  
• 
  Finally click on Screen 1 again and tick the box that says
  'Make this my main display' - the taskbar and
  all the icons should move back to screen 1.
  

I would like to Inform/suggest, Press the
Windows key + P, and then choose a way to project:

• 
  PC screen only
  – All your desktop shortcuts will be seen only on primary monitor/Desktop.
  
• 
  Duplicate- Desktop Shortcuts that is on primary monitor/Desktop will replicate on Secondary monitor too.
  
• 
  Extend- Primary monitor will be extended to Secondary monitor. But all the desktop shortcuts will appear only on primary monitor. (If you want to have the desktop
  shortcuts that’s on primary monitor on secondary monitor, you can just drag the shortcuts from primary to secondary monitor and check if that helps).
  
• 
  Second screen only- All your desktop shortcuts will be seen only on Secondary monitor/Desktop.
  

Please get back to us, if you still facing issue
in getting desktop shortcuts on your PC from External monitor.

Thank you.

 

Desktop Icons Rearranged To Laptop Monitor From External Monitor


Windows 10 laptop. I connect it to an external monitor and use hdmi cable. My external monitor is my main monitor. I use the laptop monitor as the secondary monitor. I extend the display.



My desktop icons are always on my external monitor desktop. I had moved the hdmi cable connected to my laptop i believe which caused all my icons from my external monitor to go on the laptop monitor. Also there is even spacing on all of the icons. Has anyone had this happened? I then clicked sort and then it rearranged so there is no spacing etc. However, i then noticed hey why are my icons on my laptop monitor and not my external monitor.



Does anyone know why this happened? When i open chrome and other programs, it does open up on my external monitor though which is my primary monitor. I believe i can just drag each of the icons on my desktop on my laptop screen to my external monitor. So just do this and that fixes the issue right? Or is there a way to have all the icons just move to the external monitor. The reason i ask this is in case the icons just suddenly move to the laptop screen again.

 

Desktop icons move to primary monitor after connecting external monitor

Original title: Desktop icons move

After I arrange my desktop icons on my laptop, everything is fine until I plug in an external monitor. Then all icons move to the right of my laptop screen which is my primary display. How do I correct this problem so that icons DO NOT move with an external
monitor attached?