Windows 10: Windows 10 dual monitor: Taskbar icons open app dpd on screen

I have two monitors connected to my graphics card, let us call them Lefty and Righty.
Righty is my main monitor. The BIOS messages appear there during startup, and when I start an application, it opens on Righty by default.
I put several application icons on Righty's taskbar, to open these applications with less mouse clicks: Edge, Crome, Evernote etc.

What puzzles me is how the icons on the taskbar behave when the application is already started.

What I do, what happens, and what I am confused about:

Let us assume that I opened both Edge and Chrome, and I minimized both applications.
Now I click on the taskbar icon of Edge or Chrome.
- If the application window was on Righty, before minimizing the window, the existing application with all browser tabs and the exact state (cursor, open tab, scroll position) is opened on Righty. This is no surprise to me - I expected this.

But:
- If the application window was on Lefty, before minimizing the window, clicking on the task bar icon opens a new, empty application window. (Empty in the sense that the browser state is the same as if I had told the icon: open a new instance of the browser.)

I have not found a way to re-open the already existing browser window, unless I go through the task list:

• Open task list.
• Locate the browser's task.
• Left-click on the ">" sign left of the task's name. The instance (?) of the task appears below the task name.
• Right-click the task's instance that appeared.
• Choose "Switch to".

This will open the existing instance of the browser on Lefty.
But it takes four actions more than I would be happy with. *Smile

My question is:
How can I change the task bar settings (or other settings), so that clicking on an application icon on the task bar opens the already existing, minimized application instance on Lefty, if (before minimizing tge application window) the application window was positioned on Lefty?

I am sorry about the long-winded question. This is something I tried to find a solution for via Google, but without any success. Thanks a lot for any hints or solutions!

:)

 

Pin To Taskbar with multiple monitors does not work - can only pin to primary monitor

Hi Navneet,

I performed the steps with no errors and rebooted. Results are the same.

Perhaps I should try to clarify the issue a bit.

Current setup:

- Windows 10 Pro with Quad monitor setup

* Xeon E3-1276 @3,60GHz, 20GB RAM

* Dual nVidia Quadro K620 video cards (4 monitors)

- Under Taskbar and Start Menu Properties, I have the following setting:

* Show taskbar on all displays

* Show taskbar buttons on: Taskbar where window is open

* Buttons on other taskbars: Always combine, hide labels

I will use IE as the example here. By default, IE is pinned to the taskbar on the primary monitor/display.

On the primary monitor taskbar, if you right-click on IE the option "Unpin this program from the taskbar" is present.

Likewise, if I unpin IE from here (primary monitor) and re-open IE, I can right-click on the taskbar icon and select "Pin this program to the taskbar".

If IE is pinned to the taskbar and I move the open IE window to another monitor, here is what happens:

The IE taskbar icon is now present on BOTH the primary monitor and secondary monitor, even though the IE window is open only on the secondary monitor.

When right-click on the IE icon in the secondary monitor, there are no unpin or pin options available - those options are present ONLY on the primary monitor.

If you close and reopen IE from the primary monitor taskbar icon, it will reopen to the monitor it was last on (secondary in this example), but that is not the issue for me; taskbar icon location is the problem.

Similarly, if any application is opened on another screen, it must be move to the primary monitor to be able to pin it to the taskbar.

This was not the case in Windows 8.x - applications could be pinned to any (specific) monitor taskbar and appeared only on the monitor to which it was pinned.

So if I have, say, 20 taskbar items pinned - I cannot have 5 on each respective monitor;

they can only be "pinned" to the primary monitor, thus filling the taskbar. Far from ideal...

 

DUAL MONITORS

How do you get dual monitors to work independently?

On my second monitor, all that shows is the taskbar and icons.

If I click on an icon, the program opens and shows on the monitor - and I can work on the opened program - but this same program is duplicated on my first monitor, irrespective of what ever program was open!

Help please!!!

 

How do you have your monitors set up in the display area of your settings? Duplicate these or Extend these? What ports and cables does each monitor use?

I'm running 2 monitors and have mine set up to extend these displays and have my main monitor set to 1 (left). Both are connected to my GPU using both my DVI ports with DVI cables. I've never had an issue under any Windows OS that I've used.

 

I doubt it has anything to do with which type ports/connections you use. I have 3 monitors, one HDMI, One DVI and one DP to HDMI adapter. Mine do not do what you are describing. Do you have extend these displays in Display Properties and when you minimize an application on rightie does the icon on leftie show it as open (blue line under it)?

See if there is something here that can help you Hide or Show Taskbar on Multiple Displays in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Customization Tutorials

Or here

Multiple Displays - Change Settings and Layout in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Customization Tutorials