Setting up multiple displays on a Mac is not quite as straight-forward as it could be. Here is a quick guide for setting up your Mac for use with a Projector, Airplay display, or docking station.
AirPlay
After connecting to the Lab WiFi, your Mac will likely automatically detect the presence of AirPlay displays and add the External Display icon to the menu bar.
Clicking on the icon will expand a list of devices on the network.
After selecting an AirPlay Display and entering the pairing code, by default the screens will likely automatically mirror – but not always.
If you open the AirPlay menu again, you’ll see three options towards the top.
Mirror Built-In Display: This will make your laptop the primary display, and morph the display on the remote device to suit.
Mirror External Display: This will make the external display the primary display, and morph the display on your laptop to suit.
Use as Separate Display: This makes the laptop be primary display and the remote device a secondary display.
Docking Stations
Most of the labs have USB-C docking stations in them using the DisplayLink chipset. Unfortunately, MacOS does not include DisplayLink support by default.
The DisplayLink Manager Software can be downloaded at: https://displaylink.com/downloads/macos
Note that their latest version does not support MacOS 10 or 11. However, if you expand “Legacy Versions”, a compatible version is listed for MacOS 10/11.
Once you have the DisplayLink Manager installed, the list of display options will expand when you connect to the dock.
Orienting the Displays
Orienting the displays in MacOS is similar to doing so in Windows. When you click on a display, it will highlight in red. Then, you can click-and-drag it where it belongs to match the physical arrangement.
However, where Windows has a “Use a primary Display?” checkbox, MacOS has a while bar which is intended to represent the menu bar across the top of the monitor. You click-drag-drop that menu bar to whichever display you want to be primary.
