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README

This script was written for my own needs (extending Xubuntu desktop with external display) during one evening, so it's not very configurable. Most important facts are:

  • it handles only two displays (I don't need more ;) ),
  • they are aligned to the bottom by default
  • script can crash because of improper parameters etc. - there are some defaults or validation provided by argparse, but it's definitely not enough to be proud of how it works
  • you can use it in any way you need, as long as it stays free: you can even print it and feed your dog with it if you want to ;)
  • I did a few tests on my own computer with HDMI and VGA external display and everything was OK, but just in case: you use it on your own risk ;)

Example:

There are two displays - LVDS1 and HDMI1:

```bash
michal@laptop:~/displaymanager$ xrandr
Screen 0: minimum 320 x 200, current 1366 x 768, maximum 8192 x 8192
LVDS1 connected 1366x768+0+0 (normal left inverted right x axis y axis) 293mm x 164mm
   1366x768       60.0*+   40.0  
   1360x768       59.8     60.0  
   1024x768       60.0  
   800x600        60.3     56.2  
   640x480        59.9  
VGA1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
HDMI1 connected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
   1920x1080      60.0 +
   1280x1024      75.0     60.0  
   1152x864       75.0  
   1024x768       75.1     60.0  
   800x600        75.0     60.3  
   640x480        75.0     60.0  
   720x400        70.1  
DP1 disconnected (normal left inverted right x axis y axis)
```

We want to have desktop like this with LVDS1 as primary:

                         ,-----------------------.
                         |                       |
        ,---------------.|                       |
        |               ||         HDMI1         |
        |     LVDS1     ||                       |
        |               ||                       |
        '---------------''-----------------------'

Displays need to be aligned this way because the bottom of the primary screen has to be accessible for user to access the menu.

The solution is (verbose is - obviously - optional):

./displaymanager.py -m dual -i "LVDS1;1366x768;60" -e "HDMI1;1920x1080;60" --verbose

"LVDS1;1366x768;60" means:

  • display name: LVDS1
  • resolution: 1366x768
  • refresh rate: 60 Hz

Analogously for HDMI1.

Before (or after) unplugging the external monitor the default state can be

restored with:

./displaymanager.py -m single -i "LVDS1;1366x768;60" -e "HDMI1" --verbose

The '-e' parameter is needed only for turning the display off - there's no need to provide other details like resolution. It works ONLY for external display and ONLY when switching to 'single' mode.

Check ./displaymanager.py -h for a bit (really a little bit) more details and info.

Tip 1: If you want to have external on the right, use: -o "EI" (default is "IE")

Tip 2: using '--verbose' together with '--dryrun' makes it most useful to learn how it works.

Author

Michał Michalski [email protected]

http://devblog.michalski.im

https://github.com/regispl

Feel free to contact me with a feedback.