Scaling a desktop down for a projector

[Chuck Law]

Hello,
I can't find an answer to this anywhere. I have 2 displays, 1 monster monitor and 1 projector using a nVida Quadro FX4500, and I want to have the same screen on both (clone). I tried messing around with the xorg.conf file trying to get it to work, but the monitor only wants to display 2048x2048 and the projector only wants to display 1600x1200. Right now I have the projector showing a subsection of the projector screen. I want to scale the display on the projector to show the full screen.

1) Option "FlatPanelProperties" "Scaling = Scaled/Native/Centered" - I tried all of these on both screen and it didn't have an effect. I believe I put it in the device section, and in the screen section

2) Virtual 1600 1200 - I tried that in a Display subsection I believe. Before doing this projector would show the top left 1600x1200 pixels of the 2048x2048 display. Adding this only centered it. I also tried playing around with it to get it to work

3) I tried TwinView with cloning. I added the <DFP-0> Scaling = scaled or something along those lines with different combinations. It just showed the top left 1600x1200 pixels of the 2048x2048 screen. I also tried it just saying "Scaling = scaled"

4) More of an FYI. The video card has 2 inputs. When I have the monitor in #1 and the projector in#2, maximizing a window will make it fit in the 2048x2048 screen, and the taskbar (or whatever the bar on the desktop is) shows across the 2048 screen. When it's switched, there's still a 2048x2048 screen, but the taskbar shows across only 1600 pixels (filling up the projetor screen). Maximizing a window will fill up the top left 1600x1200 pixels (I forgot to try maximizing with the virtual 1600 1200)

5) Another FYI. If the screens aren't clones, I get 2 seperate desktops. One has no icons on the background, and I can't figure out how to get windows on it. I tried opening a window on one, and then sending to all workspaces, but that didn't work. I'm not opposed to (temorarily) setting up something where the 1600x1200 screen VNC's or something to the the other screen while scaling it.

Any ideas?
Thanks

I'll get the xorg.conf and a log file as soon as I can get a thumb drive

[Chuck Law]

Here are all the files, the installer log, the bug report log, and the xorg.conf file that's currently on there.

The way it's set up now, the projector is the main screen, and the monitor is secondary. The taskbar is in the middle of the monitor, but looks like it's in the right place on the projector.

[AaronP]

Hi Chuck,
I'm afraid the driver doesn't have an option to do the sort of scaling that you're attempting. Your best bet is to configure the monitor to the same resolution as the projector. You can also configure the projector to pan with the mouse to cover the entire desktop, if you wish.

[Chuck Law]

someone told me I could do this with KDE. Is this true? If it was done in software as opposed to a hardware setting? I can't seem to find how to do it in kde.

[the alamo]

i also have been trying to do this... i am not a big kde fan so hopefully, if it has to be done through desktop managers it works with gnome or compiz soon.

there is an option in XP, Vista and OSX to scale the clone output, i thought it was done in the Nvidia settings GUI but maybe those other OS's have some scaling desktop manager option.

[Tub]

as was mentioned, you could configure two seperate screens and mirror the first to the second with some kind of software method. Composition managers can theoretically do this, I don't know which (if any) of the available implementations support this though. So the starting points for your research are compiz, kwin4, metacity and Xfwm.

Another, way slower, method would be to run a vnc server on the monitor screen and a fullscreen scaled vnc client on the projector screen. Works for presentations, but it's obviously not suitable for games or movies at all.

[oldsoundguy]

I too, am using Gnome and have a Quadro card. I clone my desktop to an HDTV for video viewing of computer content. Using a very high end Cinema display for the desktop, I find that I have to really dial down the master resolution in order to view on the HDTV (it is an older one .. not 1080i). I have to dial down to 1152 x 720 .. but it WORKS that way. I may be able to alter than if and when I can see my way clear to upgrade the HDTV, but suffice to say, it works just fine right now IF I take that "dial down" step in the card settings.

I would LOVE to see the software modified were I could set separate resolutions for the monitor and for the extension. But I am forced to use an AGP Quadro (not using PCIe), and the options are not there .. even in Windows.