Multimon is a module that makes application deployment to multiple monitors easier and more efficient.
It starts together with all other VisXpert Runtime modules and waits for the HMIs configured for each monitor to start. When it detects that one of its HMIs is starting up, it automatically positions the HMI precisely on the corresponding monitor.
Optionally, the application also synchronizes the two HMI projects, so you can only change one and the other is automatically synchronized.
You can also drive the appropriate HMI startup depending on the current count of the monitor. This is useful for using the same project on both single monitor and multi-monitor systems. In that case, multiMon will check how many monitors are connected and then start the correct HMI systems.
Hardware Requirements
To enable a PC station to support multiple monitors, a multi-monitor capable graphics card is required. It does not matter which manufacturer is used as graphics card. Generally speaking, all graphics cards with more than one monitor output are capable of driving multiple monitors.
It is always recommended to use the most recent version of the graphics driver available for the graphics card to be used.
Extended Desktop in the Operating System
Generally, the “Extend desktop” to second monitor feature should be selected in the operating system’s graphical settings dialog. The name of this setting and where to set may vary depending on the PC-Station operating system used.
Basically this option extends the main screen monitor by adding the second monitor to the right side of the screen and thus basically doubling the horizontal screen resolution. This forms a virtual screen with the same height but the width of both monitors together. In the example below, the second monitor starts at position: 1920, 0
Adjustments to the Operating System
Once the second monitor is connected, one has to right click on the desktop background, to open the desktop options and select “Display resolution”.
In the following dial record, you need to select “Extend desktop on second screen”
Add to Project
Adding and activating the MultiMon module is done in the same way as adding any other VisXpert module. You must open the appropriate Project and have administrator privileges on the Project to add a new module.
Right click on Settings and add the “MultiMon” tool found under “New Module”->”Tools”. After adding it to the project, the module can be found in the Settings section. It is also automatically added to the “Runtime Modules” as well.
To enable a second Visu Runtime, a new “Visualisierung” module must be added to the configuration. After adding it to the configuration, one must rename it appropriately, such as “HMI2” or similar. After that, the “MultiMon” module can be configured
Settings
Opening the configuration by double-clicking on the MultiMon module icon below the configuration tree opens the configuration dialog. Allows selection of the Module to be started on each monitor. Here you must select the appropriate HMI for each monitor.
In addition, it allows you to activate the “Synchronization” configuration between the two HMI modules. This is useful when both monitors need to run the same HMI configuration. Before starting, the module synchronizes the two selected HMI configurations and then releases them for start.
It is also recommended to activate the option “Handle HMI startup”. In that case, the Multi mon will check how many monitors are actually connected, and then start only HMI 1 or both, depending on the actual monitor count. This allows the same project to be used for single and multi-monitor stations, without adjustments.
Note that if you use the “Handle HMI startup” option (recommended), then you MUST disable autostart of both HMIs during station startup, as they will be started by the Multi mon module. To do this, right click on both HMI 1 modules and uncheck the start ticket for both.
For the synchronization process to work correctly, the MultiMon module must be started before both HMI modules are started. Otherwise, the HMI starts, before the VisXperts can be synchronized and the HMI will continue to show the previous configuration until it is restarted again.
