Projecting content from a Windows laptop in a classroom


OVERVIEW

Target audience: McGill faculty, staff and students projecting content from a laptop in a classroom

Some laptops' built-in monitors de-activate when you connect to a second display device, such as a data projector. Follow the instructions below to set up your laptop and re-activate the monitor or external monitor port for use with a data projector.

Using a Mac? See Projecting content from a Mac laptop.

In this article:

Before you begin:

If you are projecting content from your laptop to a classroom screen, check the instructions for the Data Projector in the Classroom AV Instructions tool.

note

NOTE:

Some AV equipment in classrooms only have a VGA connection for the laptop. If your laptop does not have a VGA connection port, you can borrow an HDMI to VGA Video Adapter Converter with Audio for laptops from the AV equipment loans counter (note it is first-come, first-serve basis, so please reserve in advance). Also, some laptops have USB-C ports which allows you to have adapters that can output HDMI, VGA, DisplayPort, or other types of connections from that single USB port.

ports and jacks on a laptop     

Projecting to a classroom screen

  1. Make sure your laptop is turned off.
  2. Ensure all AV cables (HDMI or VGA, Audio and Network) are connected to your laptop.
  3. Press the LAPTOP button on the AV control panel. The data projector may take a minute to warm up.
  4. Turn on your laptop and go to the next section.

Select the display mode on your laptop

Windows 10

Press the Windows key Windows logo key + P (If the windows key is not present on your keyboard, press Option.) to select a display option. The following display options are available when you connect to the projector: PC screen only, Duplicate, Extend, Second screen only *.

*The look is slightly different in Windows 11 but the options are the same.

For Windows 7 and 8

  1. To activate/deactivate a secondary display device, press the Windows key Windows key + P on your laptop.
  2. Use the keyboard's left or right arrow keys or the mouse to make a selection from the available options: Computer only, Duplicate, Extend or Projector

    Select Duplicate to display the same content (mirror) on both your laptop and the data projector screen.

    OR

    Select Extend to display different content on your laptop monitor and on the data projector screen.

 

reference

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES: