With so many people working from home, you may need two screens to be more productive. However, to do this, you don't need to rush out to buy an additional monitor or adapter.
If you have a laptop with Windows 10 installed at home, you should know that you can connect it to your PC or main laptop so that it acts as an additional screen for the computer you are working with.
Windows 10 provides this functionality and is easy to configure.
The connection is wireless, so it is not the same experience as having a second monitor connected via cable, but it can be useful if you are without any alternative solution.
Since the process uses Miracast, you may be able to make your TV act as a second screen if you have the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter.
Follow the steps below to enable it:
- Open Settings on the laptop which will be your second screen
- Click on System
- Click on the Project to this PC option
- Choose your configuration
- Go to your main laptop or PC computer
- Press the Win-P commands and click Connect to a wireless screen.
- Wait until your other laptop is detected
- Select it and choose if you want to duplicate or extend the screen
If you are using a laptop as your primary computer for work, you may have port limitations or video connections. However, don't forget that with these USB-C ports you can add hubs with extra ports and additional video outputs.
How to configure a laptop as a second screen
In the laptop that you want to convert as your second monitor, you must go in Windows 10 to Settings> System> Project to this PC. Adjust the settings, striking a balance between security and accessibility as shown in the image.
On your laptop or main computer, press Windows key + P and click on the link 'Connect to a wireless screen' that you will find at the bottom. This may not appear if your PC does not have a wireless Wi-Fi connection or is very old.
Your PC will search for the available screens, and then have the ability to Extend or Duplicate once your PC has found the second monitor (since Windows sees your laptop as a monitor, not a laptop).
As the names suggest, Extend will treat the extra screen as an extension of your current configuration, giving it more space to use. For its part, Duplicate forces the secondary screen to reflect exactly what you have on the main screen.
Select the desired option and now you will have your main PC linked with the additional laptop screen.
If it turns out you have a spare monitor, we also have a guide on how to connect a second screen to your laptop or PC.
Or, if you want to add a second screen to your PC or laptop, take a look at our the best monitors gaming 2020.
How to use a monitor as a second screen
You can use your 'second screen' laptop as a collaboration point and allow someone else to type and use the mouse if it is paired with your primary team.
When you connect the display, there will be a checkbox that will allow additional input. If you check this box, this monitor will allow input from a mouse or keyboard when linked to another PC.
There are not too many scenarios in which this is useful, but anyway we have explained how to do it here.
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