Windows Virtual PC Integrated Applications on Multi-Monitor systems

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When using integrated applications with Windows Virtual PC on multi-monitor computers there are a couple of “gotchas” to be aware of.

We use Remote Desktop technology to provide our support for integrated applications.  And as discussed here Remote Desktop in integrated mode behaves like there is a single large display that is spanned across all of you monitors.

The guidance from the Remote Desktop team is that for multi-monitor setups:

  • All monitors should have the same resolution
  • The total resolution of all monitors should not exceed 4096 x 2048
  • The top-left monitor should be the primary display

Now, of my multi-systems – none of them have the same resolution, and one of them has a width of over 4096 pixels. So what I have learned is this:

  • You cannot move any integrated application above the top of your primary monitor
  • You cannot move any integrated application left of the left edge of your primary monitor
  • Things get really weird if you try to move an application right past 4096 pixels from the left edge of the primary monitor
  • If you do not have matching resolutions – it is best to not try maximizing an integrated application – as you will not be able to see it all

What I have done in both my multi-monitor computers is to set my primary display to my largest display / my display with the highest “top edge”.  This way I lose any monitors to the left of my primary monitor – but I do not get any weird clipping in the middle of a monitor (this can happen with other configurations).

Cheers,
Ben