Difficulty Getting Separate Backgrounds on Dual Monitors

[cartwright76]

When I set my background in Ubuntu 9.04, I cannot find a method (for dual monitors) to either replicate the same image on each screen or set separate backgrounds scaled on each screen. I am using the gnome desktop, but I'm not sure how to find out which version I am running.

[Rubberman]

I'm not sure about Gnome, but KDE has a desktop configuration tool (right-click on desktop background and select "Configure Desktop") that allows you to specify the image to use for one, both, or span the displays. I use a dual display system with KDE and have the same background image on both, but I can set each to a different image if I prefer.

[cartwright76]

What package do I need to download to install KDE? Also, after it has been downloaded, how do I go about booting into the KDE GUI rather than Gnome?

[Rubberman]

What package do I need to download to install KDE? Also, after it has been downloaded, how do I go about booting into the KDE GUI rather than Gnome?

First, let's see if you can sort it out with Gnome. When you right-click on the desktop you should get a menu, at the bottom of which is the entry "Change Desktop Background". That should let you set the background picture for the desktop(s). Are you able to use both monitors? Or do you also need help to do that? If so, what is your video hardware?

[elija]

The only way I have managed to have different backgrounds for my monitors in Gnome was to run them as separate X sessions. With one desktop stretched across both, I only ever get one background. Which I suppose makes sense as it's one desktop.

I'm not saying it can't be done; just that I didn't spend that long on it, I used a work-around of stitching the two pictures together.

This was with an Nvidia card and drivers with twinview enabled.

If you decide to give KDE a try, you install the package kde-full and you switch between them using the session menu on the login screen.

[Rubberman]

With KDE 3.x on my CentOS system (2 screens - twinview - one desktop across both) the KDesktop Configure tool allows me to set the background/wall paper for each screen.

[cartwright76]

I can use both monitors with "Change Desktop Background", but it stretches the same image to fill both screens. I would like to use the stretch feature for each monitor independent of the other. Also, my video card is:

Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 945GM/GMS/GME, 943/940GML Express Integrated Graphics Controller

I got this info from the "lspci" command.

[cartwright76]

I just upgraded to Ubuntu 10.04. It now allows the same image to stretch individually on each monitor. However, I'm not sure how to place separate backgrounds on each monitor.

[Rubberman]

I don't run Ubuntu on my dual monitor workstation, so I can't say how to best to that. As I said, my CentOS system where I run the dual monitors uses KDE 3.5.4 for the desktop, and that does easily support different background images on each monitor. I just right-click on the desktop and select "Configure Desktop". In the "Background" tab, I select "Setting for desktop Screen N" where 'N' is 1 or 2, and tell it what image to use. It can also use the same image for both screens individually, or stretched out between them. It can't get much simpler than that. I haven't futzed with my Ubuntu 9.04 laptop running Gnome yet, other than to enable an external monitor, so I don't know if it can handle multiple images as easily. If I figure it out, I'll let you know, though because it uses nVidia display hardware I have to use the nVidia configuration tool instead of the normal GUI or X-server configuration tools.