# Lightroom moving to second monitor on its own



## donrisi (Mar 15, 2020)

I am experiencing an interesting problem with my 2 monitor setup -- every once in a while, LR will simply move to the second monitor by itself.   Activating some plugins (such as Silver EFX Pro) will do it.  Other times, it just happens for no apparent reason.  

When it moves, it creates a new "Space" (I'm running a Mac) that is as big as both monitors combined, which means I cannot just drag LR back to the appropriate monitor, I have to shut it down and relaunch it on the correct monitor. 

To say it's annoying is putting it mildly. 

Anyone have any ideas? It started several versions ago. I keep hoping the next update will fix the problem, but that hasn't happened.

Just to make sure, all of the plugins and other software are up to date.


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## Johan Elzenga (Mar 15, 2020)

I have never seen this happening. Check the Mission Control settings in your Mac System Settings. Maybe changing something there will solve this. These are my settings:


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## clee01l (Mar 15, 2020)

This does not happen with me either. And I use two monitors daily.  Which Display is Primary?   For me it is the one built in to my iMac.   Johan may  be correct about Mission Control.  However mine is quite different from his:


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## donrisi (Mar 15, 2020)

Thank you both.  

My computer is a 2010 Mac Pro, so the monitors are both separate from the machine itself. LR is supposed to be running on Monitor 2, which is the bigger monitor. The Dock is on Monitor 1, which is where LR moves too on occasion. On the LR icon in the Dock I have LR set to always launch on Monitor 2, although if Monitor 1 was the last active monitor, it'll launch on Monitor 1 anyway. 

I notice that you both have "Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use" checked. I did not. I will try that. 

Again, thanks.


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## clee01l (Mar 15, 2020)

donrisi said:


> Thank you both.
> 
> My computer is a 2010 Mac Pro, so the monitors are both separate from the machine itself. LR is supposed to be running on Monitor 2, which is the bigger monitor. The Dock is on Monitor 1, which is where LR moves too on occasion. On the LR icon in the Dock I have LR set to always launch on Monitor 2, although if Monitor 1 was the last active monitor, it'll launch on Monitor 1 anyway.
> 
> ...



I can’t see which version of MacOS you are running with my Tapatalk app. The Dock shows on both monitors if you are running High Sierra(?) or later. Earlier versions of MacOS could be contributing to this as Apple has made lots of changes and bug corrections with full window mode and dual monitors and Adobes has made correction on their end to keep up with Apples corrections. 
Post a screen shot of the Displays part of Apple preferences


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## donrisi (Mar 15, 2020)

clee01l said:


> I can’t see which version of MacOS you are running with my Tapatalk app. The Dock shows on both monitors if you are running High Sierra(?) or later. Earlier versions of MacOS could be contributing to this as Apple has made lots of changes and bug corrections with full window mode and dual monitors and Adobes has made correction on their end to keep up with Apples corrections.
> Post a screen shot of the Displays part of Apple preferences
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk



I am running macOS 10.13 High Sierra, and the dock is confined to monitor 1.  There is no dock on monitor 2.


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## Johan Elzenga (Mar 15, 2020)

donrisi said:


> Thank you both.
> 
> My computer is a 2010 Mac Pro, so the monitors are both separate from the machine itself. LR is supposed to be running on Monitor 2, which is the bigger monitor. The Dock is on Monitor 1, which is where LR moves too on occasion. On the LR icon in the Dock I have LR set to always launch on Monitor 2, although if Monitor 1 was the last active monitor, it'll launch on Monitor 1 anyway.
> 
> ...


The fact that Lightroom is supposed to launch on the second monitor rather than the main (first) monitor may explain it. Why don’t you have the dock on that monitor? Wouldn’t that make more sense anyway? In case you don’t know how to do that: in the System Preferences - Monitor panel you can drag the dock to the other monitor.


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## donrisi (Mar 15, 2020)

I understand what you're saying, but the monitors are different sizes.  I would prefer to work on photos on the larger monitor, and not lose that real estate to the dock.  

I should point out that this started with a LR update several updates ago. When I first set everything up, I had no problems. Don't remember which update it was in when the problem started.

I'm in the middle of something at the moment, but I'll try something that has set it off in the past, and see if checking the "Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use" box fixed it. 

Thanks!!


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## Jim Wilde (Mar 15, 2020)

How have you got the (fairly new) Display option setup in the Preferences>Display tab? I have the secondary monitor set to the smaller MBP screen (where the dock is), thus the primary monitor now always defaults to the larger external monitor. That was a fairly recent change, which finally fixed things so that LR always opened on the desired external monitor. My Mission Control settings are the same at Clee01I's.


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## donrisi (Mar 15, 2020)

Yes, I have that, and it's setup with the smaller screen (where the dock is) as the secondary monitor.  Been that way since the option was introduced.


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## Conrad Chavez (Mar 16, 2020)

I have seen this happen from time to time (macOS 10.14 Mojave). I don't know how to fix it, and the addition of the Secondary Monitor setting didn't cure it.

Some comments about the Mission Control settings:

I'm not sure that Automatically Rearrange Spaces… would make much difference.  If it did, it would be more likely to affect things if Displays Have Different Spaces is enabled. I have Automatically Rearrange Spaces… enabled, but I still see the unexpected display switch problem.
I have Displays Have Different Spaces enabled. A side effect of turning this on is that you can see and use the menu bar and Dock on all displays, which can be convenient. But the Dock takes up no screen space for me because I prefer to set it to Auto-Hide. It only pops up when I want it to.


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## clee01l (Mar 16, 2020)

Please post the screen shot of the Displays preferences that I asked for.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## donrisi (Mar 16, 2020)

Cletus,

This is all I get for display preferences.  Please note neither display is an Apple display.


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## donrisi (Mar 16, 2020)

Conrad Chavez said:


> I have seen this happen from time to time (macOS 10.14 Mojave). I don't know how to fix it, and the addition of the Secondary Monitor setting didn't cure it.
> 
> Some comments about the Mission Control settings:
> 
> ...




My dock is only on the #1 display, even though I have Displays Have Different Spaces enabled.  Running High Sierra 10.13.6.


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## clee01l (Mar 16, 2020)

donrisi said:


> Cletus,
> 
> This is all I get for display preferences. Please note neither display is an Apple display.



You need to show the contents of the “Arrangement” tab. This is critical for understanding your issue. I would also advise upgrading to Catalina. I’ve had the dock on both monitors for some time. Apple has had problems in this regard as has Adobe. I’m pretty confident that you won’t have this problem if your monitors are set up correctly in Catalina 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## donrisi (Mar 16, 2020)

Monitor 1 on the right, 2 on the left.

Will consider upgrading to Catalina.


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## Johan Elzenga (Mar 16, 2020)

donrisi said:


> Monitor 1 on the right, 2 on the left.
> 
> Will consider upgrading to Catalina.


You might try moving the menubar to the big screen. If you don't like the dock taking real estate on that screen, then consider placing the dock on the left or the right side rather than the bottom, or use 'Auto Hide'.


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## donrisi (Mar 16, 2020)

I'll try it, and let you know.


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## clee01l (Mar 16, 2020)

donrisi said:


> Monitor 1 on the right, 2 on the left.
> 
> Will consider upgrading to Catalina.



Monitor 1 is your primary monitor. It has the menu bar. Lightroom will want to default open on this monitor. In the dialog, drag the menu bar to Monitor 2 and then this will become your primary monitor. This may solve your initial problem, but if it does not, then Catalina still remains the good move. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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