Use multiple monitors on a dev box

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In this article, you configure a remote desktop client to use dual or more monitors when you connect to your dev box. Using multiple monitors gives you more screen real estate to work with. You can spread your work across multiple screens, or use one screen for your development environment and another for documentation, email, or messaging.

When you connect to your cloud-hosted developer machine in Microsoft Dev Box by using a remote desktop client, you can take advantage of a multi-monitor setup. The following table lists remote desktop clients that support multiple monitors and provides links to the instructions for configuring multiple monitors in each client.

Client Multiple monitor support Configure multiple monitors
Windows App Configure display settings in Windows App
Microsoft Remote Desktop client Microsoft Remote Desktop client
Microsoft Store Remote Desktop client Does not support multiple monitors
Remote Desktop Connection (MSTSC) Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection
Microsoft Remote Desktop for macOS Microsoft Remote Desktop for macOS

Prerequisites

To complete the steps in this article, you must install the appropriate Remote Desktop client on your local machine.

Configure Remote Desktop to use multiple monitors

Use the following steps to configure Remote Desktop to use multiple monitors.

  1. Open the Remote Desktop client.

    Screenshot of the Windows 11 start menu with Remote desktop showing and open highlighted.

  2. Right-click the dev box you want to configure, and then select Settings.

  3. On the settings pane, turn off Use default settings.

    Screenshot showing the Use default settings slider.

  4. In Display Settings, in the Display configuration list, select the displays to use and configure the options:

    Value Description Options
    All displays Remote desktop uses all available displays. - Use only a single display when in windowed mode.
    - Fit the remote session to the window.
    Single display Remote desktop uses a single display. - Start the session in full screen mode.
    - Fit the remote session to the window.
    - Update the resolution on when a window is resized.
    Select displays Remote Desktop uses only the monitors you select. - Maximize the session to the current displays.
    - Use only a single display when in windowed mode.
    - Fit the remote connection session to the window.

    Screenshot showing the Remote Desktop display settings, highlighting the option to select the number of displays.

  5. Close the settings pane, and then select your dev box to begin the Remote Desktop session.

Tip

For more information about the Microsoft remote desktop clients currently available, see:

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