up vote 4 down vote favorite

This has been discussed before. I tried similar (older) solutions, without succes.

I am using 14.04 with nvidia proprietary drivers. In the nvidia xcontrol, I can set which display is primary, but this does absolutely nothing. In the system display settings all I can do is move the display orientation around. However, whatever monitor is 'left' or 'primary' makes no difference.

I have tried:

  • editing and deleting the xml file called 'monitors.xml', which had no effect
  • rebooting with one monitor disconnected, which had no effect
  • I can set where the launcher is also, but this has no effect on where full screen applications launch.

Not only that, but every time I change my monitor settings, even if its just swapping left/right all my icons move??

If I put a shortcut or icon on the desktop it should stay in the same spot relative to the physical screen no matter what software settings I change.

Also adding this link to another thread Change Primary monitor ; this is mostly what I've tried so far with no effect.

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You say you've gone to "system settings" > "Displays" and changed it from there as well? Also, try to return the xml back to the original because I used to have similar issues but in recent releases videos open full screen on whatever monitor the video is on, either one like there is no primary. – mchid Jan 3 '15 at 18:13
    
yea video works fine, applications that actually run full screen such as games do not. I've spent much time in system settings disopalys. there is no option to set a 'primary display', I can rearrange the screen, mirror displays, turn a screen off, set resolution, launcher placement, rotation, sticky edges, scale for menu and title bars and scale all windows. – the naughtalus Jan 3 '15 at 20:39
    
I am trying the same thing but with no success. The only difference is that I'm not running an nvidia card. But the "primary yes" xml block seems to make no difference whatsoever in the configuration - the left screen will always be the primary one. – mmalmeida Feb 24 '15 at 10:05
    
I've added a bug report at bugs.launchpad.net/unity/+bug/1425000 as it seems no one knows the answer to this. – mmalmeida Feb 24 '15 at 10:19
up vote 4 down vote

Okay, that looks like an old answer and things aren't as bad in 14.04 as they once were. Yes, the monitor on the left is usually the primary monitor and it is set this way by default.

The unity desktop is actually called the ubuntu-desktop and the reason for this is because unity is actually a compiz plugin so you are actually using a compiz desktop. With that said, you can install compizconfig-settings-manager to achieve the settings you desire.

Either look for it in the ubuntu software center or open a terminal and execute the following commands to install it, whatever you prefer:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

After installation, search for ccsm in your apps or type the command:

ccsm

to start it up.

Now, click on "general options" and navigate to the "Display Settings" tab.

For the setting "Overlaping Output Handling" you can set which output device (monitor) is preferred as the primary monitor. You can set this to "smart mode" to automatically choose the primary monitor, to prefer the "larger output" (bigger screen) or "smaller output" (smaller screen).

Also, you can go down to where it says "outputs" if they are both the same size and you can click on either one of the outputs which will open the option to move the device up or down. You can also choose edit and you should be able to manually edit the dimensions to change one smaller or larger.

enter image description here ccsm settings and standard desktop settings are sort of like state and federal law in the United States: federal law (ccsm settings) always trumps state law (standard desktop settings).

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Thanks for the reply! I have ccsm installed now but both my screens are 24" 1920x1080 and in 'smart mode' things still launch in the left screen, despite nvidia xserver settings having the right monitor as the "primary display for the X screen" – the naughtalus Jan 3 '15 at 17:04
    
@thenaughtalus messing around with this on my laptop I noticed you can select and move either one of the devices up or down. I've added it into the answer. – mchid Jan 3 '15 at 18:06
    
I put output handling to prefer smaller output, then changed one of the outputs from 1920x1080+0+0 to 1921x1081+0+0, restarted lightdm, no effect. I the changed the same output from 1921x1081+0+0 to 1919x1079+0+0 leaving output handling the same, and restarted lightdm. Still no effect. – the naughtalus Jan 3 '15 at 18:15
    
@thenaughtalus yeah, I've noticed that my desktop files still always show up on the left monitor so that must be my default but like I was saying, fullscreen doesn't seem to have any preference for me. If I come across an answer I'll post it. – mchid Jan 3 '15 at 18:20
    
Its weird the things that are dirt simple in my main operating system are such a hassle, it's not like this problem hasn't come up before. – the naughtalus Jan 3 '15 at 18:26
up vote 0 down vote

Drag your display/secondary monitor to first place and apply the changes.

Display settings

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