mac 2nd monitor MuLab trouble

[Taron]

Hey Jo,

I've gone to the dark side for the sake of development and got- thanks to bjporter's uncanny support- an "old" macbook pro. It's all running beautifully, except one weird thing:

The macbook itself only has 1280x800 resolution, but a second monitor works beautifully at 1920x1080. Moving MuLab to the second display, it cannot conform to its resolution or the "monitor arrangement" that one can adjust. Other mac apps I've tried, such as XCode, have no trouble with that, just to clarify, not to complain! It would be fantastic, if you could have a look at the matter!

Other than that I'm incredibly angry that MuLab runs so perfectly on the mac. In fact, midi is dead-on in timing and the same interface I use for PC works for the mac...only better! So now...I may have to make music with the mac.

[Michael L]

I have never seen a MBP render cocoa graphics on a second monitor at a higher resolution than its graphic card is able to do on its own screen.
Your OS is also a factor in how to change Settings to manage 2 monitors at different resolutions.

[Taron]

I have never seen a MBP render cocoa graphics on a second monitor at a higher resolution than its graphic card is able to do on its own screen.
Your OS is also a factor in how to change Settings to manage 2 monitors at different resolutions.

Unless I don't understand what on earth you are talking about, come watch my macbook pro (MBP), then! And this thing has to be a bit older, too. I mean "El Capitan" (OS X 10.11).
So, yeah, without any troubles it displays on two different resolutions and it's cute as a button, because you can arrange the monitors exactly how you have them in front of you. In the little arranger window it knows the proportions as well and shows properly sized representations. Very clever. MuLab, however, can only stay on the level of the basic screen, while you can move it horizontally where ever you wish to across the monitors. If you have the second monitor above the first, MuLab may never show, hehehe.

I'll do some research...
...5 seconds into research via google: http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?s ... 0119210895
This must have been a problem with older OS X versions, which is why Jo might've neglected to update that aspect?!? I don't know...

I can confirm that all the standard apps act perfectly fine on my second monitor at a higher resolution, understanding FULL SCREEN as well and conform to the given resolution and you can move them up and down how ever much you wish to!

Now, please, don't call me a liar, will ya'!
Consider to be useful instead and allow Jo to understand that that is indeed a real problem!

The same google research also reveals this:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1283 ... -os-x-lion

MuLab exhibits this funky issue as well. If you have the monitor arrangement so that you can see MuLab on the 2nd monitor at a different resolution, stretching the window out to size will only display graphics on the original resolution and the rest is black, just like the stackoverflow answer hints at! Could be a GL issue or simply an API matter?!

[Michael L]

A couple suggestions: 1. When you click the Green (Maximize) button in the upper left hand corner of Mulab when it is on the second monitor, what happens? 2. Does it make a difference when you make the external monitor your Primary display? 3. What happens when you increase the GUI scale in MuLab>Preferences?
BTW, best to search using your OS in the string, as the fullscreen and external display settings changed (often it seems) from 10.9+

[Taron]

Ah, very good reminder! If I hit FULL SCREEN on MuLab it snaps back to the macbook screen.
You cannot change "primary" screen, unfortunately. You're a PC user, too, aren't you?!

I was explicitly looking for the general problem, because it is NOT I, who has the problem, nor my version of the OS. It's MuLab on OS X 10.11 "El Capitan". Now, please, try not to confuse the matter! Simply let Jo have a chance to respond!

[Michael L]

Ah, very good reminder! If I hit FULL SCREEN on MuLab it snaps back to the macbook screen.

Good. Seems like a simple and reliable solution! Issue "SOLVED?" As a long-time Mac user, I often prefer manual solutions over automatic features such as "auto-fullscreen" in MacOS, because OS updates often break compatibility (as you will learn).

You cannot change "primary" screen, unfortunately. You're a PC user, too, aren't you?!

No. Here is how you change the Primary display (the one that launches apps).
http://osxdaily.com/2010/04/27/set-the- ... splay-mac/
If you launch MuLab from your external display, it may open in full screen there.

BTW, did you try to change the GUI Scale in MuLab>Preferences? It will increase the GUI size in higher-resolution displays, and may make it easier to read.

[Taron]

HA! Danged... I tried that, but apparently not with enough insistence. I mean, dragging the white bar!
I'm a complete mac noob, just got it for a few days now, but I noticed right away that there are a number of things exclusively visual, rather than a helpful text accompaniment. On PC you literally choose "Primary Display" on all setups I know of. Here you don't even see the word as far as I could discover.

Anyway, I'd only want the scale to be smaller so that more content can display on the window, you know. Right now it's highly claustrophobic at 1280x800.

But, as I said before, even if I find a solution for my situation, there is a real problem with MuLab in that regard and it may be a certain settings matter in the code that isn't a massive deal, but the result would be a far more solid skirt for our precious!

...so, yes, changing primary worked!
Still, Jo, if you read this, you should have a look at the matter to stay on top of mac things, too!

Also, FULL SCREEN will not go really full screen, but only until above the tool bar, while other apps really go full screen. Even if you drag the bottom bar to the bottom of the screen, the content of the window remains only above it and the rest is black below inside the window.

[Michael L]

I am so pleased it is working well now for you! (It can be so difficult to communicate in Bloglish.)
Personally, I would rather Jo not add complex features such as auto-fullscreen-resolution-change that have a history of being affected by OS updates, because they can take too much time to maintain.

[Taron]

It's not about AUTO resolution changes, really. It's about functioning a bit more like standard apps do now (or at least since 10.11 as far as I can tell!?).
You know what I mean?
See, if "new" standards act more appropriately, I can only hope they don't intend on making them act less appropriate in future updates. Certain things I can imagine to go wrong, but I have a feeling that this type of window handling is simply "fixed" for a while now, because they had problems earlier.
Rather than dismissing it as irrelevant, which it really is not, I know that I would have a closer look at the matter for sure!

[Michael L]

P.S. welcome to the dark side, young padawan!

[Taron]

...have to say again, other than the above, it's fantastic with MuLab on the mac! Especially since I figured out the two finger "right click".

[MuTools]

I don't understand what the issue is about. Taron pls post a video that captures both screens and demonstrates the issue, maybe with your phone/camera.

Another question: Is that issue also there when running MacOS Sierra?
Or is the issue specific for El Capitan? If that's the case pls note that i can't support specific versions of MacOS.
MacOS is very erratic and i can only try to support the 'greatest common divisor' between MacOS versions with an extra focus on the most recent MacOS version.

[Taron]

I have no doubt that the window handling fix since earlier OS X versions will remain current. I can only speak of El Capitan, but Sierra certainly will have carried that over. See, if you find info on dual monitor setups with different resolutions. I'm completely certain that you will find the answers!

I could record it, but have a look at this first:
https://developer.apple.com/library/con ... -CH210-SW4

This might help see what's happening and how to deal with it.

[Taron]

OK, I've experimented around a bit and really had to deal with a number of weird things! There is a problem, that's for sure, but it might be a tricky one after all:

While all other "essential" Apps consistently work fine, whether you start them on one display and then add another display or switch primary displays, MuLab has severe issues, if you do switch display settings to dual monitor or change arrangements or switch primary display.
After some surreal experiences with MuLab's top being pushed out of view after moving it to the smaller screen, and only desperate attempts revealing that you have to move it back to the larger resolution screen and try and resize the window so that it pops back into view, I realized that you have to make MuLab as small as possible, then close it, then switch primary screens, then open it (still out of view again then), grab it by the side to resize the window, which pops at back into view, THEN you can move it to the larger resolution screen and full screen actually suddenly works.
Suffice to say: There is a problem!
I'm a little worried, Jo, that this is an ugly one to figure out. I hope not, of course, but well. You may have to have some method to know that the resolution has changed to properly deal with the window?!
I wished I could tell you more.

Oh, and now I again can't get to the top controls of the window (close, minimize, restore), because it's out of view after full screen with mac's menu bar hanging over it, only allowing to quit MuLab.
There's undeniably a problem.

[MuTools]

Taron, first of all pls note that i cannot guarantee i will work on this as this is a very specific case and i generally try to prioritize things that are a benefit for most users. That said, i first want to see what this issue is about, so first a simple video pls that demonstrates the essential issue. Then i'll see if i can do a quick fix or not.