i3 FAQ - Individual question feedhttps://faq.i3wm.org/questions/Frequently asked questions and answers about the i3 window managerenCopyright i3, 2012Thu, 04 Dec 2014 22:11:10 +0000Recognizing new displayhttps://faq.i3wm.org/question/5093/recognizing-new-display/I sometimes plug my TV to my laptop while on i3, and it doesn't get automatically recognised, even if I "reload" or "restart" it. So, I end up going to another tty (ctrl+alt+f4 for example), logging in, doing startx which automatically opens gnome (I wouldn't know how to make it open anything different), and then gnome does recognise the new screen. That way I don't lose my work in i3 and I can use the second screen. However, this is not nice. Many alternative solutions seem better and I don't know how to accomplish any. * Start a new i3 instead of gnome * Make the current i3 recognize the new display * Start a new i3/gnome but only on the second display so I can watch both sessions at the same time * Switch the current i3 to gnome without losing the stuff that is open * ... Do you have any suggestions on how to handle the situation better? Thanks a lot!Thu, 04 Dec 2014 21:39:49 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5093/recognizing-new-display/Answer by Rojo for <p>I sometimes plug my TV to my laptop while on i3, and it doesn't get automatically recognised, even if I "reload" or "restart" it. So, I end up going to another tty (ctrl+alt+f4 for example), logging in, doing startx which automatically opens gnome (I wouldn't know how to make it open anything different), and then gnome does recognise the new screen. That way I don't lose my work in i3 and I can use the second screen.</p> <p>However, this is not nice. Many alternative solutions seem better and I don't know how to accomplish any.</p> <ul> <li><p>Start a new i3 instead of gnome</p></li> <li><p>Make the current i3 recognize the new display</p></li> <li><p>Start a new i3/gnome but only on the second display so I can watch both sessions at the same time</p></li> <li><p>Switch the current i3 to gnome without losing the stuff that is open</p></li> <li><p>...</p></li> </ul> <p>Do you have any suggestions on how to handle the situation better? Thanks a lot!</p> https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5093/recognizing-new-display/?answer=5094#post-id-5094Ok, after a lot of time trying it is only after posting this question that I am finally able to run a new i3 session with startx. I am still very interested in all the other alternatives however. startx /usr/bin/i3 -- :2Thu, 04 Dec 2014 21:46:25 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5093/recognizing-new-display/?answer=5094#post-id-5094Comment by Rojo for <p>Ok, after a lot of time trying it is only after posting this question that I am finally able to run a new i3 session with startx. I am still very interested in all the other alternatives however.</p> <pre><code> startx /usr/bin/i3 -- :2 </code></pre> https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5093/recognizing-new-display/?comment=5095#comment-5095(thanks to Gilles from the Unix and Linux StackExchange chat)Thu, 04 Dec 2014 22:11:10 +0000https://faq.i3wm.org/question/5093/recognizing-new-display/?comment=5095#comment-5095