Create intentional border with xrandr

Posted by benizi on Super User See other posts from Super User or by benizi
Published on 2012-10-01T16:57:43Z Indexed on 2012/10/02 9:40 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 206

Filed under:

xrandr

Is there a way to tell xrandr "this space intentionally left blank"?

I have a laptop that drives its internal display at 1920x1080, but the external monitor I'm using, due to its different aspect ratio, doesn't have that mode. It runs at 1920x1200.

So, the basic setup:

xrandr \
--output LVDS-1 --mode 1920x1080 \
--output DP-1 --mode 1920x1200 --same-as LVDS-1

[not to scale:]
+-----------------------------------+
¦                 ¦                 ¦
¦  (laptop)       ¦  (external)     ¦
¦  (LVDS-1)       ¦  (DP-1)         ¦
¦                 ¦                 ¦
¦                 ¦                 ¦
+-----------------¦                 ¦
   (blank...)     ¦                 ¦
                  +-----------------+

How can I specify that the 1920x120-sized region below LVDS-1 should be displayed as a black bar that can't be accessed by mouse on DP-1?

I tried just coping with --panning 1920x1200+0+0/1920x1080+0+0/0/0/0/120, but I found the screen movement to be very annoying.

Update:

I found a workaround. (Update 2: changed it to an answer, per suggestion -- workaround doesn't answer the underlying question of leaving space blank.)

Related posts about xrandr

How to set default xrandr settings?

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I'm trying to enable dual monitors in Ubuntu. This is working fine, but every time I do it, desktop effects is disabled. I think I've found the reason why, though: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/X/Config/Multihead/ As with the GNOME XRandR configuration method, setting Virtual to too large a value… >>> More
How to detect and configure an output with xrandr?

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I have a DELL U2410 monitor connected to a Compaq 100B desktop equipped with an integrated AMD/ATI graphics card (AMD E-350). The installed O/S is Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. The computer is connected to the monitor via the DVI connection. The problem is that I cannot set the desktop resolution to the native… >>> More
Rotate screen using xrandr on Solaris 10

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
How do I call the xrandr command? I want to rotate my screen 90 deg. clockwise. Here is the usage: % xrandr -help usage: xrandr [options] where options are: -display <display> or -d <display> -help -o <normal,inverted,left,right,0,1,2,3> or --orientation <normal… >>> More
Ubuntu xrandr rotate issue

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I've just bought a second monitor for my PC which happens to be a pivot monitor. I've already read lots of forums related to my problem but haven't come across a solution - I have the same symptoms as dozens of posts but no matter whatever I try it just doesn't work. I've already changed the xorg… >>> More
Ubuntu - connecting 3rd monitor fails with "xrandr: cannot find crtc for output DVI-0"

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I've got a laptop with a DVI and VGA output on the back. With everything connected it will only allow me to run 2 of the 3 monitors e.g. laptop display + VGA or DVI+VGA but not all 3. xrandr says I have 2 CRTC's, 0 and 1. The internet says I should be able to share a CRTC if the modeline is the same… >>> More

Developer IT