Full screen and windowed mode on secondary display

I know this has been discussed already, but I'm finding it hard to determine the current status of the issue. Maybe someone can get me up to date?

I extend my desktop onto a secondary display, which is a TV, and that's where I configured XBMC to live in settings. I'd really like to be able to switch between full-screen XBMC and windowed mode, but the keyboard shortcut '\' always dumps XBMC onto the primary monitor. When I press '\' again, it goes full-screen but stays on the primary monitor, ignoring my earlier settings choice. When I drag the XBMC window onto the TV and press '\', it still goes full-screen on the primary monitor. Either way, I have to go back into settings to put it back on the TV and confirm with the "Accept resolution" dialog.

This is one thing Windows Media Center does more or less right, and I miss it quite a bit, because XBMC minimizes itself when it loses focus in full-screen mode, so I have to use windowed mode if I want to watch something on the TV and use the primary monitor at the same time.

This has been discussed quite recently...

Settings>System>Video output>Display mode>Full Screen #2

and

ATI CCC allows you to swap the primary display in extend mode.

"Full Screen #2" is what I was referring to with the word "settings", which I thought was clear from context.

As for ATI CCC, I use Nvidia, and the issue I'm talking about is independent of the video card anyway. I would never make the TV the primary monitor, because functionally it isn't the primary monitor, and I don't want the taskbar on it, nor do I want all my programs to open on it.

My point is that the function bound to the '\' hotkey should note which monitor XBMC is on and keep it on that monitor as it switches between full screen and windowed mode. Also, it should have no effect on the default "Display mode", which it currently does. After using '\', I always have to go into settings and set the display mode back to "Full Screen #2", even if I quit and restart XBMC.

I have exactly the same problem. I just want it to full screen according to the monitor it is windowed in ie if I'm viewing it windowed in monitor 1 then I want it to full screen to monitor 1. If I'm viewing it windowed in monitor 2 then I want it to full screen to monitor 2.

kushty Wrote:I have exactly the same problem. I just want it to full screen according to the monitor it is windowed in ie if I'm viewing it windowed in monitor 1 then I want it to full screen to monitor 1. If I'm viewing it windowed in monitor 2 then I want it to full screen to monitor 2.

Are you using the setting "Use fullscreen window rather than true fullscreen."? That's how I have my son's set up and it seems to work fine, although I couldn't swear to it because I rarely use his machine for anything except to do occasional updates.

I have this issue as well. the '\' Key does not function how it should.

the '\' key should switch to windowed mode, and then back to whatever mode its usually set too.

has anyone found a solution?

As far as I can see, even with the Display Mode set to the second monitor, the keyboard shortcut "\" still fullscreens XBMC to the primary monitor, I've also tried fullscreen window rather than true fullscreen too. Makes no difference.

If you're running an ATI card with CCC you can swap primary display, so that your secondary TV becomes your Primary & Vice Versa. When I do this... detect displays lists my TV as #1 and my monitor as #2. This configuration allows XBMC to run full screen on the TV with content and the monitor to provide computer windowing.

I have an nvidia display. I can swap which monitor is primary, but even when I set my second monitor as the primary on fullscreening XBMC using backslash it still moves to the other screen.

I wonder if there is a timeline on getting this fixed. Does XBMC have a bugtracker?

**edit**

seems it's been logged.

http://trac.xbmc.org/ticket/12217

out of interest is it possible to hotkey anything within the UI? i.e. could I cycle through video options via hotkeys?

nemof Wrote:out of interest is it possible to hotkey anything within the UI? i.e. could I cycle through video options via hotkeys?

No. Only specific actions and functions can be mapped to keystrokes. This can be extended a bit because you can have a key mapped to a Python script and you can do various cunning tricks from Python. There's also a SendClick function that you can use to emulate mouse clicks. I suppose you could have a Python script open the settings screen then simulate mouse clicks on the relevant bits of the screen, but this is going to get terribly hacky.

JR