xrandr --auto doesn't quite work, but it's close. I've had some more time to fiddle with it and find a workaround to get the behavior I want.
I'll run through what happens in my use case. When I get to work, I boot up my laptop with the external monitor disconnected. Then I plug it in and run xrandr --auto. What normally happens is the external monitor starts getting a signal, but it's the wrong resolution/refresh rate. I then go into the Screen Resolution applet and disable my laptop's internal screen by setting the resolution to the non-resolution option. If I remember correctly, It's called something like "disabled". Then the correct resolutions show up for my external monitor and I can change the resolution and refresh rate. For any of this to work, I should note that I have to disable mirror mode. Ideally, xrandr --auto should do all this for me if I activate it after I connect the external monitor. It would be even better if it could keep the internal display on and mirror the video feed. Or perhaps it could toggle between the three settings like many other laptops do (ie, internal only, internal + external, external only). When I leave work, without first disconnecting my external display, I run xrandr --auto. This re-activates my internal display (which is now at the wrong resolution) while leaving the external active (and again at the wrong resolution). Then I unplug the external display and run xrandr --auto one last time. This deactivates the external display and fixes the resolution of my internal display. It's nice that xrandr --auto finds the right settings this time. Now that I know how this part works, I suppose the disconnect operation is ok. Given that we're starting with the external on and the internal off, xrandr --auto actually does something reasonable (if you ignore the wrong resolutions when both monitors are active). Sorry if that was a somewhat long-winded answer to your question, but I hope this information is useful. I'm running 8.10 Intrepid, btw. Thanks, Cuchaz -- automatically mirror displays to the larger resolution when connecting an external monitor https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/299653 You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Desktop Bugs, which is a bug assignee. -- desktop-bugs mailing list desktop-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/desktop-bugs
