Laptops today for many have replaced stationary PCs. With them, you can be as mobile as possible and work anytime and anywhere. Especially when it comes to the Macbook Air, which has become a legend, thanks to its "air size" and performance.

How to connect an extra monitor to your MacBook.

Why connect the monitor to MacBook

Convenience and mobility is great, but there are many situations where you need to display information on a classic monitor or a few.

For example:

• for a more comfortable viewing of movies and cartoons;
• during presentations and conferences;
• for the simultaneous solution of several tasks. For example, tracking information in several tables at once.

Now, when it is clear why you need to connect the monitor to the MacBook, it remains to figure out how to do it correctly.

What you need to connect

An adapter is required to connect the monitor. Which one depends on which model of your MacBook. In the latest line of devices have a Thunderbolt port, older Mini DisplayPort, and quite “ancient» Mini-DVI. In some models you can find the connector HDMI. The second thing you need to check before selecting the desired adapter or cable is the connector on the monitor to which the connection will be made.

What is the difference between an adapter and an adapter?

The adapter cable has an extremely simple function; it connects two connectors of different configuration, transferring signals from one contact to another in a certain pattern. The adapter acts on the signal itself, changing it as necessary.

As a result, you may need:

Adapters:

• Mini DisplayPort - VGA;
• Mini DisplayPort - DVI.

Cables:

• Apple HDMI - HDMI;
• Belkin Mini DisplayPort - HDMI.

This set will be enough to connect the MacBook Air to most monitors. The undoubted convenience is that any of them can be bought on the Apple website. If you want to save money, then you can buy cheaper counterparts in regular online stores, but their quality may be much lower. A common mistake is to buy an adapter for DisplayPort, while you need a Mini DisplayPort - watch this carefully.

The MacBook Air, released before 2011, did not support audio over HDMI, so this feature should be provided in the adapter or adapter. If we are talking about connecting the latest Apple Cinema or Thunderbolt displays, then you don’t have to buy anything else, since they already have built-in cables with the right connectors, plus you can recharge the laptop from the monitor via MagSafe.

Modes of operation

It is not enough just to connect the monitor to a MacBook Air laptop, you also need to correctly select the mode of operation for it.

There are only three options:

• video replay monitors;
• extended desktop;
• closed lid mode (system unit).

Video Replay Monitors

This mode is most in demand. Its essence is extremely simple. The monitor completely duplicates the image from the MacBook display. This is the same option that is needed for presentations and working with the projector. The limitation is that the resolution of the connected screen can not be greater than that of the MacBook.

Extended Desktop

Not enough laptop screen area to accommodate all the necessary tabs? The problem can be solved very easily by expanding it by connecting an external monitor. With activated desktop mode, you can work on two monitors at the same time. At the same time, the settings set the main screen, which will be the menu bar.

Note. For OS X Mavericks and later, the menu bar will appear on both screens.

Now the additional monitor will be a continuation of the main one and you can simply drag objects between them with the mouse. In any of the main monitor selection options, you can use the trackpad or laptop keyboard to enter information.

Advanced Mode Setup

Sequencing:

• connect an additional monitor;
• select the system settings in the menu;
• go to the section "Monitors";
• Select the "Location" tab.
• the item “Enable video repeater of monitors” should be disabled (no checkbox).

How to set the location of displays

In order to work on two screens was as comfortable as possible, you need to adjust their relative position so that the windows between them move either vertically or horizontally to one of the sides. Make it easy. On the tab "location" you can see a schematic arrangement in the form of blue rectangles, and their size will be proportional to the resolution. Drag the rectangles with the mouse, you can set the desired location.

System unit

At a stationary workplace in the office or at home, you can use your MacBook Air as a system beech of an ordinary PC. To activate the mode, it is enough to put the MacBook in sleep mode and close its lid.

Since there will obviously be no access to the keyboard, then, in addition to the additional monitor, you will have to purchase a mouse and an external keyboard. It is recommended to connect the charger so that the battery is not discharged at the most inopportune moment. OS X in the default settings does not support wake up on command from devices via Bluetooth. Therefore, you need to activate this option in advance.

Can I connect the TV

Yes. In order to quickly connect a modern high-definition TV or Apple TV, add the status menu and assign the connected device as the main device. The selection menu will appear when connected, for this it is necessary in the settings to put a tick on "Show video repeat options in the menu bar, if available". After that, you can watch your favorite movies and any video from MacBook on the big screen.

How to connect 2 monitors to Macbook Air

If one additional monitor is not enough for you and you need to connect two to MacBook, then problems will not arise only with new models that have a Thunderbolt and an HDMI port. In some MacBooks, Air has 2 Thunderbolt at once, so theoretically you can connect not 2, but 3 additional monitors to it at once, although the performance will drop dramatically, which will be very noticeable when launching different videos on each one. For the old models, however, you will have to come up with “collective farm” solutions, and if you manage to connect two monitors, then in the video replay mode, not desktop extensions.

What they say at Apple

There are several official documents regarding the connection of external monitors to the latest models of the MakBook Pro line. They are talking about connecting via USB Type-C connector monitors with a resolution of 4K and 5K. So, the 15-inch MacBook Pro can work with two additional 5K monitors or immediately with four 4K resolutions. But for 13-inch models, the amount is 2 times less. Also, the company confirmed the support of the monitor Dell UP2715K with a resolution of 5K and a diagonal of 27 inches.

Conclusion

Many users are not even aware of how comfortable it is to work on multiple monitors at once, because they have never tried it. Meanwhile, the efficiency of work, when the primary, active tasks are displayed on one monitor, and on the other all secondary - chats, monitoring, etc., is several times higher. Especially if you use programs such as Mission Control, which make managing applications on different screens more convenient.

Learn how to connect an extra monitor to your MacBook Air using our tips and enjoy the result. If you have any questions or technical problems, write about it in the comments and we will help solve them.