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Opening programs on second monitor, not main monitor

Hello,

   This is the first upgrade of Windows 10 I have dealt with that is a dual monitor setup.  My monitors are extended screen.  In windows 7 or 8 / 8.1, if I wanted to open a program on the second monitor I was able to from the start menu on that screen, or it remembered from the last time I used it there and closed it there.  Now with Windows 10, no matter what monitor I use to open the start menu, every program opens on my main monitor.   This is extremely frustrating and is rage inducing.  I do NOT want to have to open a program then Windows Key + Arrow every time.  I want it to open like it did in Windows 7 and 8 / 8.1.  Please I need an answer right away before I start sending Microsoft a bill for every broken monitor I go through from punching it.  This is an issue that should not be appearing after launch.

Answer
Answer
Windows 10 nay not open applications on the free screen automatically, but you can make programs and/or documents open up on the same monitor all the time.  Example: I use one application on my left screen always and the web on the other. To set this - you open the application, drag it to the screen you want it to open on, minimize it to half size (the middle square shape on the top far right - beside the X to close out the app or doc) and then close it out without maximizing it again. From now on it will open on that screen. Do this with anything you want to designate to a certain screen- and it will stay that way until you change it by repeating this process on a different screen. It isn't exactly a fix, but it is very helpful.

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Windows 10 features only very basic multi-monitor functionality. There is an easy solution for that. Use a program like DisplayFusion. It always opens a program where you closed it. You can also set it to open specific programs always on a specific monitor.

You will find it helpful in other ways, too. I can't imagine using two or more monitors without it. For instance, you can have the taskbar symbols only on the monitor where the program displays and show only one Windows menu button or have one on the left edge (like the Windows default) and one on the other monitor on the right edge. And you can easily move programs from one monitor to the other with the click of an extra button in the title bar. There's a free version of it. I don't know if that covers the functionality asked for but I think it does. Google for it.

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Last updated March 12, 2025 Views 739,089 Applies to: