One layout for the laptop, another for the dock
At the desk you have two big monitors; on the sofa, one small screen. Here is how to make the windows switch between the two setups by themselves when you plug in or unplug.
What usually happens
Unplug the laptop, and Windows piles every window onto its screen at whatever size it had. Plug it back in, and some windows return to the big monitors, others do not. Every day starts with a minute of sorting windows out.
Two desks, chosen by the monitors
- At the dock, arrange your windows across the external monitors and save it as a desk - “Desk”, for instance.
- Unplugged, arrange them on the laptop screen and save a second desk - “Laptop”.
- Tie each desk to its set of monitors.
From then on, unplugging brings up the laptop layout and docking brings back the full desk, without pressing anything. Each desk can also switch your sound - the speakers at the desk, the laptop's own on the go.
Good to know
A desk remembers a separate arrangement for every set of monitors, so the same “Work” desk can mean three screens at the office and one on the train. Each desk can also have a key of its own.