Configuring an advanced projection setup with multiple displays

As described in a previous article of the Output section of this guide, there are three different projection options, depending on if you simply want a preview window (Windowed), a simple Fullscreen projection (Fullscreen), or a more advanced configuration (Setup).

This article will describe the process of setting up an advanced configuration, with multiple output screens.

Overview of the Output Setup window

First off, let's start with a quick overview of the Output Setup module ( or Output → Setup...), to give you an idea of all the available features:

1. The Canvas Settings section, where you can setup the resolution of the canvas and choose to display the Test Card in the output to help you in the calibration steps. To better understand the canvas resolution, please follow this article.
2. The Screens setup area. This is where you'll setup how many output screens you want and which area you want them to display by placing them precisely on the canvas. This is also where you'll be able to adjust the deformation points from the Warping module (see n°4). You can navigate this area with a mousewheel click or [Space]+Drag and zoom with a mousewheel scroll or the buttons on the bottom right. See below to setup multiple screens.
3. The Screen settings section. In this section, you'll be able to adjust the settings of a selected screen: its Destination (which display to send it the rendering to), its Position (in pixels, relative to the canvas top left origin), its Orientation (0/90/180/270°), its Name or its Color (only to help identify it in the Screens setup area).
4. The Warping section. It contains the settings relative to the distortion of a selected screen. The Warping is used to adjust the corners or create small deformations on the output rendering. It is described in a separate article.
5. The Edge Blending section. It contains the settings relative to the blending of a selected screen. Edge blending is used to blend screens together in order to create a bigger one seamlessly. It is described in a separate article.

⭐ Setting up a multiprojection

⭐ This section revolves around a Pro feature.

Example: setting up a 1 x 2 FullHD projection

To help us describe the process of setting up multiple outputs, we'll use the following simple case: two 1920x1080 projectors side by side, displaying different content or different parts of the same content (without edge blending for now).

To achieve this, here's what we need to do:

1. First, set the canvas resolution to 3840x1080 so that it covers the whole projection area we have with our two projectors (if you need a reminder on canvas resolution, it's here.)
   
2. Then, add a screen to have 2 screens in the setup area, using the + button.
   
   You can see that in this simple case, the screens are already positioned on the canvas (the whole zone covered by the testcard) like we want so we don't need to move them: the left screen (1) is snapped to the left side, so it will project the left half of the canvas, while the other screen (2) covers the right half.
3. Now we need to assign our screens to our projectors. Select screen 1 and in its settings below, choose the correct projector in the "Destination" list. Do the same for screen 2.
   
   You'll notice that once you select a Destination, the output is directly launched in fullscreen on the chosen display.
4. At this step, you should see each half of the test card on your projectors. If you don't need to warp or edge blend the output, the last thing to do is to hide the test card overlay to reveal your project's content. To do so, simply untick "Show test card" on the top right corner of the window. 
5. Tada! Just click on "Ok" to save you setup and exit the window.

Note: to help you see which area is covered by a screen and place your shapes precisely on the Canvas, you can toggle "Show Screens" in the View menu in order to see the outlines of screens.

Adding and deleting screens

As mentioned previously, Screens can be added via the + button. If you need to delete one though, select it and click on [Backspace/Delete] or right-click on it → Delete.

A new screen is always added on the right of the last screen that was added before, with the same resolution, but with a different color to help differentiate it (remember you can change the color of a screen in its settings below.)
You can of course change the position of the new screen, by drag & dropping it or with the X & Y “Position” settings below (in pixels).

Note: depending on your HeavyM offer, the number of screens that you can add can be limited. In Pro+, the maximum is virtually unlimited (but depends on performances).