How do I set up dual monitors in FSX?

Set Windows to extend the desktop, run FSX or FSX: Steam Edition in windowed mode, create or open the panel or view you want, choose Undock Window, then drag and resize it on the second screen. Use the main monitor for scenery and the second for instruments to minimise the frame-rate penalty.

How do I configure two monitors in FSX?

Configure Windows as an extended desktop first, then create and undock the FSX view or panel while the simulator is windowed.

1. Extend the Windows desktop. In Windows display settings, choose the option that extends rather than duplicates the displays. Arrange the monitor rectangles so their left, right and vertical positions match the physical screens.
2. Choose the primary display. Make the monitor intended for FSX's main scenery view the Windows primary display. Use each screen's native resolution and, where practical, the same Windows scaling percentage on both.
3. Start FSX in windowed mode. Load a flight and press Alt if the menu bar is hidden. Press Alt+Enter to leave full-screen mode; our FSX display-mode instructions explain the full-screen and windowed behaviour in more detail.
4. Open the required content. For another 3D camera, use Views > New View and select a cockpit or outside view. For instruments, open the aircraft's required window through Views > Instrument Panel. The Shift plus number shortcuts also open panel windows, but their assignments vary by aircraft.
5. Undock the window. Right-click inside the new view or panel and select Undock Window. You cannot drag a normal docked child window outside the main FSX frame.
6. Move it to monitor two. Drag the undocked window by its title bar, then resize or maximise it on the second display. Adjust its zoom, camera direction or panel contents after it is in place.
7. Save the flight. FSX often restores the panel and view positions when that saved flight is reopened. Add-on aircraft can override their window layout, so do not assume one arrangement will apply to every aircraft.

After arranging the windows, you can test full-screen mode, but FSX's legacy full-screen handling may relocate or hide undocked windows. We normally keep the simulator windowed for a two-monitor cockpit. For help positioning a second 3D view, use our reference to FSX camera shortcuts and view controls.

Which dual-monitor layout works best?

For most FSX installations, one scenery view plus undocked instruments gives the best balance between visibility and performance.

A second instrument panel is not free—complex add-on gauges still use processor time—but it is usually much lighter than another live 3D scene. If the other monitor is only for charts or another program, do not create a second FSX view. Clear Pause on task switch in FSX's general settings if the flight pauses whenever you interact with that screen.

How do I put FSX instruments on the second monitor?

Open and undock each radio, navigation or gauge window separately, unless the aircraft includes a complete panel designed for multiple displays.

Default aircraft usually provide several pop-up windows through the Instrument Panel menu. Their numbering and available gauges differ, and some add-on cockpits do not expose every virtual-cockpit display as an undockable panel. A purpose-built option such as this two-screen Boeing 737-800 instrument layout can be easier when a standard aircraft panel was never designed for monitor two.

Layouts supplied with an aircraft may expect a particular monitor order, aspect ratio or combined resolution. Read the included installation notes rather than copying panel configuration files between unrelated aircraft.

Can FSX span the outside view across both monitors?

Yes, but the cleanest panoramic method makes both monitors appear to FSX as one extra-wide logical display.

Enable spanning through the graphics hardware's display controls, then select the resulting combined resolution in FSX. A windowed FSX main view can also be stretched manually across an extended desktop, although it retains the usual window borders.

For a wide aspect ratio, close FSX, back up fsx.cfg, and set WideViewAspect=True under [Display]. The active configuration is normally under %APPDATA%\Microsoft\FSX\ or %APPDATA%\Microsoft\FSX-SE\. Steam Edition can use either folder name depending on installation history, so check which file receives a new timestamp after FSX closes.

WideViewAspect=True corrects the field of view; it does not provide bezel correction or turn separate camera windows into a geometrically continuous projection. With two screens, the bezel also sits directly in the forward view. That is why we generally recommend scenery on one monitor and instruments on the other.

Why is the second FSX monitor slow or black?

A second 3D view raises the rendering load sharply, while black or broken panels usually point to display routing, DPI scaling or legacy DirectX compatibility.

• Severe frame-rate loss: Replace the second 3D camera with pop-up instruments, reduce the secondary window's pixel area, or lower demanding cloud, traffic and scenery settings.
• No Undock Window option: Return FSX to windowed mode and create an additional view first. The original main view is not handled like an ordinary child window.
• The same picture appears on both screens: Windows is duplicating the displays. Change it to an extended desktop.
• Black view after dragging: Where possible, connect both monitors to the same graphics card and restart FSX after changing the display arrangement. Mixed integrated and dedicated graphics outputs can cause rendering problems.
• Blank or corrupted legacy gauges: Turn off Preview DirectX 10 as a diagnostic and reload the flight. Some older add-on gauges were built for the DirectX 9 rendering path.
• Wrong size or offset mouse clicks: Set both monitors to the same Windows scaling percentage, sign out if Windows requests it, and restart FSX.
• A saved panel opens off-screen: Reconnect the previous monitor temporarily or focus the undocked window and use Windows+Shift+Left Arrow or Windows+Shift+Right Arrow to move it between displays.