How do I set up dual monitors in FSX?

To set up dual monitors for FSX or FSX: Steam Edition, connect both displays to the PC, select Extend in Windows display settings, and run FSX in windowed mode. Open a panel or extra view, choose Undock Window, then drag it to the second monitor and save the flight.

These instructions apply to Microsoft Flight Simulator X and FSX: Steam Edition on Windows. Windows controls the physical displays; FSX then treats instruments and additional camera views as separate windows. The crucial setting is Extend: duplicate mode can only show the same desktop on both screens.

What do I need to connect two monitors to a PC?

Each monitor needs an independent video signal from the computer; an ordinary HDMI splitter only duplicates one signal and cannot create an extended desktop.

When setting up two monitors, use cables and adapters that support each screen's intended resolution and refresh rate. If a display has several inputs, select the matching HDMI, DisplayPort or other input through the monitor's controls.

How do I set up dual monitors on Windows 11?

On Windows 11, connect both displays, select Extend, arrange their on-screen rectangles to match the desk and choose the main FSX monitor as the primary display.

1. Connect and power on both monitors. On a desktop with a dedicated graphics card, its video sockets are normally lower on the back of the case than the motherboard sockets.
2. Extend the desktop. Press Windows+P and choose Extend. Do not select Duplicate if you want different content on each screen.
3. Open display settings. Go to Settings > System > Display. Select Identify to show Windows' number on each monitor.
4. Arrange the displays. Drag the monitor rectangles so their left-to-right order and vertical alignment match the physical screens. This controls where the pointer and FSX windows cross from one display to the other. Windows' display numbers cannot normally be reassigned, but their arrangement can.
5. Set the resolution. Select each monitor and use its recommended or native resolution. The two screens do not need to have the same resolution.
6. Check display scaling. Windows supports different scaling percentages, but legacy FSX panels can develop size or mouse-position problems when moved between differently scaled monitors. Start with the same percentage on both screens when diagnosing those faults.
7. Choose the main display. Select the monitor intended for FSX's primary scenery view and enable Make this my main display.

The same basic procedure is used to set up dual monitors on a Windows 10 PC, although the placement of individual display controls may differ. If Windows shows only one monitor, use its Detect control, verify the selected monitor input and test another cable or graphics port before changing anything in FSX.

How do I configure two monitors in FSX?

FSX should be in windowed mode while you create, undock and position panels or additional camera views.

1. Load a flight. Start with the aircraft and cockpit you intend to use because available pop-up panels differ between aircraft.
2. Switch FSX to windowed mode. Press Alt+Enter. If the menu bar is hidden, press Alt. Our explanation of FSX's windowed and full-screen behaviour covers cases where undocked windows disappear after changing modes.
3. Open the required window. For another camera, use Views > New View and choose a cockpit or outside view. For instruments, open an available window through Views > Instrument Panel. The Shift plus number shortcuts can also open panel windows, but the assignments vary by aircraft.
4. Undock it. Right-click inside the additional panel or view and select Undock Window. A normal docked child window cannot be dragged outside the main FSX frame.
5. Move it to monitor two. Drag the undocked window by its title bar, then resize or maximise it on the second display. Set its zoom, camera direction and panel position after moving it.
6. Save the arrangement. Save the flight once all windows are in place. FSX can restore view positions, camera settings and zoom with that flight; follow our steps for preserving a multi-monitor FSX layout if windows do not reopen where expected.

Windowed mode is the most dependable choice for a two-monitor FSX cockpit. Full-screen mode can hide, relocate or constrain undocked windows, particularly after changing resolution or monitor order. Add-on aircraft may also replace their panel layout, so save separate flights for aircraft that use different arrangements.

Choosing an FSX dual-monitor layout

For most FSX installations, scenery on the main monitor and undocked instruments on the second gives the best balance between usefulness and frame rate.

Every additional 3D view makes FSX render another scene and can reduce performance sharply. Reducing that window's size or resolution helps, as does lowering demanding cloud, shadow, traffic and scenery settings. Two graphics adapters do not automatically share FSX's rendering work.

Undocked gauges are generally lighter than another 3D camera, although complex add-on instruments still consume processor time. If you interact with charts or another program on monitor two, clear Pause on task switch in FSX's general settings to prevent the flight pausing when focus leaves the simulator.

Putting FSX instruments on the second monitor

Open each available pop-up panel, undock it and move it separately unless the aircraft supplies a complete multi-monitor panel.

A gauge visible in the virtual cockpit cannot necessarily be extracted on its own. The aircraft must provide a corresponding 2D panel or pop-up window. Default and add-on aircraft use different panel assignments, so a shortcut that opens the GPS in one aircraft may open something else in another.

A second cockpit window can also be used for a different seat position; our pilot-and-copilot view arrangement shows how that practical two-screen layout works. Keep in mind that it is a second rendered 3D scene, not a lightweight instrument panel.

Spanning the outside view across both monitors

FSX can display one extra-wide outside view, but extending the Windows desktop alone does not create a geometrically continuous panorama.

One option is to stretch the windowed FSX frame across both displays. Another is to enable the graphics hardware's display-spanning mode, which presents both monitors to FSX as one wide logical display. Select the resulting combined resolution in FSX if that mode is available.

For a wide aspect ratio, close FSX, back up fsx.cfg, and set WideViewAspect=True under [Display]. The active file is normally found at %APPDATA%\Microsoft\FSX\fsx.cfg or %APPDATA%\Microsoft\FSX-SE\fsx.cfg. Steam Edition may use either folder depending on installation history; the active file is the one whose modified time changes after FSX closes normally.

WideViewAspect=True corrects FSX's field-of-view handling for a wide display. It does not add bezel correction or make two independent camera windows line up as one projection. With only two monitors, the bezel also falls in the centre of the forward view, which is why we usually favour scenery on one screen and instruments on the other. See our FSX resolution and widescreen guidance before forcing a non-native or combined resolution.

Fixing a stretched display on either monitor

A display stretched on a monitor usually means Windows or FSX is using a resolution or aspect ratio that does not match the panel.

• The entire Windows desktop looks stretched: Select that monitor under Settings > System > Display and choose its recommended resolution. Do not assign a two-monitor combined resolution to one individual screen while Windows is in Extend mode.
• The FSX outside view looks too wide: Match FSX's full-screen resolution to the monitor and check WideViewAspect=True for widescreen or spanned use.
• An instrument panel is distorted: Restore the undocked window to proportions close to those for which its bitmap was designed. Many older 2D panels do not scale cleanly to an entire widescreen monitor.
• Windows are the wrong size or clicks are offset: Temporarily use the same Windows scaling percentage on both monitors, sign out if Windows requests it, then restart FSX.
• The picture is cropped at the edges: Check the monitor's aspect or overscan controls and the graphics adapter's scaling setting. Use a setting that preserves the source aspect ratio rather than stretching it to fill.

What should I check if the second monitor does not work?

Identify whether the fault occurs in Windows, in every FSX window or only in one aircraft panel, then apply the matching fix.