Photo: Yasin Hasan (Shutterstock)
Is your setup incomplete without multiple monitors? Whether it’s a MacBook connected to a display, or a Mac Studio with two monitors, there are several apps that can enhance your workflow. Some of these apps will help you optimize your display; others let you adjust settings on each individual display.
HiDock
HiDock is a free app that lets you create custom Dock configurations for every monitor in your setup. You can place the Dock on the left side of a taller display while letting it remain in the bottom of your laptop’s screen. The app also lets you set a custom size for the Dock on each monitor. If you want a larger Dock on a larger screen, and a smaller Dock on a smaller screen, it’s easy to do.
Lunar
Lunar is perfect for granular control over each display in your setup. You can use this app to automatically turn off the MacBook’s screen, and only use the external display if you want to. At the same time, you can use the hardware keys on your MacBook to control the brightness and volume of external displays, giving you the best of both.
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Lunar is the best app for controlling external displays via your Mac, and its free tier includes plenty of features—however, at $23, the pro features are, in my opinion, worth the asking price.
SoundSource
We’ve covered SoundSource before, because it’s among the best volume-control apps for your Mac. It lets you route audio from specific apps to certain speakers, headphones, or other audio devices. The app even allows you to set a custom volume level for each app you’re using.
In a multi-monitor setup, you can use SoundSource to route audio to any of the external displays. This helps if your monitor has a decent set of speakers or if it’s connected to a better audio device such as headphones or a soundbar. SoundSource can help you play your music or movies from better audio devices, while sending other alerts to your MacBook’s speakers.
SoundSource has a time-limited free trial; the full license is $39
Swish
Swish is a window manager app for your Mac that supports multi-display setups and allows you to easily send some apps to a display you choose, while keeping the rest in another screen. You can use this feature to send a video to a larger display, while you work on other apps on your smaller screen.
This app is perfect for those who use MacBooks in their multi-monitor setups, as it’s optimized for trackpad gestures. If you use a Magic Trackpad with a desktop Mac, of course, you’ll be able to use the same gestures, too. The app has a free trial, and costs $16 for a license.
Cleanshot X
If you take a lot of screenshots or screen recordings, you should try Cleanshot X. It has pretty much every screenshot-related feature you’ll need, including taking scrolling screenshots of entire webpages, correctly scaling Retina display screenshots, and the ability to store multiple screenshots in a neat overlay on the screen.
This overlay allows you to quickly access your screenshot history and saves a lot of trouble if you’re repeatedly sending a few screenshots to multiple people. Cleanshot X’s overlay automatically switches to the active display and you can take screenshots of all displays in a multi-monitor setup.
