Configure screen layout using xrandr
1. XrandR
Most xrandr commands are explained in xrandr - ArchWiki.
2. GUI front-end
ARandR is a graphical front-end for XrandR, which allows changing
monitor position in a drag-and-drop way. Install the arandr package
to use it:
sudo pacman -S arandr
After the screen layout is configured in ARandR, you can save the layout as a shell script which contains only one xrandr script (broken into multiple lines for clarity):
xrandr --output eDP1 --primary --mode 1920x1080 --pos 320x1440 --rotate normal\ --output DP1 --mode 2560x1440 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal\ --output HDMI1 --off\ --output HDMI2 --off\ --output VIRTUAL1 --off
This script automatically detects and setups dual screen layout, which can also be executed on i3 startup:
#!/bin/sh # This opens 27inch monitor together with 14inch laptop screen, with the # former sitting directly above the latter. # The 27inch screen, identified as DP1, is connected using type-c. # The xrandr command is exported via ArandR. intern=eDP1 extern=DP1 if xrandr | grep "^$extern connected" > /dev/null; then # external screen connected xrandr --output eDP1 --primary --mode 1920x1080 --pos 320x1440 --rotate normal\ --output DP1 --mode 2560x1440 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal\ --output HDMI1 --off\ --output HDMI2 --off\ --output VIRTUAL1 --off echo " +----------+ " echo " | | " echo " | 27 | " echo " +----------+ " echo " +------+ " echo " | 14 | (primary) " echo " +------+ " else # external screen not connected xrandr --output eDP1 --primary --mode 1920x1080 --rotate normal\ --output DP1 --off\ --output HDMI1 --off\ --output HDMI2 --off\ --output VIRTUAL1 --off echo " +------+ " echo " | 14 | (primary) " echo " +------+ " fi