Screen Real Estate in TouchDesigner

Greetings, TouchDesigner developers! In today’s post we’ll be taking an introductory look at screen real estate, and how having ample screen space can significantly enhance our workflow and project outcomes. We will explore how to effectively use expanded screens in TouchDesigner, focusing on the Perform Window, working with multiple screens, and practical tips to maximize your workspace! Let’s get started!

Perform Window

As some of you may already know, TouchDesigner’s Perform Window is a component used for displaying your project output in full-screen mode. This is an essential feature for both development stages and presentation purposes!

By having our creations in a dedicated, full-screen environment, we are able to have the audience view, in any live performance or installation, isolated from the editing interface the artist or designer may be using. In our case it means that we are able to work on our network and operators, while seeing the isolated output in another screen, or many! 

This is a tool you’ll want to master as your projects grow and you get more opportunities to showcase your work for larger audiences, which require a polished and professional focus!

Using Multiple Screens

Let’s talk about expanding our workspace across multiple screens, and how a solid setup can significantly boost productivity and enhance our projects. By utilizing additional monitors to our main screen (laptop or desktop,) we can separate our editing and output views, providing a clearer and more efficient workflow. Here’s how you can get started with setting this up:

The first thing we must ensure is that our operating system recognizes the additional screens ,and set up display settings to extend our desktop. On Windows, head to ‘Display Settings’ to arrange your screens and set one as the primary display. On macOS, go to ‘System Preferences’ > ‘Displays’ and drag the display boxes to position them correctly. This part should be pretty straightforward!

TouchDesigner Setup

Now, when it comes to TouchDesigner, we must be aware that when we open a new project  it comes with a Perform Window already set up for us. If we press U, and navigate one level up from our main network level, we can see our Project operator and a Perform operator attached to it! This is where we can adjust existing parameters to display on different monitors.

To configure the Perform Window for multiple screens we can try this:

1. Click on the Perform operator.
2. In the parameters panel, locate the ‘Window’ tab.
3. Set ‘Specify Monitor’ in the ‘Justify and Offset To’ dropdown menu.
4. Set the ‘Monitor’ parameter to the desired monitor number.
5. Adjust settings like ‘Justify Horizontal’, ‘Justify Vertical’, and ‘Offset’ to position the window precisely on your chosen monitor.
6. Set ‘Shift to Single Monitor’ based on your preference:

• Off: No restriction.
• Keep on Single Monitor: Keeps the Perform Window on one monitor.
• Keep on Monitor with Cursor: Keeps the Perform Window on the monitor where the cursor is located.

Other parameters that are important when configuring the Perform Window include:

• Opening Size: Set this to ‘Automatic from Panel COMP/TOP’ to automatically adjust based on the content, or specify custom dimensions for a more precise control.
• Borders: Toggle this to ‘On’ if you want to include window borders, useful for distinguishing the Perform Window from other windows.
• Open as Separate Window: Use this to open the Perform Window independently from the main TouchDesigner window, allowing you to manage it more flexibly across multiple screens. 

Maximizing Workspace with Detached Panes

In addition to configuring the Perform Window, you can further optimize your TouchDesigner workspace by detaching panes and moving them to other monitors. This can significantly improve your workflow, especially when working on complex projects where network navigation can get clunky, or we simply want to visualize different aspects of our project.

Detaching and Moving Panes

Floating Copy

Click on the pane’s menu (the small arrow in the top-right corner) and select ‘Floating Copy’. This opens a new pane as a separate window without occupying space in the main interface. This is ideal for freeing up space in your main network while keeping critical views accessible.

Duplicate Pane

If you want to keep a copy of the pane in your main workspace while working on a separate monitor, use ‘Duplicate Pane’. This will create an additional pane that you can drag to another screen. Although it leaves the original pane in place, it’s useful for quickly accessing the same view in multiple locations.

Splitting Panes

You can split your workspace into multiple panes by selecting ‘Split Left/Right’ or ‘Split Top/Bottom’. This isn’t the same as detaching, but it helps in organizing your workspace within the same screen. For a more customized layout, you can then use floating copies of these panes to distribute across multiple monitors.

Depending on your needs these settings will give you plenty of options to configure your workspace. For instance, a 3D scene workflow could have a Geometry Viewer pane in one monitor, the project’s output coming out through a Perform window in another one, and finally and editing/control base in your main laptop/desktop screen.

Extra Perform window tip

You can duplicate the Perform Window to display different parts of your network on multiple screens. For instance, set one Perform Window to show a Transform TOP that mirrors the image. This way, you can create a setup where two monitors display a mirrored image! This technique can be particularly useful for creating symmetrical or mirrored installations.

Wrap Up

I hope it’s evident how expanding our TouchDesigner workspace with multiple screens is a game-changer! Keeping your projects in mind will help you configure the Perform Window and utilize detached panes to maintain a clear and efficient workflow. So, experiment with these setups to find what works best for your needs, whether it’s for interactive tech development or production. Enjoy exploring! Until next time!