FXVPS
Get Started
vps rdp monitors setup

How to Use Two Monitors With RDP on Your Trading VPS

person
FXVPS
Share
How to Use Two Monitors With RDP on Your Trading VPS

Yes, you can spread your VPS across two screens, or three, or more. Remote Desktop has supported it for years and the setting is one tick box. This guide shows where it is on Windows and on a Mac, how to give the VPS only some of your screens, and how to lay out your platforms once it works.

One thing first: your local monitors do the work here. The VPS has no screens of its own. Remote Desktop tells it how many monitors you have and how big they are, and the VPS draws a desktop to match.

Windows: turn on all monitors

  1. Press Win + R, type mstsc and press Enter. Remote Desktop Connection opens.
  2. Click Show Options.
  3. On the General tab, enter your VPS IP followed by :41011, and your user name.
  4. Open the Display tab and tick Use all my monitors for the remote session.
  5. Go back to General and click Save As so the setting is kept in an .rdp file on your desktop.
  6. Click Connect.

The session opens full screen across every monitor you have. Inside the VPS, right-click the desktop and open Display settings: you should see two numbered screens, just as you would on a PC with two monitors plugged in.

The shortcut for the same thing is to run mstsc /multimon.

Multiple monitors only apply in full screen. Press Ctrl + Alt + Break to drop the session to a window when you need your own desktop, and press it again to go back.

Use only some of your monitors

With three screens, the tick box takes all three and leaves you nothing for your own computer. You can pick which ones the VPS gets.

  1. Open a Command Prompt on your own computer and run mstsc /l. A small box lists your monitors with an ID number for each, starting at 0.
  2. Right-click your saved .rdp file, choose Open with, and pick Notepad.
  3. Make sure these two lines are in the file, adding or changing them as needed:
use multimon:i:1
selectedmonitors:s:0,1
  1. Replace 0,1 with the IDs of the screens you want the VPS to use. The first ID in the list becomes the main screen on the VPS, the one with the taskbar.
  2. Save the file and double-click it to connect.

The monitor IDs can change if you unplug a screen or dock a laptop, so run mstsc /l again if the session suddenly opens on the wrong screens.

Mac

  1. Open the Windows App (the new name for Microsoft Remote Desktop).
  2. Right-click your VPS and choose Edit.
  3. Open the Display tab and tick Use all monitors.
  4. Save and connect.

If the session still opens on one screen, open System Settings, go to Desktop & Dock, scroll to Mission Control and switch on Displays have separate Spaces. macOS asks you to log out and back in for that to take effect.

New to connecting from a Mac? Start with how to access your VPS using RDP on Apple Mac.

Phones and tablets

The Android and iOS Remote Desktop apps show the VPS on the device’s own screen only. They are fine for a quick check, not for a two-screen layout.

Laying out your platforms

How you use the second screen depends on the platform.

  • MT4: charts cannot be dragged out of the MT4 window. Either un-maximise MT4 and stretch its window across both screens, or run two terminals and put one on each screen.
  • MT5: right-click a chart and untick Docked (or press Alt + D). The chart becomes its own window and you can drag it to the other monitor.
  • cTrader: detach a chart from its tab and move it to the second screen.
  • NinjaTrader: every chart, DOM and control window is already separate, so drag them wherever you like and save the workspace.

Your layout is saved on the VPS. If you connect later from a laptop with one screen, Windows moves everything onto that screen, and puts it back the next time you connect with two.

If the session lags

A second monitor doubles the picture Remote Desktop has to send to you. On a good wired connection you will not notice. On Wi-Fi or a slow line you might. Try these in order:

  1. On the Display tab, set colours to High Color (16 bit).
  2. On the Experience tab, pick a lower connection speed and keep Persistent bitmap caching ticked.
  3. Plug your computer in by cable instead of Wi-Fi.
  4. Give the VPS two screens instead of three, using the selectedmonitors line above.

A slow picture never slows your trading. Your terminals and EAs run on the VPS and send orders from there, whether the screen you are looking at keeps up or not. The full explanation, and more settings, are in why your VPS feels slow over RDP.

Does a second monitor need a bigger plan?

Not by itself. The extra screen costs the VPS very little. What costs memory and CPU is what you fill it with. One more terminal is roughly another 300 to 800 MB of RAM depending on the platform, and a screen full of charts with indicators adds CPU load. Open Task Manager on the VPS after you have set up your layout. If memory sits above about 75 percent, move up a plan.

When it does not work

  • The session opens on one screen only. Check the tick box is on in the .rdp file you are actually opening. Opening Remote Desktop fresh from the Start menu does not use your saved file.
  • One wide desktop instead of two screens. The file has span monitors:i:1 in it. That is the older span mode, which treats both screens as one big rectangle, so windows maximise across both. Change it to span monitors:i:0 and keep use multimon:i:1.
  • Wrong screens. Run mstsc /l and correct the IDs in selectedmonitors.
  • Text is tiny or huge on one screen. Your monitors use different scaling. Inside the VPS, open Display settings, click the screen and change Scale.

Still stuck? Open a ticket and attach your .rdp file. It contains no password, and it tells us exactly what your session is asking for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use two monitors with a VPS over Remote Desktop?

Yes. In Remote Desktop Connection, click Show Options, open the Display tab and tick “Use all my monitors for the remote session” before you connect.

How do I use only two of my three monitors for the VPS?

Run mstsc /l to see each monitor’s ID, then add selectedmonitors:s:0,1 to your .rdp file with the two IDs you want.

Does a second monitor need a bigger VPS plan?

Not for the monitor. Size the plan to the terminals and charts you run, and check Task Manager once your layout is set.

Why did my session get slower with two monitors?

Remote Desktop is sending twice the pixels. Drop to 16 bit colour, use a wired connection, or give the VPS fewer screens. Your trading is not affected either way.

Does this work from a Mac?

Yes. Tick “Use all monitors” on the Display tab of the PC’s settings in the Windows App, and switch on “Displays have separate Spaces” in macOS.

Can I put MT4 charts on a second monitor?

Not as separate windows. Stretch the MT4 window across both screens or run a terminal on each. MT5 and cTrader let you detach charts.