How to use a monitor with the laptop closed

Monitor on desk with keyboard, mouse and closed laptop
(Image credit: Future)

If you're not a fan of your laptop's screen, you may prefer to connect up one of the best monitors instead. That way, you can get a more comfortable typing experience and a nicer viewing experience at the same time. Essentially, you'll have all the advantages of a desktop computer setup, but with the option to disconnect your laptop when you need to work on the go.

There's just one problem: you don't want to be distracted by seeing the same thing on two separate screens. Well, actually, that's not a problem at all. Because it's pretty easy to set up your laptop so it carries on working even when closed. And that's the case whether you use a Windows laptop or a MacBook (or any of our best graphic design laptops).

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Tom May

Tom May is an award-winning journalist and editor specialising in design, photography and technology. Author of the Amazon #1 bestseller Great TED Talks: Creativity, published by Pavilion Books, Tom was previously editor of Professional Photography magazine, associate editor at Creative Bloq, and deputy editor at net magazine. Today, he is a regular contributor to Creative Bloq and its sister sites Digital Camera World, T3.com and Tech Radar. He also writes for Creative Boom and works on content marketing projects.