Author Topic: Do you use a Portrait mode monitor? (Read 20015 times)

Renegade · « **on:** August 14, 2014, 11:03 AM »

I have 2 monitors that pivot to portrait mode and a third that is landscape only. I keep 1 monitor in portrait mode, and it's my main monitor for most of what I do. My only complaint is that it is sometimes a bit thin for some sites, but most are fine on it, and I can read a huge amount very quickly and easily.

Anyone else use portrait mode?

mouser · « **Reply #1 on:** August 14, 2014, 11:39 AM »

Tried it, abandoned it.

Renegade · « **Reply #2 on:** August 14, 2014, 12:01 PM »

Tried it, abandoned it.
-mouser (August 14, 2014, 11:39 AM)

Really? Why?

I find it so much easier to read in portrait mode.

Coding when I have to look across multiple methods is nicer in portrait when I split the screen. I can have part of the window 500 lines above and code in the lower half as I look at the top for a reference.

As a coder, I'd have though that you'd like it.

mouser · « **Reply #3 on:** August 14, 2014, 12:04 PM »

In theory it seems perfect for coding.
But I have a 27" monitor; in portrait mode it's just too tall to comfortably look at -- at least on my desk and viewing distance. It's too much of a neck strain to look up to top.

Renegade · « **Reply #4 on:** August 14, 2014, 12:06 PM »

In theory it seems perfect for coding.
But I have a 27" monitor; in portrait mode it's just too tall to comfortably look at -- at least on my desk and viewing distance. It's too much of a neck strain to look up to top.
-mouser (August 14, 2014, 12:04 PM)

I can see that.

I recline in my chair, so looking up is zero effort for me.

40hz · « **Reply #5 on:** August 14, 2014, 04:06 PM »

I had a paper white rotatable portrait monitor for my Mac IIsi.

I found it easier to write using that monitor and enabling typewriter sounds on my keyboard.

Brought back college memories. And also subconsciously resurrected some of the skills that allowed me to author 50 page technical papers without breaking a sweat.

Sometimes you just need to plug into what's most and "oldest familiar" to get things done.

But that's me.

ewemoa · « **Reply #6 on:** August 14, 2014, 05:17 PM »

Tried it, abandoned it.
-mouser (August 14, 2014, 11:39 AM)

Ditto.

Found it good when dedicated to reading things such as PDFs, but have stopped doing the multiple display thing.

Function lengths might get longer as a result and that's not so good when working with other people or when I have no or poor access to such tall displays.

superboyac · « **Reply #7 on:** August 14, 2014, 09:47 PM »

surface pro
i read comics in portrait, as well as ebooks if im lying down. it's a joy.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #8 on:** August 14, 2014, 10:14 PM »

I voted Bacon.

Perry Mowbray · « **Reply #9 on:** August 14, 2014, 10:22 PM »

My main monitor is Landscape, but I have a portrait monitor to the right (that is very handy for reading and doing full A4 views)

dr_andus · « **Reply #10 on:** September 02, 2014, 05:30 PM »

Thanks for bringing this topic up, as it encouraged me to try it, and now I've switched to using my central 22" monitor in portrait mode, while the ones on the left and the right are in landscape mode.

It turned out that there were several applications that worked better for me in portrait mode. The obvious one is writing (e.g. with WriteMonkey), as it allows me to see a lot more of the text--and therefore the context--of whatever paragragh I was working on. Another one is reading PDFs, as mentioned before, and most web pages (especially due to the latest craze to format web pages in tablet-sized screen chunks piled up vertically - you know what I mean...).

Also, any apps that have long lists (or long pages) work better in portrait mode, as there is less scrolling involved. E.g. WorkFlowy (to-do lists), ConnectedText (list of wiki documents, or long individual docs). And of course email.

I was surprised to see that even Google Calendar worked better in portrait view, as there was no need to scroll, so all the events of the week were visible at a glance.

But I'm sticking with landscape view for Dopus, especially with dual panes and file preview on.

Renegade · « **Reply #11 on:** September 02, 2014, 08:36 PM »

Also, any apps that have long lists (or long pages) work better in portrait mode, as there is less scrolling involved.
-dr_andus (September 02, 2014, 05:30 PM)

That's what I find. I'm using my portrait monitor more than the others now as it's far better for long text. Combined with text window splitting (Word and Visual Studio), it makes life a lot easier. Scrolling just takes too much time compared to moving your eyeballs.

dr_andus · « **Reply #12 on:** September 05, 2014, 04:14 AM »

Although it seems to me that my old and low-end LG monitors were designed to be looked at downwards in landscape mode. Now that I've rotated them, I need to move my body to the left and turn my head to be able to see images clearly... It's fine for reading and writing, though.

Renegade · « **Reply #13 on:** September 05, 2014, 04:37 AM »

My last LG monitor was a CRT. It was really good. But, that was a while back. CRTs are kinda hard to rotate too.

fredemeister · « **Reply #14 on:** October 26, 2014, 02:18 PM »

I've got 2 x 19" 5:4 - one portrait for web coding and the other landscape for everything else. Some images are portrait mode, which look small on the landscape monitor,so that's a bonus having two monitors.

But I like bacon too.

oblivion · « **Reply #15 on:** October 31, 2014, 05:20 AM »

Until I read this thread, I'd never really considered portrait mode.

My work setup is two monitors, and I always have Thunderbird glued to the right hand monitor. And it occurred to me that Perry's setup might work well for me.

So right now, my right hand monitor is portrait. I like it -- although there are a couple of downsides.

The first is probably trivial: you can't really stretch a wallpaper across an L-shaped space. I must research the possibility of landscape and portrait wallpapers being used simultaneously...

The second might be more important. I'm not sure why -- probably something to do with pixel shapes -- but although my monitors are completely capable of displaying the same colours when they're both landscape, I'm really struggling to make the portrait monitor's colours look identical with the landscape one. Even with Lutcurve's help (but that might be my own stupidities -- I'm not very good at achieving the results an expert probably could, and I tend to give up at the "that'll have to do" point!)

However: most of the stuff I do (with the exception of file management and web browsing) seem to benefit from as much vertical real estate as possible -- to the extent that my taskbar is always vertical and autohidden so I think I'll persevere, at least for the time being. Thanks for giving me the idea!

skwire · « **Reply #16 on:** November 12, 2014, 09:03 PM »

The first is probably trivial: you can't really stretch a wallpaper across an L-shaped space. I must research the possibility of landscape and portrait wallpapers being used simultaneously...
-oblivion (October 31, 2014, 05:20 AM)

I never tested it with that configuration, but you might consider giving my Wallpaper Welder application a try.

oblivion · « **Reply #17 on:** November 13, 2014, 08:25 AM »

The first is probably trivial: you can't really stretch a wallpaper across an L-shaped space. I must research the possibility of landscape and portrait wallpapers being used simultaneously...
-oblivion (October 31, 2014, 05:20 AM)

I never tested it with that configuration, but you might consider giving my Wallpaper Welder application a try.
-skwire (November 12, 2014, 09:03 PM)

I'm impressed -- it works really well!

I'd found DisplayFusion by the time I saw this but it does an awful lot I don't need, whereas WW does just what I want, no more and no less, so I think WW may well be a keeper. Thanks, skwire -- another extraordinarily fine piece of work!

skwire · « **Reply #18 on:** November 13, 2014, 12:29 PM »

Great to hear. I'm glad you found it useful.

mouser · « **Reply #19 on:** January 29, 2017, 03:31 PM »

2+ years later, I'd like to hear from people who are using portrait monitors.

I want to use a portrait style layout as it would be better use of my desk space, but I just have a hard time adjusting to the vertical span and having to angle my head up to see the top of the screen..

oblivion · « **Reply #20 on:** January 31, 2017, 12:00 PM »

I'm still using a landscape+portrait configuration. Landscape still works best for many things but email and anything involving text generation where A4 / letter is conceptually or actually the output target tends to get done on my portrait monitor.

Where I've got just one screen to work on, it's always landscape. But -- particularly with widescreen monitors -- I often find the lack of vertical realestate annoying.

I do try to arrange screens and chairs so that I'm looking down -- if only slightly -- rather than up. The top of my portrait screen is about at eye level.

I would say -- probably an irrelevance to many -- that I had to recalibrate the colour of the portrait screen as a direct result of rotating it. I can't say I ever really understood why, but the whites are more yellow when the screen's portrait...

Don't know if this is in any way helpful... I think this really is one of those things where what works for one person won't necessarily work for another!

dr_andus · « **Reply #21 on:** February 01, 2017, 05:01 PM »

I'm very grateful for this thread to have given me the impetus to try a portrait monitor, as I've been using one, in fact two (side-by-side), every day, ever since then. I also have a third monitor in landscape mode, as normally I find that I need both orientations during a working day.

Thankfully one can buy rotating monitors these days, so it's a trivial matter to rotate them as the need changes, sometimes several times a day. But it's mainly portrait-portrait-landscape for me (from left to right), with the central portrait monitor facing me.

P.S. @mouser - I don't have a problem with angling the head. I drop the edge of the portait monitors right down to desk level, slightly tilted, so my eye level with my head held straight is towards the top quartile. But the landscape one needs to be on a stand, so I can just rotate my head, instead of having to look down. So as long as your desk is the correct height ergonomically, the portait monitor should be fine.

Poll

Do you use a Portrait mode monitor?

Author Topic: Do you use a Portrait mode monitor? (Read 20015 times)