Skip to content

Use virtual displays on Windows and Mac

In Jump Desktop on Windows and macOS, you choose how many virtual displays the remote computer creates and what size they are: matched to your own screens, or with an exact resolution, scale, and refresh rate. Use it to fill every screen at your desk with the remote desktop, or to give a remote workstation the same 4K 120 Hz layout every time you connect.

Applies to

  • Jump Desktop on Windows and macOS.
  • Fluid connections to Jump Desktop Connect 10 or later. See Requirements.
  • One virtual display on all plans; two to four need the Jump Desktop for Teams Enterprise plan. See Plans.

Open the Display menu

During a Fluid session, open the Display menu: in the session window on Windows (in full screen, click the Switch Display button in the toolbar), or in the menu bar on macOS.

Changes apply immediately and are saved for that computer, so your next connection uses them too.

Choose a preset

Under Presets in the Display menu:

Preset What it does
Single Virtual Display Creates one virtual display that fits your screen, with Retina and Match Display Resolution on.
Matched Virtual Displays Creates one virtual display for each of your screens, with one window on each screen. With more than one screen, Retina stays off.
Host Displays Turns virtual displays off and shows the remote computer's own displays, each in its own window, with Retina on.

Applying a preset clears any fixed virtual displays set for that computer. On Windows, the presets need the Jump Desktop for Teams Pro or Enterprise plan. Without it, Presets shows Upgrade to use Separate Windows… instead.

Choose the number of displays

In the Display menu, under Virtual Displays:

  • Off (Show Host Displays Only): use only the remote computer's own displays.
  • Same as this PC (Windows) or Same as this Mac (macOS): one virtual display for each of your screens.
  • 1 to 4: a fixed number of virtual displays. Intel Mac remote computers offer up to 3.

With two or more virtual displays, each opens in its own window. Closing one removes that virtual display, and your next connection uses one fewer.

Match your displays

With Match Display Resolution on (under Resolution in the Display menu), each virtual display takes the size of its window and follows it when you resize. Same as this PC or Same as this Mac creates one for each screen connected when you choose it.

  • Refresh rate: each virtual display uses the refresh rate of the screen its window is on. On a Mac with macOS 12 or later, that's the screen's maximum rate, such as 120 Hz on a ProMotion display. On Windows, it's the screen's current rate.
  • Retina: with Use Retina Resolution on, virtual displays use your screen's full pixel density, for sharper text. From a Mac with a Retina screen to a Windows computer, they use 175% scaling.
  • Arrangement: virtual displays are placed left to right, in window order. The first window is the main display.

Set fixed virtual displays

Fixed virtual displays keep an exact resolution, scale, and refresh rate whatever your screens or windows, for example a video grading monitor at 3840 × 2160 and 60 Hz.

  1. Open the computer's settings:

    Right-click the computer and choose Edit, then select Display.

    Right-click the computer and choose Edit Computer..., then select Display.

  2. Set Display type to Virtual.

  3. Set Virtual displays to the number of displays you want. Each one gets a card, starting at 1920 × 1080, 100%, and 60 Hz.
  4. Set Resolution to Fixed Size.
  5. Click a monitor card and set:
    • Resolution: a preset from 1280 × 720 (HD) to 6016 × 3384 (6K), or Custom… for any width and height up to 16384. The smallest custom size is 320 × 240 on Windows.
    • Scale factor: 100% or 200% for a Mac remote computer, or 100% to 300% in 25% steps for a Windows remote computer.
    • Refresh rate (Refresh on macOS): a preset from 24 Hz to 240 Hz, or Custom… for 1 to 500 Hz.
  6. Repeat for each card, then save the computer's settings (Save on Windows).

Monitors are placed left to right in card order, and Monitor 1 is the main display. To remove a monitor, lower Virtual displays; cards are removed from the end. Choosing a preset, or a number under Virtual Displays in the Display menu, replaces the fixed displays.

Save your own layouts

A saved preset stores your whole display setup so you can apply it to any computer: single or separate windows, Use Retina Resolution, Match Display Resolution, Keep After Disconnect, the virtual displays (off, same as your screens, a number, or fixed sizes), and where each window sits on your screens.

  • Save: choose Display > Saved Presets > Save Current as Preset… and enter a name.
  • Apply: choose Display > Saved Presets > preset name > Apply.
  • Remove: choose Display > Saved Presets > preset name > Remove.

Saved presets are stored on the device you connect from, not per computer. Presets that use virtual displays are hidden when the remote computer doesn't support them. If a window's screen is gone, the window opens on your main screen.

Keep virtual displays after you disconnect

To keep virtual displays on the remote computer after you disconnect:

  • During a session: choose Display > Virtual Displays > Keep After Disconnect.
  • Before connecting: in the computer's Display settings, select Keep virtual displays after disconnect (Windows) or Keep After Disconnect (macOS).

For when kept displays are removed, see Keep virtual displays after you disconnect.

If a team administrator forces this on or off with Persistent, Keep After Disconnect is dimmed in the Display menu and shows Host policy keeps these displays on the host after you disconnect. or Host policy removes these displays when you disconnect. The computer's Display settings don't show the policy, but it still applies.

Check that it worked

  • The Display menu lists each virtual display under Active Displays, marked Virtual.
  • For fixed displays, each monitor card shows its size and refresh rate, such as 3840×2160 and 60 Hz.

Limitations

  • Plan prompts: without the Enterprise plan, Same as this PC, Same as this Mac, and counts above 1 are hidden, and Virtual Displays shows Upgrade for more displays…. Choosing it shows "Adding more than one virtual display requires a subscription to Jump Desktop for Teams Enterprise." on macOS, or "This feature requires a subscription to Jump Desktop for Teams Enterprise. Please upgrade." on Windows. See Plans.
  • Mac App Store version: upgrade items, including Matched Virtual Displays, are hidden instead of prompting.
  • No message when displays can't be created: for example when another connection controls them or a Mac is at its login window or in a background user session. If the remote computer doesn't create the displays within a few seconds of applying a preset, your previous settings come back.
  • Saved presets and high refresh rates: a preset can't be saved while a fixed monitor is set above 240 Hz. On macOS you see Could not save preset; on Windows nothing is saved.
  • No custom arrangement: you can't arrange fixed virtual displays vertically or choose a different main display.