MacOS – How to reassign numbering of Displays when you have more than 2 monitors connected to mac mini

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I have three displays connected to my mac mini. (I have used Arrangement to make sure they are connected correctly left to right, so mouse movement works correctly.) The leftmost is the primary with the dock. However, the middle display is call "Display 3" and the rigtmost is "Display 2". Even if I swap the cables, it still stays the same, so OSX must remember the displayid. This is a problem because Desktop numbering (in Spaces) are out of sequence rigt to left across the displays. It is also confusing that when you assign an app to a display, you have to remember that 3 is the middle display. I know I could just physically swap display 2 and 3, but can this be solved through macOS Display settings? 🙂

Any suggestion on how one can reassign the numbering of the displays?

Best Answer

This is a very annoying problem and I have not found any official documentation on how to control the numbering of the Desktop on each monitor. However, through a lot of trial and error, I've discovered these rules that will help you order the Desktop numbers.

First, a few key points on how the numbering behaves

  • Your 'Home Screen' (the display with the Dock) will always have the lowest number (e.g. Desktop 1, Desktop 2 if it has 2 desktops)
  • When you drag the Dock (in Displays >> Arrangement) from one display to another, it will swap the numbering between the two monitors that you dragged it to and from. For example if you have 3 monitors that is setup as follow
  • Monitor A (Desktop 1, Desktop 2) ==DOCK LOCATION==
  • Monitor B (Desktop 3, Desktop 4)
  • Monitor C (Desktop 5, Desktop 6)

If you drag the DOCK from Monitor A to B, you'll end up with the following:

  • Monitor A (Desktop 3, Desktop 4)
  • Monitor B (Desktop 1, Desktop 2) ==DOCK LOCATION==
  • Monitor C (Desktop 5, Desktop 6)

Therefore, by planning the sequence of DOCK position swaps, you can reach the final ordering that you desire.

The ordering may get messed up again if you disconnect the monitors or return from sleep or restart. I have no idea how to 'save' the settings. But at least this will help you reconfigure quickly.

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