Today’s Question: I noticed there are “1” and “2” icons at the top-left of the bottom panel in Lightroom Classic. Clicking the “1” button reveals a popup that lets me change the view mode, which of course can be changed in other ways too. When I click the “2” button a new window appears, with just a few controls. Why would I want this second window?
Tim’s Quick Answer: The feature you’ve discovered is primarily intended on enabling you to have two different windows on two different displays for Lightroom Classic. This can be used to streamline your workflow, such as being able to navigate among images on a secondary display while optimizing the selected photo on the primary display.
More Detail: Working with dual displays can be quite helpful in a photographer’s workflow, enabling you to have two different working areas. For example, I’ve long favored using Photoshop with dual displays, putting all the panels on a second display so I can focus almost exclusively on the image on the primary display.
Lightroom Classic also provides support for dual displays, which is a feature I find many photographers overlook. The controls (found at the top-left of the bottom “filmstrip” panel) are two simple buttons, one representing the primary display (with the number “1” on it) and the other representing a second window (with the number “2” on it). While using these options is aimed at the use of dual displays, you don’t actually need to have a second display to bring up the secondary window.
The idea is that you can click the “2” button to bring up a window that you can drag to your secondary display. This secondary window is primarily focused on browsing your photos. For example, the top panel only includes options for the grid, loupe, compare, and survey views.
Therefore, the secondary display is generally focused on selecting photos among those you’re currently browsing. For example, you can have a full-screen grid showing thumbnails of the current photos, while working in the Develop module for the selected photo on your primary display.
