Please refer to the Macs at Drew page for general information about this service.

Most classrooms at Drew offer the capability to connect a laptop to the installed projection system for academic classes. You can also contact the Media Resource Center (MRC) at (973) 408-3342 to arrange to use a projector for any on-campus event. Please be sure to contact the MRC well in advance if you will require equipment set up for an event or if you would like help connecting your laptop to the provided equipment.

Drew University Classrooms Offer VGA Connections

Different Mac laptops come with various ports and adapters that can be used to connect to a projector. You must have the appropriate adapter to convert your laptop's output to a "VGA" connection. Drew University neither stocks nor sells these adapters; they can be purchased at any Apple store, among other places.

Connecting Your Laptop

1. Turn on your Mac laptop.

 

2. Turn on the projector via the touch panel or remote control, depending on what is available in the room.

 

3. Press the laptop button on the touch panel or use the remote control to select the source on the projector for the laptop.

 

4. Plug in the display adapter to your laptop. This adapter is required to connect with most standard projection systems, and is usually sold separately from your laptop.

 

5. Plug the VGA cable from the projection system to your adapter.

 

6. On your laptop, open the "System Preferences" dialogue box.

 

7. Click "Displays".

 

8. Click "Arrangement".  If the box for "Mirror Displays" is unchecked, check it.

9. Click "Display".

 

10. In the Resolutions window, select "1024x768" and for Refresh Rate select 60 Hertz.

11. Both the laptop and projector should now display the same image. Run whatever application you want to project as normal.

 

Apple's support site (http://www.apple.com/support/) may also be of assistance: Connect a display to your Mac.

The Media Resource Center (MRC) provides and supports VGA connection to the classroom systems. Mac users should be aware that in some situations Mac laptops are not able to complete the connection properly. We strongly advise that you call to schedule a test and demonstration well in advance of the day/time you plan on projecting from your Mac. You might also consider saving your material to a network or Google drive in a PC readable format as a backup if your room is equipped with a desktop computer.

Reviewed June 9, 2023

3 Comments

  1. John Muccigrosso

    Glad to see this. :-)

    In step 10, 670Hz is way too high. In my experience Macs will correctly detect available refresh rates and these will vary by projector type, so the user should simply select the highest available refresh rate.

    It's probably better to make clear in step 4 that you can't connect a VGA cable directly to a Mac, but must have some kind of adapter.

    Mirroring is the default, so maybe something like "The image being projected should match that on the computer screen. If it does not..."

    It's also likely that once the user does this, the Mac will remember the settings for the next time the external monitor is set up.

    1. Brian Gardner

      "670" was a typo, I've corrected it to say "60".  It is likely that it would work at 60, 70, 72, or 75 but since 60 is what I tested with I wanted to be as specific as possible when listing the "known working" settings.  In my experience, the visible difference between the refresh rates is often minimal anyway.

      I added a clarifying statement on step 4.

      In the testing I've done, it does not come up mirroring every single time.  To keep the directions comprehensive I'm leaving it in, but if it works in less steps or if the laptop remembers the display settings then that's  bonus.

      1. E. Axel Larsson

        That's good. My experience has been that mirroring actually isn't the defualt on a new display, but it does remember the setting once it is set.

        Maybe differences in OS versions.