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Atl360Pic
Participating Frequently
June 7, 2026
Question

Lightroom Classic preference switches secondary display

  • June 7, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 67 views

Lightroom Classic’s secondary display selection keeps switching from my preferred monitor to another connected monitor. This interrupts my editing workflow and forces me to manually reconfigure the setting.

I use a three-monitor setup. Lightroom Classic runs on my left monitor, which is Windows display #1. My preferred secondary display is Windows display #2, the middle monitor. I use that screen to review crop changes and overall edits while working in the Develop module on monitor #1. However, Lightroom Classic randomly changes the secondary display to Windows display #3, and I have to go back into Preferences and set it again.

This has been happening for years, and it occurs multiple times within an hour of editing. The repeated reconfiguration breaks my focus, and my current workaround is insufficient. I’m asking Adobe to confirm whether this is reproducible on their side.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Open Lightroom Classic.

  2. Use a three-monitor setup.

  3. Set the secondary display to Windows display #2 in Preferences > Display.

  4. Edit in Develop mode for a period of time.

  5. Observe that Lightroom Classic eventually changes the secondary display to Windows display #3.

  6. Reopen Preferences > Display and reset the secondary monitor selection.

Expected result: Lightroom Classic should keep the secondary display set to Windows display #2 until I change it.

Actual result: Lightroom Classic randomly switches the secondary display to Windows display #3, requiring manual reset.

 

System info

  • Lightroom Classic 15.3

  • Windows 10.0.19045

  • GPU: PNY GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB, Studio Driver 610.47

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X

  • RAM: 64 GB

  • Monitor #1: Dell U2711

  • Monitor #2: ASUS PA329

  • Monitor #3: ASUS 24"

    4 replies

    JohanElzenga
    Community Expert
    JohanElzengaCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    July 28, 2026

    I gave up on using the secondary display on my MacBook Pro with two external 4K screens, for exactly this reason. It doesn’t happen every day and so it’s difficult to reproduce on command, but this is a problem that has been reported many times, but is still not fixed. By coincidence, my wife (who is using the same computer setup) decided the same thing just today. She too was finally fed up with it.

    -- Johan W. Elzenga
    Sameer K
    Community Manager
    Sameer KCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    June 25, 2026

    Hey, @Atl360Pic. Welcome to the Lightroom Classic Community. In my quick tests on a Windows machine, I couldn't recreate this as described on Lightroom Classic v15.4.1.


    Are these monitors plugged directly into the GPU? Are these displays organized in the same order in Windows display settings? Could you record a video of this behavior?


    Thanks!
    Sameer K
    (Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

      A
      Atl360PicAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      July 27, 2026

      ​@Sameer K Thx for responding. All monitors are plugged into the GPU. The Windows system sees monitors as follows: LR program is displayed on mon#1, with resolution 2560x1440; mon#2 res 3840x2160 (my choice for 2nd display); mon#3 res 1920x1080. LR 2nd monitor preference are the same order as windows. Could the differing mon resolution sizes cause LR issues? The system and GPU resources needed to refresh mon#2 are higher than the resources required to refresh mon#3. Recording a video is tough because the issue occurs randomly and I would need to record all 3 monitors for a undetermined amount of time.

      During my editing I use the bigger second monitor to review cropping, checking the effects of brush stokes, doing A/B comparisons of all kinds of changes by clicking up and down the history stack. The GPU needs to refresh two monitors for every adjustment.

      I’d really appreciate turning this into the development team. This issue has happened with an older GPU (GTX 1660) and the newer GPU (GTX 5060 Ti). I’ve had the same 3 monitors for years and have had the issue for as long as I’ve used the 2nd monitor technique. I wish there was a way to “LOCK-IN” my monitor choice. Hope this helps understanding the issue.

      If you need a more direct way to communicate, give me a way here or DM me on IG.

      Thank you.

      A
      Atl360PicAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      July 28, 2026

      ​@Sameer K I need to add that this issue occurs after 20-30 minutes of editing. So it maybe related to GPU temps. I’ll monitor. Hope you can replicate.

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