Program Monitor Disappears

[SpiderCircle]

Hey Premiere Gurus!

I hope you can help me solve this minor issue. My set up is two monitors where my right one displays the program monitor full screen.

For some reason when I move to Export it disappears, which is normal as Premiere is temporarily combining the interface. However when I return to the Edit tab the program monitor stays gone.

I try going to Window and find Program Monitor unchecked with a > leading to the name of my sequence, which is checked.

The only way I can get it to return is by closing the project and reopening, which is lame and time consuming.

What is happening here and how can I fix so it does not disappear altogether or returns when back on Edit?

Thanks you so much!

[PaulMurphy]

To help you troubleshoot the issue, I need to understand how you added the Program Monitor to your second monitor. Did you drag the Program Monitor from the Application window to the second monitor, or did you use a different method?

Cheers,
Paul

[SpiderCircle]

Yes! The program monitor was dragged from the application window to the second monitor. My workspace has been saved like this for years. 

[Brett_Rooftop]

Did you find a fix?

[R Neil Haugen]

Don't do that!

Use what is intended for that, the Transmit Out step. Go to the Preferences, and there is an option in one of the tabs for turning on Transmit Out, and selecting which monitor will be used.

I also set a keyboard shortcut of Shift-C for this so I can toggle on/off.

Then if you want the image full screen on the other monitor, use your keyboard short, it's there. And it won't change due to export steps because it's not a floating window.

[Brett_Rooftop]

Good tip Neil. I'm going to explore that solution. I have been using my program monitor on my second screen paired with a second panel of tabs (Effects controls, Essential Sound, Source monitor) and love that setup. So changing this arrangement will take some getting used to.

[R Neil Haugen]

Understood.

I've got an ultrawide 2560x1080 as my main Windows UI screen ... above it, a UHD 28" diagonal screen, that I only use for TO in Prmiere; to the left of the main UI monitor is a Dell ultrasharp 1920x1080 that always has a panel group with my Production and Projects and Source monitor in one panel, and typically Effects tab in a tall narrow panel along the edge 'next' to the Ultrawide.

I've got a small monitor to the right of the Ultrawide that I use in like 3 of my 9 custom spaces. But with changes to the EGP gone and Properties panel doing more, I need to spend a couple hours and rebuild my workspaces. I think probably at least three of them will get ditched.

But everybody works differently ... 

[Brett_Rooftop]

Sounds like a great setup! 

[R Neil Haugen]

It's useful. I like it ...  😉

[chriswithcamera]

Exact same problem. 

I use a second monitor and once I click EXPORT the program monitor vanishes and will only reappear by using the FULL SCREEN button, which is not what I want and does not have the same utility. 

[chriswithcamera]

Found a fix.

Workspace > ALL PANELS > Workspace (back to whatever you were using when it vanished).

[Brett_Rooftop]

It is a fix, but if you have multiple sequences open (pancake timelines etc) then when you reset your workspace you lose all of those and have to re-open them.

[aaronfross]

OK, I have some very choice four letter words for this behavior. If I loosened my inhibitions just slightly and stated my true feelings on the matter, I would probably be insta-banned from these forums forever.

So, the sanitized version of my true feelings is that I am filled with irrational rage. And left wondering who is making UX decisions about these things.

The whole idea that the interface goes away when Exporting is a massive UX fail. When a user wants to export, that's all they want. They don't want the entire interface to change to some other bogus mode.

Second, the desired interface is something that the user may have spent a lot of time setting up. If it goes away, that is bad. But if it never comes back, that is INCREDIBLY HORRIBLE.

It's these sorts of epic UX fails that make Premiere extremely burdensome to work with.

[R Neil Haugen]

I've been using Premiere for over a decade. I've nine custom workspaces that use 3 or 4 monitors depending on the individual workspaces. If I use the Transmit Out on one screen, which I do for most of them. 

I never ever have a problem with the program monitor disappearing.

So I'm thinking it might be due to how you're setting that up. Tell us and let's see if we can get that maddening behavior fixed.

[aaronfross]

The length of time one has spent using an application is not an objective measure of their expertise, neutrality, or level of insight.

I have a very good reason for using the Program Monitor as a window, and not as a Transmit destination. Namely, I am using a color-critical Eizo monitor with a resolution of 2560x1440. My work is all 1920x1080. It is extremely important that I see the video at native resolution. Not scaled up to fit the monitor. Which brings up another issue, which is that the Program Monitor always reverts to Fit mode, and it does not remember my preference for 100% scaling.

I could probably configure the monitor to not scale the 1080p source in Transmit mode, but I use many applications and need to switch between them seamlessly. It's not all about Premiere. If anything, Premiere is a necessary evil, and it is most certainly not my primary tool.

And of course, the Program Monitor UI has many controls and displays that are lost if one uses Transmit mode.

Additionally, I want to see the audio meters at full screen height directly next to the program.

So rather than assume that I am approaching this the wrong way, give me the benefit of the doubt that I might actually know what I'm doing and have set up my workspace with intent and consideration for my creative needs.

[R Neil Haugen]

I'm sorry you took a gently worded pist as somehow insulting. Which was not intended.

I did mention experience as that is most useful in establishing a base point for assistance.

I would note, I was trying to *politely* get details as you had not given any. Had you shared tge information of your second post, we could have started a more fruitful discussion.

Now with those details,  we can definitely note that issue that we users cannot set a default sizing for the program monitor. AGAIN.

As this is something that gas come up numerous times over the last decade. And for which I have argued for that setting. Because in specific workflows like yours (and several others of course) this is simply needed.

THAT is the detail that  needs to ge stated here for the devs. And maybe an Idea posts would more directly get to them.

[aaronfross]

Already went down that path. As is well known when dealing with Very Large Software Corporations, the Ideas forum is where important user concerns are sent to die.

[R Neil Haugen]

I've seen too many things from the Idea ... or the old Feature Request page ... make it into Premiere to be able to give that comment credence.

There is of course a major disconnect between the way we users see things and the devs. From talking with the devs, there are always thousands of user requests/ideas ... and also, the ones with the most support "by the numbers" are often things most of the more um ... perhaps paid? ... userslike thee and me, would find rather absurd. 

Add in that no one ever edits like anyone else, of the millions of daily users of these apps. Which is always the most fascinating part of NAB for me, the aisle-way discussions with other attendees.

So what any of us thinks is most logical and useful ... might not be even thought of interest, by another major user. Let alone those with vastly different workflows and deliverable needs.

So I've gotten a bit more understanding of the difficulty in choosing what gets done/added.