Apple has lengthy provided a laptop computer choice while you need to use simply an exterior show in mirrored mode and never view the interior monitor. You’ll be able to shut the clamshell lid, and your separate display screen continues to work. However what if you wish to have exterior gadgets energetic and don’t want a show? One reader, as an illustration, desires to maintain a webcam energetic however shut their laptop computer’s lid.

Apple doesn’t present a “headless’ choice, and I can’t discover third-party software program designed for client fashions. It may be undoable.

You’ll be able to preserve the lid opened a little bit bit and set it in order that its show dims after a brief interval:

• In Monterey or earlier, go to System Preferences > Battery, and within the Energy Adapter view, examine “Forestall your Mac from mechanically sleeping when the show is off.”
• In Ventura, go to System Settings > Shows, click on Superior, after which allow “Forestall computerized sleeping on energy adapter when the show is off.”

An alternative choice is to connect a tiny, cheap exterior show and set the identical particulars as above. As an illustration, this $60 7-inch show designed for gaming and Raspberry programs would work.

It will possibly appear a little bit ridiculous to connect a $100, 10-inch monitor to your multi-hundred or thousand-dollar-plus laptop computer to have it preserve operating, but when it does the trick for what you want, your drawback is solved. Word you may’t simply flip the ability off on the exterior show: it can seem as unavailable to macOS and change show management again to the interior display screen.

This Mac 911 article is in response to a query submitted by Macworld reader Me.

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