How to keep macbook on when its is closed

chscag said:

I don't understand why that's happening. Although I had used wired components (keyboard and mouse) it should work the same way with wireless but I can't confirm that. The only thing I can suggest is if you have a wired mouse try it with that to see if it works OK.

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Yeah, the wired mouse didn't make a difference. It may just be a Lion issue. Obviously, the easiest way to work in this setup is to use Mirror Mode, so that see I can see all my content from my MB Air (the dock, files, etc). As you say, it also allows the laptop to cool properly.

However, in mirror mode, as soon as the MB Air is re-opened, and the mouse is moved, the laptop wakes up, and it reverts the external monitor back to the same display settings as the Air (which is not ideal). If I keep the laptop closed, all is well, but then it'll heat up.

MBP 10.6.8

I comprehend the general principles of mirroring, clamshelling, etc...but I can't do this without physically opening and closing my MBP?

I use it with a samsung monitor (native: 1080). I clamshell the MBP, then wake via BT Trackpad or keyboard, which offers the best screen fit and resolution, but then I open the MBP so as to dissipate as much heat as possible.

This creates issues when I wake up this morning after an unsuccessful Friday night out (success being measured by distance traveled - from home - and relative hotness of bed sharer...relative, that is, to relative hotness as measured by last nights standards) and want to watch Archer but my MBP being open causes my displays to mirror, which causes poor screen fit or stretch, because none of the resolutions seem to be appropriate for mirroring.

so my problem is...I'm not getting any, and I think I want my MBP to stay 'clamshelled' while physically open. Why isn't there a keystroke for this?

Thanks - plug in Power helps

cworth said:

As people have said, just plug in the monitor and external keyboard and power cord and click a key on the keyboard. This allows your laptop video display to really sleep and your CPU and GPU are free to do their awesome things.

My addition: You must be plugged in (not on battery) to do this. Yes it works on Lion and a 2011 Macbook Pro, but only if it's plugged in ! Hadn't been mentioned yet on this thread, and seein as it's the first one that pops up on Google, it should be.

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THANK YOU.
I got a bit annoyed since all these tips didn't seem to work. The power cable does the trick and the above mentioned steps work. You can also open up the lid again for some cooling without waking the display. Great. Full resolution Workspace!