Dual Monitors

I am using a Macbook pro and 30" NEC monitor. I have no problem viewing images on both monitors but when I edit an image, I am only able to use editing tools on the smaller monitor. I have been able to work around this my going into display preferences and making the larger NEC dominant. However, when I do this, I loose any control on the smaller laptop to do unrelated things. How do I get around this and still be able to edit images on the NEC? Thanks.

I am new to MBP. This has worked well so far but there should be a better way: With both monitors on, using a mouse, I drag the Lightroom opening page to my larger monitor, and work on the images there...this maintains my ability to use the MBP for other things at the same time.
Good Luck

If you enable one monitor as the 'main' one, that is where all the icons, the desktop, the dock and everything will be assigned.

In Lightroom, the main monitor is always the one where the 'controls' are. In photoshop you can move the panels off to the secondary display but not in lightroom. YOu can drag the LR to any monitor but that's where the control and adjustment panels will be. However, there are several useful ways to employ the secondary display.

You can for example, make the bigger monitor do the loupe view and then when you click on the image there, it becomes full size at 100%, and you can still see the 'smaller' version on the MBP and make the adjustments there, while visualizing the effects on the bigger display. I have two 30" monitors and still find this technique very useful as the files with the A7R are huge. You can also just be on the grid view on the MBP and have the big monitor display each image large size as you click on it (or if you enable 'live' viewing, just hovering over it with the mouse).

Pradeep