After reading a number of very positive reviews on this forum for the Acer T232HL Touchscreen monitor, I decided to buy one. I now have it connected to my iMac and am very pleased with it. However, I am less pleased with the user manual. I don’t think I have ever come across a worse user manual, and that’s saying some in an age in which the most advanced technology products are still sold with instructions written in incomprehensible gibberish by geeks in mistake-ridden English guaranteed to turn the most easy-going and placid human into a gibbering idiot.
The first few pages of the “manual” were taken up with the usual “safety” information. Then came a page which utterly I failed to understand, accompanied by a tiny diagram which I defy anyone on the planet to comprehend. The instructions referred to a collection of cables which differed from those actually supplied, with a number of them described as optional. It was wholly unclear which and how many cables it was necessary to connect to the computer.
The Hauptwerk forum has a lot of information about drivers needed if you want to connect two touchscreens to a Mac, but I couldn’t find a set of simple instructions detailing in simple English how to connect one touchscreen monitor to the iMac. I couldn’t find them anywhere else on the internet either.
Having now actually managed to connect the monitor to my iMac, I thought I would post a set of instructions on the forum that might be of use to anyone in the same situation. If you follow these instructions the whole process should take only a few minutes. When you buy the monitor I strongly suggest that you order or buy an HDMI cable, a longer USB 3 cable than the one supplied and an Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter at the same time (see below for details), otherwise you will be stuck with a monitor you can’t connect until you’ve been shopping.
1. Buy an HDMI cable (it didn’t come with the monitor). Make sure it’s long enough.
2. Buy an Apple adapter which enables you to connect the HDMI cable to the iMac. It’s called a USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter and it costs £69 in English money. (USB C is different from USB 3. There are currently two USB C (also called Thunderbolt) sockets and four USB 3 sockets on the back of a 21” iMac.)
3. With the monitor and the computer turned off, plug one end of the HDMI cable into the socket at the BACK of the monitor. Plug the other end of the HDMI cable into the USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter.
4. Plug the other end of the USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter into the USB C socket on the back of the iMac.
5. Find the USB 3 cable. It came with the monitor - it may not be long enough, it’s only 175cm long - you may need to buy a longer one - not many shops sell USB cables and many people in shops will try to sell you a USB 2 cable instead - check the writing along the cable itself, it says USB 3 - make sure it’s got an “A” end and a “B” end - you can also buy a USB 3 extension cable for three times the price)
6. Plug one end of the USB 3 cable into the socket at the BACK of the monitor. This end of the USB 3 cable is known as the “B” end. (Do not try to use any of the USB 3 “A” sockets on the side of the monitor)
7. Plug the other (“A”) end of the USB 3 cable into one of the USB 3 sockets on the back of the iMac.
8. Connect the power supply to the back of the monitor and switch it on (button on the bottom right hand side of the monitor).
9. Turn on the iMac.
10. On the iMac, open System Preferences. Open Displays. Click Arrangements. Tick the box next to Mirror Displays.
You should now have a mirror image of your iMac screen on the Acer monitor and you should be able to use it as a touchscreen, e.g. to operate the stops, pistons etc. You will need a Touchbase driver for more sophosticated gestures.
This is as far as I have got. In the future I intend to buy a second Acer monitor so that I can use the two as touchscreens for the left and right stop jambs. I know this will involve buying a Touchbase driver and further complications. I’m fine for now.
I hope these instructions are of use to others.
The first few pages of the “manual” were taken up with the usual “safety” information. Then came a page which utterly I failed to understand, accompanied by a tiny diagram which I defy anyone on the planet to comprehend. The instructions referred to a collection of cables which differed from those actually supplied, with a number of them described as optional. It was wholly unclear which and how many cables it was necessary to connect to the computer.
The Hauptwerk forum has a lot of information about drivers needed if you want to connect two touchscreens to a Mac, but I couldn’t find a set of simple instructions detailing in simple English how to connect one touchscreen monitor to the iMac. I couldn’t find them anywhere else on the internet either.
Having now actually managed to connect the monitor to my iMac, I thought I would post a set of instructions on the forum that might be of use to anyone in the same situation. If you follow these instructions the whole process should take only a few minutes. When you buy the monitor I strongly suggest that you order or buy an HDMI cable, a longer USB 3 cable than the one supplied and an Apple USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter at the same time (see below for details), otherwise you will be stuck with a monitor you can’t connect until you’ve been shopping.
1. Buy an HDMI cable (it didn’t come with the monitor). Make sure it’s long enough.
2. Buy an Apple adapter which enables you to connect the HDMI cable to the iMac. It’s called a USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter and it costs £69 in English money. (USB C is different from USB 3. There are currently two USB C (also called Thunderbolt) sockets and four USB 3 sockets on the back of a 21” iMac.)
3. With the monitor and the computer turned off, plug one end of the HDMI cable into the socket at the BACK of the monitor. Plug the other end of the HDMI cable into the USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter.
4. Plug the other end of the USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter into the USB C socket on the back of the iMac.
5. Find the USB 3 cable. It came with the monitor - it may not be long enough, it’s only 175cm long - you may need to buy a longer one - not many shops sell USB cables and many people in shops will try to sell you a USB 2 cable instead - check the writing along the cable itself, it says USB 3 - make sure it’s got an “A” end and a “B” end - you can also buy a USB 3 extension cable for three times the price)
6. Plug one end of the USB 3 cable into the socket at the BACK of the monitor. This end of the USB 3 cable is known as the “B” end. (Do not try to use any of the USB 3 “A” sockets on the side of the monitor)
7. Plug the other (“A”) end of the USB 3 cable into one of the USB 3 sockets on the back of the iMac.
8. Connect the power supply to the back of the monitor and switch it on (button on the bottom right hand side of the monitor).
9. Turn on the iMac.
10. On the iMac, open System Preferences. Open Displays. Click Arrangements. Tick the box next to Mirror Displays.
You should now have a mirror image of your iMac screen on the Acer monitor and you should be able to use it as a touchscreen, e.g. to operate the stops, pistons etc. You will need a Touchbase driver for more sophosticated gestures.
This is as far as I have got. In the future I intend to buy a second Acer monitor so that I can use the two as touchscreens for the left and right stop jambs. I know this will involve buying a Touchbase driver and further complications. I’m fine for now.
I hope these instructions are of use to others.