How do I set up my MacBookPro so that it uses a monitor?

Question

I recently bought a monitor for my laptop, and I want to set up it as a docking station so I can put my laptop away under my desk. But I am confused on what settings to change.

Answer 1

This can be done.
Either using:
'Clamshell mode': in which the screen stays on, and closing the lid does not effect the external display. (I am not going to explain this mode, as it can result in overheating)
Temporarily disabling the Internal Screen.
This is done using terminal and it works. I was nervous trying it, but thankfully nothing went wrong.
ENSURE THE EXTERNAL MONITOR IS SELECTED AS PRIMARY DISPLAY!
Open Terminal
To temporarily disable the internal screen in OS X Lion ONLY!
sudo nvram boot-args="iog=0x0"
You’ll need to reboot for changes to take effect, and the internal display will then be completely disabled regardless of whether the Mac is open or closed.
To undo this, you can go back to the Terminal (Using only the external monitor) and enter:
sudo nvram -d boot-args
Then reboot again.
Or To undo this, rather than typing the Command into Terminal:
Just zap PRAM by holding down Command+Option+P+R during reboot, which clears out the boot-args as well. If you were to disconnect the MacBook Pro from an external video source, zapping the PRAM would be how you’d want to reenable the internal display.
Everything worked fine on my Macbok Pro 13" Early 2011.
Make sure you print of the instructions to have the Commands at your hand