Setting up a second monitor

[Jean Hollis Weber]

Hi, I'm a fairly new user of Ubuntu and completely new to Linux. 
Although I have been using computers for over 35 years, I am not 
a programmer, just a user. :-)

I am using 5.10 (Breezy?) on a dual-boot Dell Inspiron 510m 
laptop. I want to use a second monitor as an extension of the 
desktop. Is this possible? At the moment the second monitor is 
not displaying anything (no signal at all), and I don't know 
where to start.

This setup works fine under Windows, so I know the hardware is 
compatible. I'm just clueless about setting up the software. If 
this is written up in the documentation somewhere, a pointer to 
the right place would be fine. I'm a bit daunted by the volume of 
available information.

Thanks!
--Jean