Displaylink adapter for Mac
 

Hi I have a 21inch iMac 2017 and wanted to connect it to my work HP laptop so I could use its screen. Since I already had a DVI cable at home which connected to my laptop I bought the display link USB to DVI adapter and connected both. I can see in the system report that my iMac has registered the display link adapter but I am unable to extend my screen on my iMac. Please excuse my ignorance but is there something obvious that I am missing? Please advise.

Misunderstanding
 

I think you misunderstand how DisplayLink works.

DisplayLink adapters are used to connect a workstation to an external standalone display.

Your iMac is a workstation, and your HP laptop is a workstation. You can use the DisplayLink adapter to connect your Mac to a separate display or your HP laptop to a separate display, but not your HP laptop to your Mac or your Mac yo your HP laptop.

Did that make sense? Let us know if you need any more clarification.

Awesome, thanks. I clearly misunderstood it.
thanks for clearing it up.