Display Switch Shortcut - Create

How to Create a "Display Switch" Shortcut in Windows 7​

   Information

This will show you how to create or download a Display Switch shortcut to use to change the presentation mode for how your desktop is displayed in Windows 7.

   Note

You can also press the Windows Key + P to open Display Switch.

EXAMPLE: Display Switch
NOTE: This is what the shortcut in OPTION ONE, and the first choice in step 2 of OPTION TWO, will open to select how you want your desktop to be displayed.

OPTION ONE

To Download a "Display Switch" Shortcut

1. Click on the Download button below to download the file below.
NOTE: This shortcut opens Display Switch.
Display_Switch.zip


Download


2. Click on Save, and save the .zip file to the desktop.

3. Open the .zip file and extract the Display Switch shortcut to the desktop.

4. Right click on the Display Switch shortcut, and click on Properties, General tab, and on the Unblock button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you do not have a Unblock button under the General tab, then the shortcut is already unblocked and you can continue on to step 5.

5. You can now Pin to Taskbar or Pin to Start Menu this shortcut, assign a keyboard shortcut to it, or move it where you like for easy use.

6. When done, you can delete the downloaded .zip file on the desktop if you like, or save it to use again.

OPTION TWO

Manually Create "Display Switch" Shortcuts

1. Right click on a empty area on desktop, and click on New and Shortcut. (See screenshot below)

2. Type in one of the commands below into the location area that you want, and click on the Next button. (See screenshot below)

• Opens Display Switch

%windir%\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe

• Switches to External or "Projector" Display Immediately

%windir%\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /external

• Switches to "Computer only" Display Immediately

%windir%\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /internal

• Switches to "Duplicate" Display Immediately

%windir%\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /clone

• Switches to "Extend" Display Immediately

%windir%\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /extend

3. Type Display Switch for the name, and click on the Finish button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You can name this anything you would like though.

4. You can now Pin to Taskbar or Pin to Start Menu this shortcut, assign a keyboard shortcut to it, or move it where you like for easy use.
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Change the Windows 7 Display Presentation Mode
• How to Change the Main Display in Windows 7
• How to Create a Connect to a Network Projector Shortcut in Windows 7

 

[seomantor]

Why not create up to 4 shortcuts to switch automaticly

C:\Windows\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /external
C:\Windows\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /internal
C:\Windows\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /clone
C:\Windows\System32\DisplaySwitch.exe /extend

 

[Brink]

Hello Seomantor, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Thank you for sharing this tip.

 

[homamkeh]

hotkeys using Autohotkey

Hey all,

I had a problem when switching from my dual monitor setup to my projector and back. I wrote this simple ahk script that launches the commands that Brink posted above.

the problem was that sometimes when i turn off my projector the screen would not come back to my dual monitor setup, forcing me to turn the projector back on and manually hitting win + P to hit extended and everything would go back to normal.

Anyways, you will need to install autohotkey.
to use the attached script. the hotkeys are as follows:


ctrl+alt + E (For extended)
ctrl+alt + I (For Internal)
ctrl+alt + C (For clone)
ctrl+alt + P (for projector)


Note that you will need to change the extension from .txt to .ahk for it to be used with autohotkey. you can switch back to .txt for editing (change the shortcuts or whatever you like!)

hope this helps!

 

[alphanumeric]

Thank you, this should save some wear and tear on my keyboard. I often switch from dual to single and back again when playing games.

 

[smsff7]

This is a very handy guide and I thank you. Although sadly my system sees it backwards with the TV as the computer monitor as it is connected with HDMI and my monitor as the external as it is connected with DVI, not sure how to fix it, but bleh not sure if it is worth it

 

[Brink]

Hey smsff,

If the monitor has a different connection that you can use, you might see how it works with it instead for now.

 

[MachineTheory]

Can you specify Displays by #?
Due to my video card's port config, my primary monitor is identified as #3.

 

[Brink]

Hello MachineTheory, and welcome to Seven Forums.

If you like, you might find using the MultiMonitorTool at the link below may work better for this.

MultiMonitorTool.exe /switch 3

Enable/disable/configure multiple monitors on Windows