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I have a current setup of two screens on my desktop, but every now and then I want to connect my tv as well. I currently have a HDMI switch to toggle from a screen to the tv, but that isn't working all too well.

If I just connect the tv straight into the pc, Windows will switch to three screens, as expected, but will do so regardless of whether the tv is on or not. So I'm looking for a way to be able to toggle the third screen on and off from within Windows. I can't find whether that is possible or not, because when I google, all I can find is stuff about turning touch-screens on or off.

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    You can simply set that screen to disabled from windows, and it is treated as disabled. Do note, if you unplug the cable, windows may uninstall the monitor and reinstall upon plugin in the cable which may reset your settings.
    – LPChip
    Commented Aug 4, 2018 at 20:09
  • Some keyboards come with a button does exactly that.
    – Nick
    Commented Aug 4, 2018 at 20:18
  • @LPChip Where can I find these settings? I can't find that option in the display settings accessed from right-clicking the desktop.
    – JAD
    Commented Aug 4, 2018 at 20:25
  • Enable/Disable Laptop Display w/ Hotkey?
    – DavidPostill ♦
    Commented Aug 4, 2018 at 20:33
  • @DavidPostill looks different. I'm basically looking for a way for windows to ignore a display when it's physically turned off, whereas your link seems to do the opposite. It might end up working the same though, so I'll take a look and see if I can make it work.
    – JAD
    Commented Aug 4, 2018 at 20:35

1 Answer 1

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You can set a monitor as connected or disconnected through the settings in Windows 10. This effectively enables/disables that monitor, but if you unplug the cable or on some monitors turn off the power, the monitor itself may get uninstalled and reinstalled upon turning on the monitor or plugging the cable in, and this may reset your settings.

In order to do this, do the following:

  • Open the Start menu
  • Press the Gear (settings) icon
  • Navigate to System
  • Click on Display
  • Choose the display you want to enable/disable
  • Scroll down to the section called Multiple Displays.
  • In the combobox alter the connection type
    • Extend to this display: The monitor is enabled.
    • Disconnect this display: The monitor is disabled.

It is not directly possible to do this from the commandline, but there are some tools available that do this for you, such as Nircmd.

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  • It should be noted that when there are less than 3 screens, the option Disconnect this display isn't available, but instead called "Show only on 1", and "Show only on 2".
    – JAD
    Commented Aug 5, 2018 at 20:06
  • @JAD that should not be the case. If it changes to show only on 1 and 2, it is usually a driver that changes this.
    – LPChip
    Commented Aug 5, 2018 at 20:32
  • Hmm, interesting. That does explain why I didn't find this option myself though :-p
    – JAD
    Commented Aug 5, 2018 at 20:51
  • If that is indeed the case, then you can also use your driver's software to change it there. The naming should be mostly the same as in my answer. I know NVIDIA tends to do this.
    – LPChip
    Commented Aug 5, 2018 at 20:53

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