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I have really special needs for my multi-monitor setup on Windows 10. Depending on what I'm doing, I use 2 to 3 monitors.

When I'm working I mostly use 2 monitors - one for coding and the other for displaying the results. This means I focus on only one monitor at a time. So I would like to completely shut down (as when you disabled it from system settings or unplug it) the one which is not focused - which doesn't contain the working and focused window. Windows Key + P doesn't work, as it is really annoying to use because: 1) it migrates all windows to one monitor, usually making a mess of your setup; 2) it can have trouble when dealing with different resolutions, which is my case (I have a monitor constrained to 1600x1200).

When I develop in my free time, I often have 3 monitors. One is set to some kind of video (be it a tutorial I'm following or Netflix if I'm doing something really repetitive) while I work on the other ones, which should behave like described above. In this way I will have 2 active monitors - one reproducing a video and one focused - and one completely shut down.

Is there an app that allows to do this? If not, I have programming skill in C/C++ and, to a lesser extent, in Java and Phyton and a basic understanding of OS, so can you point me in the right direction to write something that would solve the problem?

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  • What is "W + P"? By "completely shut down" you mean switched off or blank?
    – harrymc
    Commented Sep 25, 2020 at 7:43
  • By W+P I mean Windows key + P (edited). I want the shut down monitor to be completely blank (nothing to display) while the corresponding windows are not moved to a different monitor. Commented Sep 25, 2020 at 8:05
  • Shut down means turned off electrically, or you just don't wish to see the screen? Is the monitor connected by VGA, HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort or else? What is your display adapter?
    – harrymc
    Commented Sep 25, 2020 at 9:05
  • I don't want to turn it off electrically, just don't want to see anything (completely black display). I use multiple adapters (1 VGA, 1/2 HDMI, in the future maybe also 1 DVI), but I don't think it really matters as it's more of a software problem, right? Commented Sep 25, 2020 at 10:54
  • You could use a program that will throw up a black screen, if that's what you want.
    – harrymc
    Commented Sep 25, 2020 at 15:20

1 Answer 1

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You could use MultiMonitorTool and control via command line / scripts. It supports Win 10 x64

Examples:

MultiMonitorTool.exe /disable 1
MultiMonitorTool.exe /disable 1 2 3 

/enable <Monitors> - Enables the specified monitors.

Examples:

MultiMonitorTool.exe /enable 3
MultiMonitorTool.exe /enable 3 2

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