How to change Windows 10 projection mode with a keyboard shortcut

Windows 10 has four different projection modes that work with secondary monitors or TVs connected to your PC. To change the projection mode, you can tap the Win+P keyboard shortcut to open the Project panel and you can select whether you want to use both screens, a single screen, or duplicate your screens. If you find yourself visiting this panel often, you can change the Windows 10 projection mode with a keyboard shortcut. Here’s how to set it up.

Change Windows 10 projection mode

There are several different ways to create this shortcut however, we’re going to go with possibly the easiest one. Open File Explorer and navigate to the following location.

C:\Windows\System32

Look for an app called DisplaySwitch.exe. Right-click it and select Send to> Desktop (create shortcut). Go to the desktop and right-click the newly created shortcut to DisplaySwitch.exe, and select ‘Properties’ from the context menu.

The first thing you have to do is make a change in the Target field. The change depends on the projection mode you want to use. Add a space at the end of the path in the Target field and enter one of the following.

For Duplicate mode: /clone

For Extend mode: /extend

For PC screen only mode: /internal

For second screen only mode: /external

You can only use one switch with one shortcut so if you want to use it for different projection modes, you’ll need to create more than one shortcut.

After you change the target field, you have to set a keyboard shortcut for it. On the same General tab on the Properties window, you will see a Shortcut key field. Click inside it and tap a letter or number key. It will be executed with the Ctrl+Alt keys. The shortcut will let you change the projection mode.

The Project side panel will still open and in some cases, it might take a second or two for the mode to switch but it will work. As for the Project panel, if you’re looking for a way to do this silently/in the background without it opening, there isn’t one. This is simple and it works.

We should mention that you will have to keep the shortcut on your desktop. You cannot move it to a different drive. To keep everything tidy, create a folder on the desktop and move the shortcut(s) to it. The keyboard shortcut will still work in this scenario. As for the Ctrl and Alt keys, there’s no avoiding them. They’re added automatically.