Manually put monitor into standby?

[GFree]

Is there a program I can download (or a command built into Windows, Vista specifically) which will allow me to manually tell my monitor to go into standby, rather than having it wait the 5 or so minutes it does automatically? For example, I might be using my laptop and need to walk away from the computer for a short while but keep it running. To save power I could just close the lid, but a simple click on an icon would be more efficient.

 

Not a critical request I suppose, particularly since the only searches I've found so far relate to software that some morons seem to insist on charging money for what should be a trivial action.

[(MoC)]

Go to the power settings and adjust the thing that tells you how long to wait until the screen dims to your liking.

[GFree]

Uhg. Two things:

 

(1) I'm not going to pay money for such a program. Either it's free or I don't bother. Triggering a monitor standby sounds like a simple function call to the power management subsystem, and I believe I made it clear that only morons would charge for such a task.

 

(2) I asked for a way to make it go into standby mode MANUALLY. Why the hell was I given advice on adjusting the automatic standby timer? That's not what was asked.

 

(3) This is a Windows subforum. I've tried Linux so many times and am tired of such a {censored} OS. If I wanted help for anything other than Windows - I would have posted elsewhere.

 

Jesus, bunch of idiots here who don't bother to read a {censored} question properly. Forget it.

[Dermatea]

Alright, I've found the best way to do this.

Get the free program Shutter here: http://www.den4b.com/projects/Shutter/Shutter.zip

Extract the file and launch Shutter.exe. In "Options", under the "General" tab, click "Create Links to All Shutdown Actions" and put all the links on your Desktop. Delete all the links except for "Monitor Turn Off". After that, simply double-click the shortcut and your monitor will instantly turn off. Or better yet, place the shortcut in the Quick Launch bar to turn off your monitor in just one click. Additionally, Windows allows you to add a hotkey to any shortcut on the Desktop. Simply right-click the icon, select "Properties", under the "Shortcut" tab, enter the key you want to assign as your hotkey in the "Shortcut key:" box. After that, press the hotkey (or hotkey combination) anytime and the shortcut will activate. Note that for the hotkey to work, the shortcut must be present on the Desktop and will not work with shortcuts in the Quick Launch bar. (And if you are bothered by the redundant message that pops up when you place the shortcut in the Quick Launch bar, just clear the "Comment:" box under the "Shortcut" tab in "Properties".)

 

And if you want a more flexible, free, command-line option, get Display Power Management:

http://noeld.com/programs.asp?cat=misc#Display (scroll all the way down)

With this, you can turn off your monitor or invoke low-power or screensaver mode from within a command prompt. You can even use it like this guy did:

 

"I was looking for a solution for a kiosk machine that would turn off the screens automatically at a specific time of day and turn them back on the next morning. This program did EXACTLY what I needed in a simple, no-frills command line manner that is executed from Windows Scheduler. In a word, it works perfectly. It turns off all four LCD monitors at the desired time and turns them back on the next morning (four LCD displays attached to a single, quad-head video card)."

 

And if you like Shutter, check out DirectShutDown: http://www.dlao.com/directshutdown/