Support

Product: Monitor Input Keys for Windows (Stream Deck plugin) · Provider: GRAMSHIFT (Tokyo, Japan)

Contact

Email contact@gramshift.com in English or Japanese. We reply within 7 business days, usually sooner. Please include your Windows version, your Stream Deck app version, the monitor's make and model, how it is connected (HDMI, DisplayPort, USB-C, through a dock or adapter), and, if possible, a photo or screenshot of the key and of the Status line in its settings.

Before you start: DDC/CI and a way back

The plugin switches inputs with DDC/CI, the control channel in the video cable. Most desktop monitors have it, but some ship with it turned off: open the monitor's own on-screen menu and turn on DDC/CI (sometimes under "Other", "System" or "Setup").
Laptop screens do not support it. Many docks, adapters, KVM switches and DisplayLink connections do not pass it on; connect the monitor directly to test.
Plan how you will come back. When you switch a monitor to another input, it shows the other computer or device. This PC often loses the monitor then (usual for DisplayPort and USB-C), so it can not switch it back. Switch back from the other computer (for example with this plugin on a Stream Deck there, or the monitor maker's software) or with the monitor's own buttons.

Switch Input

Install the plugin from the Elgato Marketplace. In the Stream Deck app, find Monitor Input Keys for Windows in the action list and drag Switch Input onto a key.
Select the key. Choose the Monitor (the list shows the monitors connected now; the button next to it looks again). With only one monitor you can leave it empty.
Choose Switch to: DisplayPort 1 or 2, HDMI 1 or 2, USB-C, DVI or VGA. If your monitor uses other values, choose Other and enter the Input code (the value of VCP code 0x60, for example 0x11 or 17). The Status line shows the inputs the monitor itself reports.
Press the key. The first press only shows where the monitor will go: an amber frame and PRESS AGAIN. Press again within 3 seconds to switch. A press that comes later, or after you changed the key's settings or page, is a first press again. You can choose Press: Once for a key that switches at the first press.

Cycle Inputs

Drag Cycle Inputs onto a key, choose the monitor and tick at least two Inputs to go through, including the one this PC is connected to. Until two are ticked the key shows choose inputs and does not switch. The Status line shows the inputs the monitor itself reports, as a hint only: some monitors leave out the input they are connected to, so the plugin never goes through that list on its own.
The key shows the input it goes to next (the one after the current input). Press twice, as above, to switch.

What the key shows

Key	Meaning
`now DP 1`	The monitor's current input. `now ?`: the monitor did not report it (some monitors can switch but not report the input).
Green frame, `active`	The monitor is on the input this key switches to.
Amber frame, `PRESS AGAIN`	Press again within 3 seconds to switch. Nothing has been sent yet.
Green, `SWITCHED`	The monitor reports the new input.
Green, `SENT` / `monitor left PC`	The switch was sent and the monitor then disappeared from Windows: it is showing the other input now.
Gray, `SENT`	The switch was sent, but the monitor still reports another input, or reports nothing. Some monitors ignore an input with nothing connected to it.
`ALREADY`	The monitor was on that input already; nothing was sent.
`no DDC/CI`, or red `NO DDC/CI`	The monitor did not answer DDC/CI. See "Before you start". The Status line in the settings gives the Windows error code.
`not connected`, or red `NO MONITOR`	The chosen monitor is not connected to this PC now (or is on another input, see above).
Red, `NO ANSWER`	The monitor did not answer in time. Try again; if it keeps happening, connect the monitor directly (not through a dock).
`helper error`	The plugin's helper (Windows PowerShell) could not start. The Status line gives PowerShell's reason. On a company PC, a policy may block it; ask your administrator.

Common questions

Can it switch back to this PC?
Only while this PC can still see the monitor. With HDMI many monitors stay visible and a second key switches back; with DisplayPort and USB-C the monitor usually disappears from this PC until it is switched back from elsewhere.

My monitor uses other input numbers.
Some makers use their own values (for example some LG models). The Status line lists the values the monitor reports; use Other with one of them.

Several monitors.
Each key switches one monitor; choose it in the key's settings. The key shows the monitor's name and its Windows display number, for example DELL U2720Q (1). The monitor is remembered by the id Windows gives it. If you move its cable to another port while the plugin runs, it is found again as long as it is the only monitor of that model. Two monitors of the same model are never mixed up: when one of them is away (on another input), its keys say not connected and do not switch the other one; after a cable move you may have to choose the monitor again. A monitor on a duplicated ("Duplicate these displays") display is not switched, because Windows does not say which physical monitor is which; use "Extend".

Does it change other monitor settings?
No. It only writes the input setting (VCP code 0x60). It reads the current input and the list of inputs the monitor reports.

Does it run as administrator?
No. It uses Windows PowerShell as a small hidden helper with the same Windows account and permissions as the Stream Deck app. You may see powershell.exe in Task Manager while the plugin is in use. It ends when the Stream Deck app closes, or ten minutes after its last request; while a key of this plugin is on screen, the key checks the monitor's input every five minutes, so the helper keeps running then.

Does it work on Mac?
No. This plugin is for Windows 10 or later only.

Privacy

The plugin runs entirely on your PC and sends no data anywhere. See the Privacy Policy.