How to Turn Off the Screen Using Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows

Sometimes you may need to quickly turn off your screen without putting your computer to sleep or shutting it down. This can help save battery life or simply reduce distractions. Let's go over a few ways you can turn off your screen using keyboard shortcuts in Windows.

1. Use the Win + L Shortcut

The easiest way to turn off your screen is by locking your computer with Win + L. This will lock the screen, and it may turn off after a few seconds, depending on your power settings. Your computer will still be running, but it will protect your data while you are away.

2. Create a Shortcut to Turn Off the Screen

You can create a custom shortcut to turn off the screen with a simple click or keyboard shortcut:

  1. Right-click on your desktop and select “New” → “Shortcut”.
  2. Type the following command: nircmd.exe monitor off (you will need the NirCmd utility installed on your PC).
  3. Click “Next” and name the shortcut, e.g., “Turn Off Screen”.
  4. Right-click the created shortcut, select “Properties”, and assign a keyboard shortcut, such as Ctrl + Alt + E.

Now you can turn off your screen using the specified keyboard combination.

3. Use the Project Screen Feature

You can also use the screen projection feature in Windows:

  • Press Win + P to open the projection menu.
  • Select the “Second screen only” option — if no external monitor is connected, your screen will turn off.

4. Turn Off the Screen via Command Prompt

For advanced users, it's possible to turn off the screen using a command in the Command Prompt:

powershell (Add-Type '[DllImport("user32.dll")]^
public static extern int SendMessage(int hWnd, int hMsg, int wParam, int lParam);'^
 -Name a -Namespace b -PassThru)::SendMessage(-1, 0x112, 0xF170, 2)

Save this command in a text file with a .bat extension and run it with a double click, or assign a keyboard shortcut for quick access.