DDM 2.x switching inputs on multiple monitors

Question

I have two dell monitors, one of which has a USB KVM (U3419W). Each monitor is connected to the same two computers. My goal is to use DDM and the USB KVM to switch BOTH monitors to the other computer when a certain hotkey combination is pressed.

I had this working beautifully with DDM 1.x with the help of EnTech support and their ddmhkm utility to execute a DDM command line at the press of a hotkey.

I have upgraded one of the computers and am now looking at upgrading to DDM 2.x (or DDPM 2.x) to stay current. First, it seems DDPM 2.x doesn't support a CLI? So that one is out. Plus it is huge (700+MB!!) and slow.

Back to DDM 2.x. It does appear to have a CLI, but I'm at a loss for how to automate switching two monitor inputs with the same hotkey. The ddmhkm utility from DDM 1.x doesn't seem to work, as it looks like DDM 2.x is built by a different vendor than 1.x. When executing commands to change inputs manually, I also find it is much slower than DDM 1.x in doing so. And I seems like I need to launch a CLI console first before the commands will do anything?

So, to my question: has anyone successfully automated a scenario like this with DDM 2.x (or DDPM) and if so, how? It would be great to have this natively supported in the software, but I'll take what I can get. Or I guess I'll revert back to DDM 1.x which I know I can make work the way I want.

jsmith841 · Accepted Answer

Never mind. I found a usable free alternative self-executable exe from Nirsoft (reputable software dev) called ControlMyMonitor. It works great.

ControlMyMonitor .exe /SetValue "\\.\DISPLAY1\Monitor0" 60 17
ControlMyMonitor .exe /SetValue "\\.\DISPLAY2\Monitor0" 60 17

jsmith841 · Accepted Answer

@jsmith841​ I can no longer edit my previous comment that I'm replying to, so I wanted to follow up with a more thorough answer for anyone who comes across this thread in the future via Google search. ControlMyMonitor (from NirSoft) is the best solution for most people. It switches inputs instantly and avoids the hotkey delay that DDM or DDPM tools often have. I now use it to toggle source inputs on two displays throughout the week between a work laptop and my personal desktop. You can download ControlMyMonitor from NirSoft. They've been around since 2004 and are a trusted source. Just unzip the utility. There’s no installer since it's a standalone executable. You can use the GUI or run it from the command line. There are several ways to configure input switching, so be sure to read the documentation on the ControlMyMonitor page. I created a shortcut to the ControlMyMonitor.exe file. Shift + right-click the shortcut, go to Properties, and the target will look something like: C:\Users\username\some\path\ControlMyMonitor.exe. Open the GUI to find the input numbers for your specific setup since they vary by monitor. I updated my shortcut target to: 'C:\Users\username\some\path\ControlMyMonitor.exe /SetValue Primary 60 19 /SetValue Secondary 60 17'. In my case, 19 and 17 are the input values I want for my monitors. Yours may be different. Now, I just run the shortcut (which can be pinned to the taskbar) to instantly switch inputs. You can also assign a hotkey to the shortcut if you want. You can create separate shortcuts for different input configurations, like one to switch only the primary display and another for the secondary. It’s flexible and has been very reliable in my testing. Just remember you’ll need to set this up on your other machine too so you can switch them back.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

Go HERE and enter the private Service Tag for the unlisted Dell monitor to check its warranty status.

Precision 5560
U3419W
Unlisted Dell monitor model?

The "FAQ Windows OS DDM and DDPM" has link to "DDM 2.0 CLI (command line interface)" thread discussion.

seadan1 · Answer

The other monitor is a P2421. (I tagged it in the post, but maybe you can't see that.)

I've seen the CLI post, doesn't really answer my question. Is there an equivalent of ddmhkm from v1 that works with v2? Or how are folks executing the swap with a single hotkey?

DELL-Chris M · Answer

I have not seen an hkm utility for DDM 2.x. All I have is the CL listed in that other thread.

Michael O from VA · Answer

Have you tried using a batch file assigned to the hot key? This is working for me, however, you'll have to have a copy of both batch files on each machine, and assign the hot key on each machine to run the assigned batch. (In my case, I have my work setup using a MS Keyboard, and use MS Mounse&Keyboard Center to assign key 4 and 5 to each batch.... on my home setup using Logitech keyboard, and assign hotkeys through the Logitech Keyboard software)

HotKey1: run HDMI.BAT
HotKey2: run DP.BAT

HDMI.BAT:
start "" "C:\Program Files\Dell\Dell Display Manager 2\ddm.exe" /1:WriteActiveInput HDMI
start "" "C:\Program Files\Dell\Dell Display Manager 2\ddm.exe" /2:WriteActiveInput HDMI

DP.BAT:
start "" "C:\Program Files\Dell\Dell Display Manager 2\ddm.exe" /1:WriteActiveInput DP
start "" "C:\Program Files\Dell\Dell Display Manager 2\ddm.exe" /2:WriteActiveInput DP

seadan1 · Answer

@Michael O from VA​ Yes, that's what I'm using now. It works, but it is super slow to switch inputs compared to DDM 1.x and the ddmhkm utility. Thanks for the pointers!

jsmith841 · Answer

@seadan1​ Did you ever find a good workaround for this?

seadan1 · Answer

@jsmith841​ Sadly, no. I'm still using the .BAT file with the Windows-assigned hotkey, and it's super slow. I think Dell stopped using the vendor that did the first versions of DDM (who were super responsive and attuned to performance) and I haven't found any other viable alternatives.

seadan1 · Answer

@jsmith841​ Glad that works! I'll take a look and see if it works better for me than my current solution. And to answer your original question, I was using DDM v2; I tried DDPM but found it too bulky and cumbersome.

Monitors

DDM 2.x switching inputs on multiple monitors

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