Switch between laptop-only, home-desk, and office-desk setups

Create three named Shortcuts that request the displays and main display you want at each workplace. Pair them with display groups whose membership selects the appropriate layout protection and optional synchronization rules. Shortcuts change the connections. Groups apply rules to displays that are already connected.

The example keeps your MacBook open and its built-in display connected in all three setups. This gives you a visible way to check a destination before removing another desktop. Each Shortcut runs its actions in order. If an action fails or you cancel, earlier actions are not undone automatically.

Before you begin

• Use a working open MacBook and supported physical home and office monitors. Connect each monitor to this Mac at least once so BetterDisplay knows its identity. In the steps below, “Home display” and “Office display” mean your actual selected displays, not names you must type or create.
• Check that each monitor can be connected and disconnected through BetterDisplay while another usable physical screen remains. Keep connection safeguards enabled, including the restriction against disconnecting all screens. Do not enable an M3 built-in-disconnection override for this workflow.
• Keep BetterDisplay available in your Mac's user session. These Shortcuts run on this Mac. Selecting a remembered monitor cannot connect it while its cable is unplugged. A powered-off monitor may still be present to macOS, so its power-strip state is not a reliable disconnection trigger.

1. Open Settings > Displays > Overview > Display Connections > Connection Management Settings…. If available and enabled, turn off Disconnect built-in display when an external display is connected. This policy can disconnect the built-in display again after a Shortcut requests it to connect.
2. If existing main-display protections, automatic presets or group layout rules change this setup, pause the conflicting rule while configuring the new one.

Default connection recovery remains useful: reconnection on app startup and quit, and when no eligible physical display remains, starts enabled. Leave these safeguards in place. Optional keyboard launch uses macOS Shortcuts. The main recipe needs neither BetterDisplay's native-key permissions nor Screen Recording permission.

Plan the three setups

Start with one external monitor per desk. Add explicit actions for additional known monitors only after this smaller setup works.

Use explicit On and Off values. Leaving the connection action's optional Toggle field unspecified makes it toggle instead, so running the same Shortcut twice could undo the previous result. A remembered monitor may remain selectable with a disconnected suffix. Its action has no effect while the hardware is absent.

Build the connection Shortcuts

1. Open Apple's Shortcuts app, use the add button to create a new shortcut, and name it Home Desk. Search the action list for BetterDisplay. Add Connect or Disconnect a Display, select your built-in display in Display, and set Toggle to On. See Apple's custom shortcut instructions for the editor.
2. Add another Connect or Disconnect a Display for the actual Home display, also On. Keep these connection requests above every Off action.
3. Add Apple's Show Alert action next. Give it a message such as “Check that the built-in and Home displays are visible and usable. Choose Done when ready. Otherwise choose Cancel.” Include its Cancel option. The alert pauses the Shortcut so you can check the screens before it disconnects another display.
4. Below the alert, add BetterDisplay's Set Screen as Main with the Home display selected. Add Connect or Disconnect a Display for the Office display with Toggle > Off as the final action. Review all five actions in order before running them.
5. Create Office Desk with the same five-action sequence: built-in On, Office On, a readiness alert for those two screens, Set Screen as Main for Office, then Home Off.
6. Create Laptop Only with built-in On, a readiness alert for the built-in display, Set Screen as Main for built-in, Home Off, then Office Off. It also has five actions. None of the three Shortcuts turns the built-in screen off.

Connect the recovery screen and destination first, then check them before any Off action.

Shortcuts runs actions from top to bottom. Done continues. Cancel stops before the main-display and Off actions. The earlier connection requests are not undone. Keep this pause when you use the presets. Apple's Show Alert guide explains those choices, and the BetterDisplay action reference explains the underlying feature requirements.

Let the connected desk select its group

Create separate Home Layout and Office Layout groups. Leave both enabled once configured. Their membership and activation conditions determine which one runs. Laptop Only can use its main-display action without a separate group.

1. Open Settings > Groups > Overview > Create New Display Group…. Enter Home Layout and select Create Display Group. Select the new group and turn Enabled off immediately while configuring it. A fresh group starts enabled, includes all currently connected displays and is assigned the highest priority. It can make lower-priority groups inactive until you disable or configure it.
2. Under Group Membership, turn Treat all currently connected displays as group members off. Select only the built-in and actual Home displays in Member displays. Use Show currently not detected displays in list if needed to select a known absent member. Do not include Office or a virtual screen just to make the group appear active.
3. Open Settings > Groups > Home Layout > Activation > Configure Activation Rules…. Choose All configured group member displays are connected. Keep Only group members can be present and Exclusive display group on for this two-screen example, then select Done. The group will wait until its two members are connected and other connected displays are gone.
4. Create Office Layout, disable it immediately, and repeat with only built-in and Office as members. Use the same activation rules. If you deliberately retain an extra recovery display, include it in the applicable membership or turn Only group members can be present off. Otherwise an extra connected display prevents activation.
5. Open Settings > Groups > Overview > Change Activation Priority…. Use the arrow buttons to place the desk groups above any intended lower-priority fallback group. Higher-priority exclusive groups can block lower ones. Check any existing overlapping groups before enabling the new groups. In this example, Home and Office cannot both qualify at once, so their relative order does not choose the desk.

Require both Home Layout members, exclude other displays and make this group exclusive before enabling it.

If you add an optional Laptop Layout group, give it only the built-in member, the same all-members/only-members conditions, and a priority below both desk groups. Do not create a rule that makes it compete with the intended desk's main-display choice. An enabled group can still be inactive. Its Activation section explains why.

Add a layout rule for each desk

Choose relationships that match your real desk. This example puts Home to the right of the laptop and Office to its left, with centered edges. These rules describe the desktop arrangement. They do not store app window positions, display modes or color profiles.

1. With the Home display physically available, run Home Desk. At the readiness alert, continue only after both requested screens are visible. Inspect the connection states and main display after completion. Keep Home Layout disabled while editing its rule.
2. Open Settings > Groups > Home Layout > Layout Protection. Turn Enable layout protection on. Choose Add New Protection… > [Home display] with no modifier held to create the ordinary orientation-independent rule.
3. Leave Protect the position of [Home display] on. Set Arrange [Home display] next to to the built-in display and Position of [Home display] to Right of [built-in display]. Leave Adjust anchor point offsets off for the centered example. Use the back arrow to return to the layout overview.
4. Set Protect main display status to the Home display, matching the Home Desk Shortcut. Enable the finished group with its Enabled switch. Confirm Home Layout is active before applying its layout.
5. Open App Menu > Tools > Groups > Apply All Protections and check the actual arrangement. This applies eligible rules across all active groups, not just the group selected in Settings. Resolve conflicting active rules first. The positional rule needs both members connected and a defined side. An orientation-specific rule must also match the display's current orientation.
6. At the office, run Office Desk, then configure Office Layout in the same way with Office next to built-in, Left of [built-in display], centered offsets and Office as the protected main display. Enable the finished group and apply/check the eligible rules. Leave the other desk group enabled so it can qualify when you return there.

This disabled Home Layout is configured to place Studio Display XDR to the right of Built-in Display, without custom anchor offsets.

With only the two Home Layout members connected, the enabled group applies the protected layout.

Later display reconfiguration evaluates group activation and eligible layout protections. Apply Automatically in App Menu > Tools > Groups starts off and covers group changes made through that menu. It does not turn Settings edits or Shortcut execution into a different automatic-apply mechanism. When needed, check the active group and use Apply All Protections explicitly. See group layout switching for the distinction.

Optional synchronization at each desk

First verify the connection and layout presets with synchronization off. If a desk's displays support the brightness control you want to share, add a rule under Settings > Groups > [desk group] > Synchronization Settings > Add New Synchronization…. Choose the actual control, limit sources and targets to the intended members, then turn on Enable synchronization for this display group. A target still needs a configured controller that can perform the adjustment. Test each display's adjustment before adding synchronization.

For a built-in-to-external brightness rule, follow Make external monitors follow your MacBook's automatic brightness within the appropriate desk group. For matching levels, follow Match brightness across different monitors. Use a comfortable test adjustment and check that the intended displays respond.

Check the result

1. Run Laptop Only while the MacBook is open. At the alert, verify its screen is visible before continuing. Check built-in is connected/main and every known external requested off is removed from the active desktop. Run it again and verify it requests the same state.
2. At home, connect the real Home monitor and run Home Desk. Confirm both requested screens before Done, then check Home main, Office off or absent, Home Layout active and the intended arrangement. Repeat at the office with the corresponding values and Office Layout.
3. Before undocking, move any needed windows onto the built-in desktop, run Laptop Only and verify its result. Undock and check usable pointer and windows. On arrival at the other desk, attach its actual monitor and run that desk's Shortcut. A remembered display can be absent. Cancel the alert if the selected desk's physical monitor is missing.
4. Test Cancel at a readiness alert. It should stop before any Off action, leaving earlier connection requests in place. Check what changed. Restore it manually if needed.
5. Test your normal apps and repeat the transitions. Check active-group reasons, main display, layout, window placement and any optional brightness synchronization separately. Do not infer a working screen or exact window restoration from the Shortcut's result alone.

After these checks, you can use the Shortcuts editor's details button and Add Keyboard Shortcut to assign an unused combination to each preset. Keep the readiness pause. Apple's keyboard launch instructions explain reserved combinations and removal. The Shortcuts privacy settings explains any per-shortcut data prompts. Follow any permission prompt shown by Shortcuts.

Troubleshooting

A destination remains blank or cannot connect. Keep the built-in screen visible and cancel at the readiness alert. Check the actual cable/dock/monitor availability and supported connection management. Selecting a remembered display cannot bring unplugged hardware online. Connection requests are software connection changes, not a guarantee of physical power or completed handshake. On Intel, disconnecting can also dim through the selected brightness method rather than put the panel fully to sleep.

The built-in screen disconnects again. Check that Disconnect built-in display when an external display is connected is off. A per-monitor Ignore for built-in display auto-disconnect exception excludes only that monitor. Another external display can still trigger automatic disconnection. See Display Connections.

The correct group is enabled but inactive. Read its Activation reason. Check explicit membership, absent members, unexpected connected nonmembers and higher-priority exclusive groups. Changing a group cannot fix an unplugged display. See connection presets versus groups.

Main display or layout changes back. Keep each group's protected main display consistent with its Shortcut. Check other active layout or Configuration Protection rules. Apply All Protections affects all eligible active groups. Apply Automatically follows group changes through the App Menu. See Layout Protection.

Undo the changes

1. Stop any running Shortcut. Keep the MacBook open and move needed windows to its built-in desktop before changing external connections.
2. Disable Home Layout and Office Layout so their rules cannot reapply. Keep or delete the three Shortcuts as needed. Remove their keyboard shortcuts if you no longer use them.
3. Choose your preferred connections, main display and arrangement. Reconnect and check a destination before disconnecting another screen. Re-enable any earlier rules you paused if you still need them.
4. To remove a new desk group, use Settings > Groups > [group] > Discard… > Discard. Review the remaining groups’ activation order if you changed their priority.
5. Turn built-in automatic disconnection back on only if you want that behavior again. Check that an external screen is usable first.

Related pages

• Can a display group switch between laptop-only and multi-monitor setups?
• How can I switch between displays at two desks using one Mac? for manual alternatives.
• Why does switching display groups not restore their saved layout?
• macOS Shortcuts for action parameters and results.
• Keep your monitor arrangement and main display consistent after wake for position and main-display rules.

Additional information

This section explains licensing and platform requirements for the setup.

Features requiring Pro license

Supported display connection management, custom display-group creation/activation, group layout protection and advanced synchronization features require Pro or an active trial. Basic brightness synchronization in the Default Group has separate free availability. This custom-group workflow still requires Pro. Set Screen as Main has no Pro gate of its own.

Platform compatibility

Shortcuts and the described group features are available on Apple silicon and Intel Macs, subject to the requested display connection and adjustment capabilities. Built-in automatic disconnection is an Apple-silicon feature. This workflow keeps the built-in display connected. Intel soft disconnection can dim the display rather than fully sleep it. The documented app requires macOS 26.3 or later. Native connection/layout actions do not require Screen Recording permission.