Switch all your monitors between a Mac and PC with one shortcut

Switch two monitors to the PC with one macOS Shortcut, then use a second Shortcut to return them to the Mac. Each shortcut contains an Input Source action for each monitor. Returning to the Mac depends on whether the monitors still accept commands while showing the PC. Test that first, and keep their physical input selectors available.

Before you begin

Use a Mac running macOS 26.3 or later with BetterDisplay installed and running, the macOS Shortcuts app, and two external monitors connected to both the Mac and the PC. Have both computers awake and able to show a picture on their connected inputs. The instructions use Desk Display and Side Display as example names. Select your actual monitors.

The main procedure uses DDC to send input-switching commands over the video connection. Your monitor and its cable, dock or adapter must support those commands. A working picture alone does not show that DDC is available. If you use another controller for input switching, verify its destinations in the same way and select that controller in Shortcuts.

Note which port connects each monitor to the Mac and which connects it to the PC. Keep a keyboard connected to the Mac independently of any USB hub that switches to the PC.

Changing video input does not separately configure a monitor’s USB upstream connection. A built-in KVM switch may link USB routing to video inputs, but that depends on the monitor’s own settings. Check those assignments separately, or use an independent USB switch if your setup needs it.

Verify each monitor before building Shortcuts

  1. With both monitors showing the Mac, open App Menu > [display] > Input Source for Desk Display. If more than one controller supplies inputs, note the controller heading above the list. The Input Source menu reference explains those lists.
  2. Identify the Mac destination and the actual connected PC destination. Use the monitor’s port labels and documentation, then select the corresponding PC entry. Watch the physical monitor: it must show the PC’s picture, not merely blink or lose signal. Do not try every listed command blindly.
  3. While Side Display still shows the Mac, try the verified Mac destination for Desk Display from BetterDisplay, if that monitor remains available. If this fails, use its physical selector to restore the Mac. Record whether the Mac can send commands while that monitor shows the PC.
  4. Repeat the same checks for Side Display, leaving Desk Display on the Mac. Confirm both destinations separately for each monitor, then restore both to the Mac before editing Shortcuts.

FlipAction Pro’s attached Input Source menu showing DisplayPort 1 and 2, HDMI 1 and 2, and Configure DDC Input Sources.

Find the configured DisplayPort and HDMI destinations in the monitor’s Input Source menu. Check the monitor itself to confirm the active input.

The DDC menu does not show a checkmark for the current input. Check the picture and the monitor’s own input display instead. If the return command fails, use the physical selector or a tested command from the active computer.

Correct an input list only when needed

Open Settings > Displays > [display] > Device Control > DDC Control > Input Sources…. If DDC Input Source Control shows Disabled, use Configure Controls… on the DDC card to configure the predefined Input Source feature for supported hardware. See DDC Control for detection and configuration. The monitor must support the command for it to work.

Customize input source list for this display starts off. Turn it on only if you need to change a row’s Value, LG alt, Description, icon or Menu visibility. Edits save immediately, without Apply or restart. Keep a copy of any custom list before editing it. Reset Default Input Sources replaces custom entries with the defaults. It does not recover a previous custom list. Hidden removes an entry from the menu, but does not disable its Shortcuts action.

Some LG models need LG alt. This uses command 0xF4 with alternate communication instead of the usual 0x60 command. For example, the default list includes DP 2 / USB-C (LG alt) with value 209 and HDMI 2 (LG alt) with value 145. These values are examples for particular models. They do not apply to every LG monitor. Use documented values for your model and repeat the manual verification after any edit. Renaming a row does not change its command.

FlipAction Pro’s native customized DDC input list showing LG-alt rows209 and145 with their separate enabled LG alt switches and Block3 menu visibility.

LG alternate rows have separate values and LG alt switches. Check which method works on your monitor.

Record the exact destinations

If the display names are hard to distinguish, give each a clear Custom displayed name under Settings > Displays > [display] > General Settings > Additional Settings… > Menu Appearance & Behavior. This changes the app’s displayed name, not the physical identity of the monitor. After reconnecting or changing cables, check that each name still refers to the intended monitor.

For each monitor, note the working Mac and PC input labels and their controller. If you edited a DDC row, also note its Value and LG alt setting.

The Shortcuts picker uses these labels, so you do not need raw input numbers for the procedure below. If you also want to use console or CLI automation, open App Menu > Tools > Show Console and run these read-only queries with your unique display names:

get -name="Desk Display" -inputSourceList
get -name="Side Display" -inputSourceList

The app console works without installing a CLI tool. Each returned line contains an input identifier, label and controller, such as 3 - HDMI 1 [DDCController] for the unmodified default row. For console or CLI automation, use the input identifier with its controller. The identifier differs from the raw DDC Value. For example, default input identifier 3 sends raw value 17. Use the number that the particular automation parameter expects.

Create the Mac and PC Shortcuts

Create the return request first, while you can still see the Mac. Both shortcuts run on the Mac. Monitors to PC tells the monitors to select their PC inputs.

  1. In Shortcuts, click the Add button in the toolbar and name the new Shortcut Monitors to Mac. In the action library, choose Apps > BetterDisplay and add Input Source.
  2. Set Display to Desk Display, then choose its verified Mac Input Source entry. Match the controller name shown with that entry to your notes. Do not leave the input Unspecified or use an interactive choice that would require an invisible prompt after switching away.
  3. Add a second Input Source action for Side Display, selecting its own verified Mac destination and controller. Run the shortcut with the editor’s Run button while both displays show the Mac. This lets you handle any access prompts before switching away.
  4. Close the editor. Select Monitors to Mac in the collection, choose Edit > Duplicate (or press Command-D), and rename the copy Monitors to PC.
  5. In the copy, change the input in each action to that monitor’s verified PC destination. Recheck both display selections and controllers. The two monitors may use different connectors, values or controllers.

Displays to PC native Shortcuts editor with one Input Source action selecting FlipAction Pro and HDMI1 through DDC Control.

The available monitor has its own explicit PC input request.

Use exactly one explicit destination action per monitor in each Shortcut. Shortcuts runs the actions in order, and one can succeed while the other fails. Put any monitor you need to see the Mac last. If switching it makes the Mac lose the command path, later return commands may still fail.

The input picker associates its configured identifier with a controller. Changing a DDC row’s value or LG alt can change the destination of an existing shortcut. After changing a list, controller or connection, reselect the appropriate inputs in both Shortcuts and retest. A label edit alone does not create a new destination.

Apple documents creating a custom Shortcut and duplicating it. The BetterDisplay Input Source action supplies the display-specific destinations.

Test the pair and assign keyboard triggers

  1. While both monitors show the Mac, double-click each Shortcut, open Details, select Add Keyboard Shortcut, and record a different unused combination. For example, try Control-Option-Command-P for the PC and Control-Option-Command-M for the Mac if those combinations are free in your setup.
  2. Test the Mac return combination while the Mac is still visible, using a keyboard that will remain connected to the Mac. Handle any Shortcuts access prompt now. Confirm the destination selections. You will test the return from the PC next.
  3. With the physical return selectors ready, run Monitors to PC from the editor or its keyboard trigger. Confirm each physical monitor shows the intended PC picture. If only one changes, restore it manually and diagnose that monitor separately before another combined test.
  4. If the earlier per-monitor tests established a usable Mac command path, run Monitors to Mac from an available Mac screen or its tested Mac-routed keyboard trigger. If the Mac cannot reach the monitors, use their physical selectors. Repeat the switch-and-return test and check both pictures each time.

Native Displays to Mac editor with one FlipAction Pro DisplayPort1 DDC request and Control–Option–Command–M recorded in Details Run with.

The Mac shortcut stores an explicit input request and a keyboard combination.

Apple’s keyboard trigger instructions also explain reserved system combinations. This assignment belongs to macOS Shortcuts, separate from BetterDisplay’s own keyboard-shortcut settings. Once the pair is reliable, Stream Deck setup is an optional extension.

Check the result

After Monitors to PC, both monitors should show the PC. After a working Monitors to Mac request, both should show the Mac. Run each shortcut twice to confirm that it keeps the selected input. These shortcuts set a destination, so repeated runs do not toggle back and forth.

Test again after sleep, reconnection or a cable/dock change before relying on the workflow. If a monitor only accepts the switch away from the Mac, you can still use that shortcut and return manually. Check the USB keyboard and mouse separately. Switching the picture does not guarantee that a built-in KVM also switches USB.

Troubleshooting

The menu also fails or chooses the wrong port

Check the physical cable destination, monitor support, configured DDC Value and LG alt. Review DDC Control and why input switching may not switch back. If the monitor rejects the command through the connection, changing the keyboard combination will not help. Restore the Mac using the monitor’s selector before continuing.

The menu works but Shortcuts does not

Check the action’s named Display, explicit Input Source and controller against your recorded pairs. Reselect the input after list or controller edits. A disconnected remembered display can appear in a picker without an available DDC command path. To test one monitor, duplicate the failing shortcut and leave only its action. Run it while the Mac is visible, then delete the test copy. If the editor works but the key combination does not, check keyboard routing and conflicts.

Switching to the PC works, but returning does not

The monitor may ignore commands from its inactive Mac input or remove that display connection. Use the physical selector, or a separately verified input-switching method on the active PC. BetterDisplay’s Mac Shortcut does not supply a Windows-side command path. Keep that return method available. See the return-path FAQ.

Undo or remove the setup

  1. Restore each monitor’s original video input with a verified command or its physical selector. Stopping a Shortcut does not reverse commands already applied, and deleting it does not switch a monitor back.
  2. To keep the Shortcuts without keyboard triggers, open each one’s Details, click its Run with field and press Delete. To remove the workflow, select only the Shortcuts and diagnostic copies you created, then choose Edit > Delete and confirm Delete Shortcut. See Apple’s deletion instructions.
  3. If you changed the DDC input list, restore the previous entries and customization setting. Use Reset Default Input Sources only if you started with the default list. You can keep working custom destinations for future use. If you changed USB/KVM assignments, restore them through the monitor’s settings.

Additional information

This section explains licensing and platform requirements for the workflow.

Features requiring Pro license

The described predefined DDC input commands, DDC input-list customization and Input Source Shortcuts actions do not themselves require Pro. Creating custom DDC features requires Pro. Editing the predefined input list does not. Other controllers retain their own feature and setup requirements.

Platform compatibility

The DDC and Shortcuts workflow is available on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs, on macOS 26.3 or later for the current app. Each monitor and video transport must support the command. DDC needs a native display connection that carries monitor commands. Monitor behavior while its Mac input is inactive remains device-dependent.