Create one-key Work and Evening display presets

Create Work and Evening presets in macOS Shortcuts, then assign a key combination to each. Each preset sets the display mode, brightness and color temperature of two monitors. This lets you switch from a spacious work desktop to a dimmer, warmer evening setup in one action.

You will also build a Restore shortcut with your normal settings. Each shortcut applies the values you enter. It does not remember what was active before you ran it, so build and test Restore first.

Before you begin

If a display lacks Color Temperature, omit its temperature action from all three shortcuts. If you only want brightness presets, omit both mode actions too and leave the desktop configuration unchanged. You can similarly keep just the mode actions if brightness is unavailable. The main example below assumes all three adjustments are available.

If Shortcuts asks permission to use an action, allow the request for the shortcut you are creating. Keep Night Shift and other color effects consistent while choosing your values. Their effects can combine with the preset’s warmer tint.

Record your normal setup

  1. Open App Menu > display > Display Mode for each monitor. Record its current resolution, HiDPI or LoDPI scaling, refresh rate and color depth. Choose your Work and Evening modes from complete combinations actually available for that display. Separate lists of resolutions and refresh rates do not mean every combination is supported.
  2. Record each monitor’s normal brightness and Image Adjustments > Color Temperature value. The example below uses brightness within 0–100%. If your normal brightness uses Brightness Upscaling above 100%, follow the separate Restore advice below.
  3. Review Settings > Groups > group > Synchronization Settings. Synchronization can make a change on one display adjust another, including a display outside this pair. For independent values, record and temporarily turn off the applicable Synchronize [control] entries in every active group affecting these displays. Keep those entries off while using independent presets.
  4. If you use Configuration Protection, note its saved resolution and refresh-rate targets under App Menu > display > Configuration Protection. Mode changes can update those targets. Also check whether group Layout Protection or UI Scale Matching rules suit both presets. If a rule conflicts with your intended result, pause Enable layout protection or Enable UI scale matching in that group’s Layout Protection or UI Scale Matching settings. These rules can change other displays too.

Here is a worked example for two displays that offer the listed modes. Use your recorded choices if these combinations are absent. The lower Evening resolution makes text larger. Brightness and warmth are adjusted separately.

The screenshots use Studio Display XDR and Built-in Display instead of the example names below. Their modes and Work brightness values differ too. Follow the same action order, using values that suit your own displays.

ShortcutDesk DisplaySide Display
Restore (example normal setup)2560x1440, HiDPI, 60 Hz, 8-bit. Brightness 55%, temperature 50%1920x1080, HiDPI, 60 Hz, 8-bit. Brightness 45%, temperature 50%
Work2560x1440, HiDPI, 60 Hz, 8-bit. Brightness 60%, temperature 50%1920x1080, HiDPI, 60 Hz, 8-bit. Brightness 50%, temperature 50%
Evening1920x1080, HiDPI, 60 Hz, 8-bit. Brightness 25%, temperature 65%1600x900, HiDPI, 60 Hz, 8-bit. Brightness 20%, temperature 65%

The brightness entries above use Range includes software brightness upscaling turned off. The temperature entries are Shortcuts values, not the percentages shown in BetterDisplay's menu.

Understand the two percentage scales

Set Brightness accepts a percentage, stored as a value from 0 to 1. Turn Range includes software brightness upscaling off for this example. With it off, 60% means ordinary brightness 0.6.

The range option starts on. When on, the percentage covers the display’s full available brightness range, including any upscaling above 100%. For example, if that range is 0–200%, a 60% shortcut value requests 120% brightness. The option changes how the number is interpreted. It does not enable upscaling.

If your normal brightness is above 100%, keep this option on in Restore and convert your normal value to a fraction of the entire brightness range. For example, 120% brightness in a 0–200% range needs a 60% shortcut value. Test that Restore action before running the other presets.

Keep the brightness method, range settings and HDR state consistent while testing. BetterDisplay chooses the appropriate brightness control from the current setup. A percentage is not a measured luminance, so equal percentages can look different on two monitors.

Image Adjustment always maps 0–100% onto its feature's range. For Color Temperature, 50% (0.5) is neutral and appears as 0% in BetterDisplay's menu. The example’s 65% (0.65) adds a modest warm tint and appears as 30% in the menu. This is an adjustment value, not a temperature in kelvin. To convert a normal menu value to the shortcut percentage, use 50 + menu percentage / 2. For example, menu −20% becomes Shortcuts 40%.

Build and test Restore first

  1. In Shortcuts, click the toolbar's Add button and name the shortcut Restore. Search the action list for BetterDisplay. Double-click actions to add them, or drag them into order. Apple's custom-shortcut instructions explain the editor.
  2. Add Display Mode for Desk Display, then another for Side Display. Set Resolution, Scaling, Refresh Rate and Color Depth to each display's recorded normal combination. Choose actual listed values. Unspecified leaves that component out of the request. Enter a value when you want Restore to set it.
  3. Add Set Brightness for Desk Display, then Side Display. For the table’s ordinary-brightness setup, turn Range includes software brightness upscaling off in both actions. If your recorded normal brightness exceeds 100%, use the separate full-span Restore mapping explained above instead. Enter your normal values. The example uses 55% (0.55) and 45% (0.45).
  4. Add Image Adjustment for Desk Display, then Side Display. Set Feature to Color Temperature and convert your recorded menu value with the formula above. Enter the result in Value. The example uses 50% (0.5) for both. Your editor may show this as a percentage or a number from 0 to 1.
  5. Check all six display selections. Run Restore from the editor, wait for the displays to settle, then compare each mode, brightness and temperature with your notes. Make a small brightness or temperature change, then run Restore again. It should return to the recorded values. Do this before building the other presets.

Mode actions come first so the desktop changes before brightness and temperature are applied. A mode action can finish before the display has completed the change. If a mode change resets the appearance values, add Shortcuts’ Wait action after the mode actions. Start with two seconds and increase the wait if needed.

Create Work and Evening

  1. Return to All Shortcuts, select Restore and choose Edit > Duplicate. Name the copy Work.
  2. Keep the two explicit display targets and the six-action order. Set each Display Mode action to its Work combination, brightness to 60% (0.6) and 50% (0.5), and both temperature values to 50% (0.5). Keep both brightness-range options off.
  3. Run Work and inspect both displays. If you substituted modes or brightness values, write down the final choices so the shortcut and your notes agree.

Shortcuts Work editor with Studio Display XDR and Built-in Display mode requests, brightness at 46% and 50% with upscaling ranges off, and neutral 50% Color Temperature requests.

Work stores a chosen mode, brightness and neutral color temperature for each display.

  1. Duplicate Work and name the copy Evening. Set its mode actions to the Evening combinations. Use brightness 25% (0.25) for Desk Display and 20% (0.2) for Side Display. Set both Color Temperature values to 65% (0.65).
  2. Run Evening and check that both displays are dimmer and warmer, with the chosen larger-text desktops. Adjust these example brightness and warmth values to suit your room, then keep the resulting values explicit in each action.

Shortcuts Evening editor with lower resolution mode requests for Studio Display XDR and Built-in Display, brightness at 25% and 20% with upscaling ranges off, and Color Temperature at 65%.

Evening stores lower resolution, dimmer brightness and warmer color temperature requests.

Use actions that set values, rather than Image Adjustment Offset, Dim Displays or Brighten Displays, which change the current value again each time. If you add an action with an on/off choice, select explicit On or Off rather than leaving it as a toggle. For example, Toggle Image Adjustments set to On resumes the saved adjustments.

Assign a key combination

  1. Open Work in Shortcuts and click the Shortcut Details button. Under Details, choose Add Keyboard Shortcut and press an unused combination, for example Control–Option–Command–W.
  2. Repeat for Evening with Control–Option–Command–E and Restore with Control–Option–Command–R. Choose different combinations if these conflict with your apps or system shortcuts.
  3. Try each combination while another app is active, keeping BetterDisplay running. Wait for one preset to finish and the displays to settle before starting the next.

Apple's keyboard-trigger instructions describe this setup and reserved-key restrictions. Set these assignments in Shortcuts. BetterDisplay’s Keyboard settings do not assign keys to these shortcuts.

Shortcuts Restore editor with two saved mode, brightness and neutral temperature requests, and Control–Option–Command–R assigned in Details Run with.

Restore has its own saved values and keyboard combination.

Check the result

  1. Run Work, wait, and check Display Mode, brightness and Image Adjustments > Color Temperature separately on both displays. Run Work a second time: values should stay the same.
  2. Run Evening twice, allowing each run to settle. Confirm its modes and separate brightness values, and the warmer image. With the example values, the temperature menu should show 30% on both monitors, not 65%.
  3. Run Restore twice and compare with your original notes. Check other displays too if any synchronization or group policies remained active.

Check the displays after each shortcut finishes. Mode changes can take a little longer than the shortcut itself. A preset applies its settings once. Later keyboard adjustments, automatic brightness and other apps can still change them.

Troubleshooting

An action does nothing, or the wrong display changes

Open the shortcut and reselect the intended display in the affected action. A saved display may be disconnected. If BetterDisplay created a new record for it, you may need to select it again. The action does not automatically choose another monitor. Keep both targets connected for this two-display recipe. A run can leave a partial setup, so reconnect the missing monitor and run Restore before retesting.

To isolate a failure, duplicate the shortcut as a temporary test and leave only the affected action. Run it against one connected display and check its result in BetterDisplay. Then test that display's mode, brightness and temperature actions individually before recombining them. Delete the test copy afterward. See the Shortcuts action reference for parameters and requirements.

The requested mode does not appear

Check the complete combination in Display Mode on the present connection. BetterDisplay can choose a nearest available mode when the requested one is unavailable. Use a listed, tested combination and allow the change to settle before checking appearance. Review UI Scale Matching and Layout Protection if another monitor's mode or position also changes.

Brightness is too high or keeps changing

Check the range checkbox in every brightness action, including Restore. Compare the active brightness method, upscaling and HDR settings with your notes. If the second display's action changes the first display again, review synchronization. Pause the applicable rules when you want independent values. If values drift afterward, review system automatic brightness and BetterDisplay's automatic-brightness setup.

The warm tint is missing

Confirm Color Temperature is available for that display, software adjustments are enabled and Suspend Image Adjustments is off. Check the Pro availability below, then review the active processing method and other color-changing apps. If the display cannot supply this adjustment, omit the two temperature actions from all three shortcuts and keep the mode-and-brightness preset.

The key combination does not run the shortcut

Run it directly in Shortcuts first. If that works, inspect Shortcut Details and choose a different unused key combination. macOS reserves some shortcuts. If it also fails in the editor, diagnose its individual BetterDisplay actions before changing the trigger.

Undo, stop or remove

  1. To return to normal, connect both displays and run your tested Restore shortcut. If it cannot run, restore the recorded mode, brightness and temperature separately in each display's App Menu.
  2. Restore any software-adjustment settings, synchronization entries or group rules you changed for this workflow. After restoring the normal modes, check Configuration Protection and restore any original protected resolution and refresh-rate targets that the preset changed.
  3. To remove a keyboard assignment, open the shortcut's Details, click its Run with field and press Delete. To discard a preset, select it in All Shortcuts and choose Edit > Delete, then Delete Shortcut. Remove temporary test copies too.

Stopping a running shortcut leaves completed actions in place. A queued mode change may still take effect. Wait for it to settle, then restore. Deleting the shortcut removes its recipe, not the settings it applied. Avoid Reset Image Adjustments as a general undo: it also resets unrelated saved adjustments.

Additional information

This section explains licensing and platform requirements for the preset's actions.

Features requiring Pro license

Shortcuts integration, ordinary mode selection and basic brightness adjustments do not have a separate Pro requirement. The Color Temperature actions require Pro or an active Pro trial. Omit them for a mode-and-brightness workflow without that feature. Brightness upscaling, advanced group synchronization, Configuration Protection, Layout Protection and UI Scale Matching retain their own Pro requirements when used. See Free and Pro features for availability.

Platform compatibility

The mode, brightness and color-temperature workflow can be used on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs running macOS 26.3 or later, subject to the connected display's modes and usable controllers. Color Temperature needs a compatible software-processing method. DDC brightness depends on the monitor, connection and configured controller. The recipe also works with supported Apple hardware brightness or software dimming. The actions apply to this Mac's displays, even if the shortcut definition is synchronized through iCloud.