Windows allows the user to control the brightness of the laptop screen or external display screen through the keyboard control buttons. It also allows setting the time duration after which the screen turns off if there is no activity. However, this cannot be done for each program separately. For example, you can keep the screen brightness low during general computer use but have the brightness automatically increase when you open a program like Photoshop to edit some images. By default, Windows does not provide an option to do this, but you can adjust the screen brightness for each program individually using a very simple tool as described below.
The tool in question is called “ClickMonitorDDC” and it is completely free, designed specifically to provide an easy way to adjust the computer screen brightness either manually through the scroll bar or automatically, at a specific time during the day, and according to the open program. Simply put, the program, when installed, works continuously in the background to monitor the running programs, then when you run a program that you have set a specific brightness level for, it automatically changes the current level to the level you specified. Then when you exit the program, it reverts to the previous brightness level.
The tool is lightweight but works only if your screen is compatible with DDC protocols (abbreviated for Display Data Channel) and don’t worry! Most laptops and standard displays currently support DDC as a basic feature, so there is a high chance that the tool will work as intended without any issues. [ Download the program]
Once you have installed the ClickMonitorDDC tool on your device, you will immediately notice two icons appear on the taskbar, near the clock, one representing the screen brightness level and the other representing the sound level. You can easily remove either of them through the settings. To open the program settings, right-click on one of the icons and select “Settings” to open a window with all the options to control how the program works. Now, if you want to hide the sound indicator icon, uncheck the “Default Volume Icon” option and click OK.
Read also: How to Disable Adaptive Brightness Feature in Windows 10
In the ClickMonitorDDC settings window, navigate to the “Auto-Run commands” section on the left sidebar menu to display a list of currently open programs that you can adjust the brightness for individually. However, if you want to add a specific program without running it first, click on the “select a program directly by file-requester” button and then select the executable (exe) file for the program, which is usually found in the Program Files folder.
In any case, select the program you want to adjust the brightness for specifically, and once you click on its name, a new window will appear. Here, all you have to do is click on the enter command-line field and type the letter “b” followed by the brightness percentage you want to set for this program. For example, to decrease the brightness to 70% when opening the program, type “b 70” and then click OK.
You can repeat the same steps with all the programs you want to customize a specific brightness level for the screen when opening them. After adding the programs, you will see a list of the added programs with the selected brightness levels for each program. But before saving the changes, make sure to uncheck the “Only in full-screen” option so that the brightness changes when you open the selected program in general and not just when you make the program’s window full-screen. Now click Apply and then OK.
The settings window will disappear immediately, and the ClickMonitorDDC tool will remain running in the background. From now on, whenever you open a program or have its window on the screen, the brightness will be automatically adjusted to the specified percentage. When you close the program or click Minimize, the screen brightness will be restored to the default level.
