Per-App Display Profiles Explained
Display EX can automatically switch your monitor configuration — resolution, refresh rate, HDR state and DPI settings — the moment a specific app or game launches, then restore your previous setup when it closes. This page explains how it works and how to set it up.
How per-app profile triggers work
Display EX runs a lightweight background process that monitors running applications. When it detects a configured executable starting up, it applies the associated display profile before the app's window appears. When that app exits, Display EX can optionally restore the previous profile.
The switch happens in under one second — fast enough that the game's own startup splash screen renders at the correct settings.
What a per-app profile can change
🔄 Refresh rate
Switch from 60Hz desktop to 240Hz gaming automatically. Restore to 60Hz when the game exits to save power.
✨ HDR state
Enable HDR when a game or video app launches; disable it for desktop work where HDR can wash out colours.
📐 DPI / scaling
Apply a different DPI override set for specific apps — e.g. your design tools need different overrides than your gaming setup.
🖥 Monitor layout
Switch off secondary monitors when a game launches for maximum GPU resources, then restore them when it closes.
🌈 Colour profile
Switch ICC colour profile — e.g. wide-gamut for design apps, sRGB for web preview, Gaming for games.
⚡ VRR / G-Sync
Enable variable refresh rate for games that benefit from it; disable for video editing where a fixed rate is preferred.
How to set up a per-app trigger
Step 1 — Create the profile
First, set your display to the desired configuration (e.g. 240Hz, HDR on, VRR enabled). Open Display EX → New Profile → name it something like Gaming — 240Hz HDR. Display EX snapshots all current display settings.
Step 2 — Add a trigger app
In Display EX, select the profile → click Add trigger app. You can either browse to the game's .exe file directly, or use the Live process picker to select a running process from a list.
Step 3 — Configure restore behaviour
Under On app exit, choose one of three options: Restore previous profile (recommended for games), Apply a specific profile (e.g. always return to your Work profile), or Do nothing (keep gaming settings until you switch manually).
Step 4 — Test it
Launch the trigger app and confirm the profile switches. If it doesn't fire, check that the .exe path in the trigger matches exactly — some games use a launcher that spawns a different process. Use the process picker to identify the correct binary name.
Multiple apps on one profile
A single profile can have any number of trigger apps. For example, your Gaming profile might trigger for 10 different games — all of them will activate the same display configuration. You don't need a separate profile per game unless each game needs different settings.
Common per-app profile setups
🎮 Gaming profile
Triggers: all game executables. Settings: 240Hz, HDR on, VRR enabled, secondary monitors off. Restores: Work profile on exit.
🎨 Design profile
Triggers: Photoshop, Figma, Illustrator. Settings: wide-gamut ICC, 60Hz, HDR off, 150% DPI. Restores: previous profile.
🎬 Video profile
Triggers: Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, VLC. Settings: HDR on, 24Hz or 60Hz for smooth playback, secondary display off.
📊 Work profile
Default profile. No triggers — used as the restore target for all other profiles. 60Hz, HDR off, all monitors on, sRGB.