How to Add 'Turn Off Display' to Windows 11 Context Menu

Before making any registry changes, create a backup to restore if something goes wrong. Open Registry Editor by pressing Win + R, typing regedit, and pressing Enter.

In Registry Editor, click File > Export. Choose a location, name it registry_backup_before_display_mod, and click Save. This creates a complete registry backup.

Now create the registry modification file. Right-click on an empty area of your desktop, select New > Text Document. Name it turn_off_display (the .txt extension will be changed later).

Double-click your text document to open it in Notepad. Copy and paste this exact registry code that creates the 'Turn off display' context menu option:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\TurnOffDisplay]
"Icon"="imageres.dll,-109"
"MUIVerb"="Turn off display"
"Position"="Bottom"
"SubCommands"=""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\TurnOffDisplay\shell]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\TurnOffDisplay\shell\01menu]
"Icon"="powercpl.dll,-513"
"MUIVerb"="Turn off display"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\TurnOffDisplay\shell\01menu\command]
@="cmd /c \"powershell.exe -Command \"(Add-Type '[DllImport(\\\"user32.dll\\\")]public static extern int SendMessage(int hWnd,int hMsg,int wParam,int lParam);' -Name a -Pas)::SendMessage(-1,0x0112,0xF170,2)\"\""

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\TurnOffDisplay\shell\02menu]
"MUIVerb"="Lock computer and Turn off display"
"CommandFlags"=dword:00000020
"Icon"="imageres.dll,-59"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\TurnOffDisplay\shell\02menu\command]
@="cmd /c \"powershell.exe -Command \"(Add-Type '[DllImport(\\\"user32.dll\\\")]public static extern int SendMessage(int hWnd,int hMsg,int wParam,int lParam);' -Name a -Pas)::SendMessage(-1,0x0112,0xF170,2)\" & rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation\""

This code creates two options: one to simply turn off the display, and another to lock the computer and turn off the display simultaneously. The PowerShell command uses the Windows API SendMessage function to send a monitor power-off signal.

Save the file with the correct extension. Press Ctrl + S to open the Save dialog. In the 'Save as type' dropdown, select All Files (*.*). Change the filename to turn_off_display.reg (replacing the .txt extension).

Click Save to create your registry file. You'll see the file icon change to show it's now a registry file with a blue and white icon.

Double-click the turn_off_display.reg file to apply the changes. Windows will show a User Account Control prompt - click Yes. Then you'll see a warning about adding information to the registry - click Yes again to confirm.

Windows will display a confirmation message saying 'The keys and values contained in turn_off_display.reg have been successfully added to the registry.'

The new context menu option won't appear until Windows Explorer refreshes its shell extensions. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.

In the Processes tab, scroll down to find Windows Explorer. Right-click on it and select Restart. Your desktop will briefly disappear and then reappear as Explorer restarts.

Alternatively, you can restart your computer completely, which will also apply the changes.

Right-click on an empty area of your desktop. In Windows 11's compact context menu, you'll need to click Show more options at the bottom to access the classic context menu where your new option appears.

Look for Turn off display in the context menu. Click on it to see the submenu with two options:

• Turn off display - Immediately turns off your monitor(s)
• Lock computer and Turn off display - Locks your computer and turns off the display

Test the first option by clicking Turn off display. Your screen should go black immediately. Move your mouse or press any key to wake the display back up.

Test the second option by clicking Lock computer and Turn off display. Your screen will go black and when you wake it, you'll see the Windows lock screen requiring your password.

If you want to skip clicking 'Show more options' every time, you can permanently enable the classic context menu. Open Terminal as Administrator by right-clicking the Start button and selecting Terminal (Admin).

Run this command to modify the registry and enable the classic menu:

reg add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f /ve

Press Enter and you should see 'The operation completed successfully.' Restart Windows Explorer using the same method as Step 4 (Ctrl + Shift + Esc, find Windows Explorer, right-click, Restart).

Now when you right-click the desktop, you'll immediately see the classic context menu with your 'Turn off display' option visible without needing to click 'Show more options'.

To revert back to the compact menu later, run this command in Terminal (Admin):

reg delete "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}" /f

Create a removal script in case you want to remove the 'Turn off display' option later. Right-click the desktop, select New > Text Document, and name it remove_turn_off_display.

Open the file and paste this registry code that removes the menu option:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\DesktopBackground\Shell\TurnOffDisplay]

Save the file as remove_turn_off_display.reg (remember to select 'All Files' in the save type dropdown). Store this file somewhere safe for future use.

To remove the context menu option, simply double-click this removal file and confirm the registry changes when prompted. The minus sign before the registry key tells Windows to delete that entire key and all its subkeys.

If the menu option doesn't appear, first ensure you're looking in the right place. In Windows 11, custom context menu items appear in the classic menu, which requires clicking Show more options or holding Shift while right-clicking.

If you see a command prompt window flash briefly when using the option, this is normal behavior. The PowerShell command executes quickly and the window closes automatically.

If the display doesn't turn off, check if your antivirus software is blocking PowerShell execution. Add an exception for PowerShell or test the command in Windows Safe Mode to verify it works.

For multi-monitor setups, the command turns off all displays simultaneously. If you want to turn off only specific monitors, you'll need third-party software as Windows doesn't provide per-monitor control through this API.

If registry edits fail with permission errors, ensure you're running as Administrator and that your user account has full registry access. Some corporate environments restrict registry modifications.