How to Automatically enable grayscale mode in Windows 10

Introduction

Windows 10 is an operating system that comes with many features that are designed to improve the user experience. One of these features is the grayscale mode. Grayscale mode is a display option that turns your screen into a black and white display. It can be useful for people who want to reduce eye strain or for those who are colorblind. However, manually enabling grayscale mode can be a bit of a hassle. Fortunately, Windows 10 has a built-in feature that allows you to automate the process of enabling grayscale mode. In this blog post, we will show you how to automatically enable grayscale mode in Windows 10.

Step 1: Create a Scheduled Task

The first step in automating the process of enabling grayscale mode is to create a scheduled task. A scheduled task is a feature in Windows 10 that allows you to set up a task to run at a specific time or when a specific event occurs. To create a scheduled task, follow these steps:

1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type “taskschd.msc” into the dialog box and press Enter.
3. In the Task Scheduler window, click on “Create Task” in the “Actions” pane on the right side of the window.
4. In the “Create Task” window, give your task a name and a description.
5. Click on the “Triggers” tab and then click on “New”.
6. In the “New Trigger” window, select “Daily” and then choose the time you want the task to run.
7. Click on the “Actions” tab and then click on “New”.
8. In the “New Action” window, type “cmd” into the “Program/script” field and “/c mode con: cols=80 lines=25 && reg add HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftColorFiltering /v ColorFilterState /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f” into the “Add arguments” field.
9. Click on “OK” to save the action.

Step 2: Test the Scheduled Task

Once you have created the scheduled task, you will need to test it to make sure it works. To test the task, follow these steps:

1. In the Task Scheduler window, select the task you just created.
2. Click on the “Run” button in the “Actions” pane on the right side of the window.
3. Wait a few seconds and then check to see if grayscale mode has been enabled.

If grayscale mode has been enabled, your scheduled task is working correctly.

Step 3: Create a Second Scheduled Task

Now that you have created a scheduled task to enable grayscale mode, you will need to create a second scheduled task to disable it. To create the second task, follow the same steps as in Step 1, but use the following command in the “New Action” window:

“cmd” into the “Program/script” field and “/c mode con: cols=80 lines=25 && reg add HKCUSOFTWAREMicrosoftColorFiltering /v ColorFilterState /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f” into the “Add arguments” field.

Step 4: Adjust the Scheduled Tasks

Now that you have created both scheduled tasks, you will need to adjust the times that they run. To adjust the times, follow these steps:

1. In the Task Scheduler window, select the first scheduled task.
2. Click on the “Properties” button in the “Actions” pane on the right side of the window.
3. Click on the “Triggers” tab and then click on the “Edit” button.
4. Adjust the time that the task runs to the time you want grayscale mode to be enabled.
5. Click on “OK” to save the changes.
6. Repeat the process for the second scheduled task, but adjust the time to when you want grayscale mode to be disabled.

Step 5: Save and Exit

Once you have adjusted the scheduled tasks, click on “OK” to save and exit the Task Scheduler window.

Conclusion

Enabling grayscale mode in Windows 10 can be a useful feature for people who want to reduce eye strain or for those who are colorblind. However, manually enabling grayscale mode can be a bit of a hassle. Fortunately, Windows 10 has a built-in feature that allows you to automate the process of enabling grayscale mode. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can easily set up scheduled tasks to enable and disable grayscale mode at specific times.

Yes, it can be done. You will require a tool that can send the keys ctrl+windows+c, as well as a means of scheduling this sending. The following are the tools that you will need:

• AutoHotkey
• The SCHTASKS batch command, or alternatively the Task Scheduler.

To send the key combination, you will have to make an AutoHotkey script, which is essentially a file with the .ahk extension and only contains one line of code:

send, #^c

To execute the script at specific days and times, you will have to use either the SCHTASKS command or the Task Scheduler.

Additionally, if you want to deactivate the hotkey ctrl+windows+c, you can change the DWORD item HotkeyEnabled in the registry. The key for this item is HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ColorFiltering, and you can set its value to 0 to disable or 1 to enable the hotkey.

The change will take effect immediately. To modify the registry programmatically, you can use either the RegWrite command in AutoHotkey or the REG command in a batch file.