When you buy a brand new computer monitor the small buttons on the side or on the front that allow you to change the screen contrast, brightness and color scheme work flawlessly. But after a year or so of continuous use of the PC, one or more of these buttons start to show signs of wearing out and stop working. Sometimes if you jiggle these buttons with your thumb then they start to work, but only for a moment – it is very frustrating. Yes, there is a solution for non-working buttons in your monitor but it involves opening up the monitor and working with a soldering iron.
If you want to have an alternative way to change the brightness and contrast of the computer screen then you can use the free ClickMonitorDDC software. If your monitor comes with built in speakers, then it can also be used to change the volume of these speakers. This software does not change the settings inside Windows, but communicates directly with the monitor using the DDC (display data channel) protocol. Which makes it a perfect replacement alternative for those panel buttons in your monitor that do not work or are faulty. It is same as changing the settings through the OSD menu that appears when you press the monitor panel buttons.
The software is portable and works with Windows 7, 8.1 and 10. Once launched it can be accessed from the system tray of the Windows desktop. The screen brightness, contrast and the volume can be changes using your mouse or through the up down arrow keys. If you want to change the color scheme of your monitor, then you have to check the RGB checkbox and it will show you all the possible color schemes available for your monitor. It can be used to manage multiple monitors if they are connected to your PC.
In the settings for the ClickMonitorDDC, you can choose which of the icons should be displayed in the system tray – brightness, contrast and volume. You can also choose the colors for the various slider controls that change the brightness, contrast and the volume.
Verdict: ClickMonitorDDC is a great tool for managing the screen brightness, contrast and volume for multiple monitors connected to your PC. This way you do not have to use the front or side panel buttons for these monitors and can comfortably control everything from the system tray.
You can download ClickMonitorDDC from http://clickmonitorddc.bplaced.net/.