Add a Switch Power Plan Option to Desktop in Windows 10
In Windows 10, the Control Panel has been replaced by the Settings Metro app, and users are still getting used to it. So if you want to change your current power plan, you’ll have to dive into Settings app, but we’ll show you a little trick that which will help you to change your current power plan in seconds.
How to Create a desktop shortcut to switch power plans?
In order to add a Power Plan switching option to Destkop contest menu, we’ll have to draw a few information for Command Prompt first. Since Windows XP, Windows features a powercfg.exe console utility. This option allows you to manage various power plans within Command Prompt. Here’s what you need to do to access power plans with Command Prompt:
- Go to Search, type cmd and open Command Prompt
- Enter the following command and press Enter: powercfg /L
- It will show you the following screen:
You can notice that every power plan scheme has its own GUID. GUIDs can be used to switch the power plan directly from the command line. For example, if you want to activate Power Saver, you need to enter the following command and press Enter:
powercfg /S a1841308-3541-4fab-bc81-f71556f20b4a
“/S” command activates the desired power plan, as it takes the GUID of that power plan as its argument.
Now that we have access to these information, we can use GUIDs to create a registry file which will allow us to change the power plan right from the desktop context menu. Just merge the following registry file (registry entry is curtsey of WinAero):
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
; Created by https://winaero.com
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShellSwitch Power Plan]
“Icon”=”powercpl.dll”
“MUIVerb”=”Switch Power Plan”
“Position”=”Top”
“SubCommands”=””
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShellSwitch Power PlanShellBalanced]
“MUIVerb”=”Balanced”
“Icon”=”powercpl.dll”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShellSwitch Power PlanShellBalancedCommand]
@=”powercfg.exe /S 381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShellSwitch Power PlanShellHigh Performance]
“MUIVerb”=”High Performance”
“Icon”=”powercpl.dll”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShellSwitch Power PlanShellHigh PerformanceCommand]
@=”powercfg.exe /S 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShellSwitch Power PlanShellPower Saver]
“MUIVerb”=”Power Saver”
“Icon”=”powercpl.dll”
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTDesktopBackgroundShellSwitch Power PlanShellPower SaverCommand]
@=”powercfg.exe /S a1841308-3541-4fab-bc81-f71556f20b4a”
If you’re not sure how to manage these Registry Files, folks from WinAero created ready-to-use registry file. All you need to do is to download and launch it. Download the file here.
Configure Power Plan options
If you want to further customize your Power Plan options, you can use the Control Panel. All you need to do is go to Power Options > Choose or customize a power plan. To edit your power options, click on ‘Change power settings’.
Should you ever encounter any issues related to your power plans, here are some useful troubleshooting guides:
- FIX: Windows 10 power plans are missing
- How to disable Ultimate Performance Plan in Windows 10 SCU
- 13 Tips to Extend Your Laptop Battery Life That Really Work
