Switch Between Desktop Mode and Cabinet Mode for Pinball Simulators (LaunchBox/BigBox and PinUp Popper)

[Sbaby]

Hi everyone,

I have a PC with 4 video outputs. One is connected to my TV for desktop mode with LaunchBox / BigBox (one screen active), where I relax comfortably on the couch with a joypad. The other three video outputs are used with PinUp Popper (three extended screens, with one in vertical orientation, and TV excluded) for the cabinet mode, where I play standing up in front of three screens with a pinball controller. The setup works perfectly, but I need a way to easily switch between the desktop mode (1 screen) of LaunchBox / BigBox and the cabinet mode (3 separate screens) of PinUp Popper.

What I need is a script that, upon startup, modifies the configuration of each pinball simulator (Future Pinball, Visual Pinball, Pinball FX (2023), Pinball M) so that it automatically activates desktop mode when I launch LaunchBox / BigBox (with the integrated DMD and no backglass), and switches to cabinet mode with DMD and backglass on separate monitors when I play with PinUp Popper.
Basically, I want a single startup script that modifies the configuration of each simulator based on the frontend I'm using. Currently, I have the following simulators installed in both LaunchBox / BigBox and PinUp Popper:

In LaunchBox / BigBox (one screen active): Future Pinball, Visual Pinball, Pinball FX (2023), Pinball M, Pinball FX3, Pinball Arcade, Zaccaria Pinball
In PinUp Popper (three separate screens, with one in vertical orientation, and TV excluded): Future Pinball, Visual Pinball, Pinball FX (2023), Pinball M
I only need a solution for these last simulators for now. Can anyone help me with a script or solution?

Thanks in advance! 🙂

[RetroBasic]

I use MultiMonitorTool by Nir Sofer to do that, and a lot more. E.g. You can rotate the playfield screen for games like The Pinball Arcade; Switch between vertical and horizontal aligned monitors in Display Settings (for a bug I have with TPAFreeCamMod where the DMD doesn't show when monitors are horizontally aligned). 

 

You can run it from a command prompt or batch file and specify a config file that you've created (and named) with the tool:

 

e.g. MultiMonitorTool.exe /LoadConfig "c:\configs\monitors1.cfg"

e.g. MultiMonitorTool.exe /LoadConfig "c:\configs\monitors3.cfg"

 

Edited December 29, 2024 by RetroBasic

[CarnyPriest]

Nice one. I use an old program that is no longer being developed, Display Changer II. https://12noon.com/?page_id=641. Been using it for 10 years.

 

I'd be willing to switch to something that is still being supported.. Although I would take an open source solution over even freeware.

[Sbaby]

Thank you for the answers! Yes, I too use MultiMonitorTool often and it is really helpful. However, maybe I did not explain myself well: my goal is to find a solution that, with one click, allows to switch from desktop mode to cabinet mode. This includes the configurations of each program, so their cfg, ini, and system logs for disabling backglass, pupop, DMD, rotations, buttons, etc., and other related aspects, as well as all the specific configurations needed for each program in both modes. I noticed that pinuppopper and TerryRed have already included batch files that do this and I also took a cue from those to make my owns

Thanks also to help from another forum, I was able to configure Visual Pinball and Future Pinball this way. I am now working on the other simulators. If it would be of interest, I am willing to share my solution.