Ubuntu Multimedia :: Turn Off Monitor / Screen?

how to turn off your laptop screen in Ubuntu using a script/command, but none seem to have worked for me except one.

after digging around, I found the following suggestions:

1. xset dpms force off or xset dpms force suspend

This didn't work for many people, nor did it work for me, as the monitor would just turn on again after a few seconds. The second other suggestion I found to make this "stick was:

2. sleep 1; xset dpms force off
or sleep 1; xset dpms force suspend

This worked for some people, by delaying the monitor off function by one second, but it did not work for me, as the monitor would turn on again by itself after one minute exactly. Maybe those who thought this was the solution just walked away and never really found out their monitor plays sneak-peak with them. The next solution i found digging around was supposed to really make the monitor stay powered off:

3. sleep 1; && xset dpms force off
or sleep 1; && xset dpms force suspend

But this didn't work either; what a disappointment, and it also made my CPU and HDD freak out for a while while my monitor was off. So after some more digging around, I came up with the following: (and I don't remember where i got this, whether it was from here or elsewhere on the internet, but if it is your creation, please contact me and I'll edit the post to give you credit)

4. create a file and save as something like Monitor_off.sh in a folder of your preference with the following in it:

---------------------------------------
#!/usr/bin/python
import time
import subprocess
from Xlib import X

[Code]....

Then just go to: System>Preferences>Keyboard Shortcuts and assign a Keyboard combination shortcut to call and initiate the script. I chose "<Ctrl>+M" because it's easy to remember.

Make sure to disable any same keyboard shortcuts you may have in Compiz to avoid conflicts.

This final script just worked perfectly for me. And the Monitor just stays off until I shake the mouse or press a key on the keyboard, and my CPU and HDD don't rev up like a Harley. This final solution seems to be working for everyone of my friends without a glitch.