Possible to save screen resolution settings and quickly switch between them?

Question

I have different screen resolutions I need for various situations, for example:

• Mac Retina while mobile: 1680x1050

• Mac Retina + Thunderbolt: default (equal scaling on both monitors)

• (optional) Mac Retina 1680x1050 + Thunderbolt: default (equal scaling on both monitors)

Answer 1

I'm not 100% sure this is what you're after, but it's possible to check the "Show displays in menu bar" option in System Preferences -> Displays. This adds a menubar item which allows you to quickly switch between recently used resolutions

Alternatively, maybe something like Display Maestro or SwitchResX would help? These both seem to have the ability to display and switch between recently used resolutions.

Answer 2

There is also QuickRes. You can try it.

QuickRes is the quickest and easiest way to switch between screen resolutions on the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. With just a single click or simple key-combo you can give your Mac more screen space than ever before with sizes ranging up to 3840x2400!

Answer 3

In my experience, just plugging in a monitor I've previously used will revert to the Display settings I last used with that monitor. So rather than needing to switch between recent display settings, I just need to plug it in and it switches automatically.

When I plug my computer into the DVI projector at work, it switches to 720p as the last-used setting with that projector, but when I use the external monitor on my desk, it uses the native 1680x1050 resolution.

I don't know if this works with VGA monitors, since I don't think the computer can actually identify the monitor(?), but would assume this generally applies to digital connections (DVI, HDMI, Thunderbolt).