How to make windowed mode while playing. Using the "-Window" property for the shortcut. Full Screen Mode in Photoshop

Not everyone knows how to run the game in windowed mode, but most users have come up with a similar idea. Sometimes due to the inconvenience of switching between other programs, since minimizing one game every time to look in another place does not always have a positive effect on the nerves of the player. Sometimes due to the lack of opportunity in a particular game to take a screenshot using PrtScrn and Paint, because some people only copy black windows instead of a full image. Sometimes due to the small screen resolution provided by the game, which is why you have to look at an imperfectly clear image, provided that your monitor is much larger. Sometimes because of other, more compelling reasons. In any case, from the article you will learn how to run the game in windowed mode, for whatever purpose you need this knowledge.

Method 1: Keyboard shortcut

The first thing you can try is to press Alt+Enter at the same time. This is not only the easiest way, but also the most effective, since this is how we can switch most games to the mode we need. If you get tired of it, just press the above-mentioned key combination again and the full screen mode will return and you can continue the game as before.

This method is convenient and easy, for which it is appreciated by everyone who knows it. Another thing is that not all games support such a command. In this case, you can also try pressing other keys that are similar to “Alt+Enter”: F11 or Ctrl+F.

Method 2: Shortcut Properties

This method is the most unreliable, since it simply does not work with many games (at least modern ones). However, you still need to know the “how”. You can also launch the game in windowed mode by adding a certain inscription to the game shortcut, which in most cases is located on the desktop. Most often "-window" works. When this doesn't work, you can try inserting the "-w" or "-win" command.

So, where and how to enter. We go to the desktop and right-click on the shortcut of the desired game to go to “properties”. There we see a highlighted line called “object”, which shows the location of the game itself and adds “exe” at the end. This is where we need to register our commands. At the very end you put an extra space, after which you add “-window” (without quotes, of course). Then click “OK” and open the game in windowed mode, if this really worked.

Method 3: Settings

Since the windowed mode in games is of interest to many users, the creators notice this, and therefore strive to make the conditions for their clients as comfortable as possible. In this case, you do not have to press keys or change the properties of the shortcut. Sometimes it’s enough just to go into the game settings and rummage through them in search of interesting things.

So, most often the screen settings are located in the “graphics” or “video” sections. It is there that you can see the words “Full screen”, “In a window”, “Windowed mode”, etc. with a checkbox that can be checked or removed. Sometimes you need to restart the game for new settings to take effect, take this into account and try to change settings not at the moment when you have an important unsaved mission at stake.

Some games offer you to choose immediately when you start the game. However, if you asked the question “how to run the game in windowed mode,” then it’s unlikely that your toy offers you this.

Conclusion

That's it, now you know how to make a windowed game mode, and you can try to apply the information received in practice. However, I would like to remind you that some games “eat” more when launched in this mode, i.e. full-fledged requires less power. If you understand that your computer cannot handle windowed mode, it is better not to take risks. However, not all games react this way, but only some, so you simply must try it. Remember how to run the game in windowed mode, because this may come in handy later even if you are not an avid gamer.

The usual practice of working on a computer involves using several programs at the same time. They are opened in window mode, then switching from one to another is not difficult. But gaming applications are often launched immediately in full screen mode, which prevents them from working in parallel with other windows. Fans of old games also find the full-screen version inconvenient; at low resolutions, everything looks ugly and blurry. It is inconvenient to take screenshots; if you exit the application, then you have to wait for it to load again, which wastes time. Therefore, it is advisable for users to set windowed mode in games, for which there are different ways.

Certain key combinations help solve the problem of how to switch the game to windowed mode. The simplest trick when the application is running in full screen is to press Alt+Enter. Similarly, you can press F11 or Ctrl+F in Windows, or Command+M in MacOS. Perhaps in the settings you will find other combinations specifically for your application. The method is easy and effective, because pressing the keys again will open the full screen mode.

The first and easiest way is to use a shortcut

2. Changing settings

Perhaps there is an option in the settings to switch to another mode, check. Go to the settings section (Options), look at them to see if there is a “Windowed mode” or a similar function: “Play in a window”, “Windowed mode”, other analogues. When you find it, select it by checking the box or activating it in another way provided by the program, and save the change.

3. Applying a modifier

If the option for on-screen deployment of the game is missing, add it using a special modifier.

  • Right-click on the launcher shortcut and click on “Properties”. You can also open the Properties window from the main menu of your OS.
  • Go to the “Object” line, at the end of the line (using the End key).
  • Leave a space and enter “–window”.
  • Click Apply - OK, run the application.

In this way, the launch of various games is edited, for example, the popular Warcraft, Counter Strike, Mass Effect. In other programs, a slightly different modifier may be used, in Sims2, for example, you need to add “–w”, in some applications “–win” works. Try different modifier options for yourself.

It will be possible to run the game in a windowed version; to return to the old settings, simply delete the entered modifier.

4. Settings file

If this option is enabled by the manufacturer, proceed as follows:

  • Go to the installed program folder.
  • Find the texts “Windowed”, “Fullscreen” in the files (if you have Windows 7, enter the text in the search box in Explorer, click on “File Contents” in the right corner).
  • For Fullscreen, set the value to 0 to disable it. For Windowed, set the value to 1 to enable it. You can now launch the application.

5. Third party programs

The above methods are applicable if such capabilities are included in the settings. How to run any game in windowed mode when the manufacturers did not provide for this? Third-party programs will help.

Force transfer to the right option You can run games by taking the old Chinese program D3DWindower; it copes with this task, although it is quite old. Install it, launch it, add your game to the list by clicking on the “plus” button. In the settings, set the desired height and width of the window.

6. Emulators

Emulators do not work on all computers; they are resource intensive. Download and run the emulator (Vmware, Windows Virtual PC). We recommend using official websites. You create a virtual “computer within a computer” running in a regular window size, and any program running in it will be within the emulator window.

The disadvantages are that the virtual computer requires big place on disk, setting it up is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Installing an emulator just to launch the game is irrational; use this method if you need it for work.

If the listed methods showing how to put the game in windowed mode did not help, try contacting the developers through the official website or support forum. In addition, when this option is not available at all, we recommend minimizing the full-screen application to switch to another program by pressing Alt+Tab, then you can simply expand it.

Many people like to pass the time playing their favorite game, where time flies quickly and unnoticed. Of course, you want to do this as comfortably as possible so that the process is enjoyable. Sometimes we want to do several things at once - text with a friend or work while plunging into the virtual world, but this can be difficult to do because full-screen mode does not allow it.

Windowed mode is a very convenient feature, which is good because while using the computer you can easily switch between programs and quickly minimize the window. Some of them work in this mode by default: many system programs, folders, while others do not. For example, games that for the most part automatically open in full screen, and this can create various kinds of inconvenience for users.

There are games whose graphics are old by today's standards, or even pixelated, but if you want to play - It will be more convenient to do this in windowed mode, so as not to be distracted by the simplicity of the graphic component. Or, again, the need to perform several tasks simultaneously without interrupting their work, i.e. without turning it off.

Everyone has this different reasons, but it is quite easy to do, despite some problems that may arise. It should be noted that some games do not work well in windowed mode, and to be precise, it requires a large load and they may become unstable. This happens because the developer did not provide for the possibility of using such a mode or did not optimize his program enough.

Ways to run the game in a window

And yet, many users have at least once encountered some inconvenience, for example, if you minimize every time you leave the computer, this can take time. There are several ways to open a game in a window, all of them are quite simple, but they are not always suitable, so all of them should be studied for further use.

Settings

The easiest way is to check if changing screen mode to windowed mode is available in the game settings. Usually there are settings in the main menu. Most likely, changing the window mode will be in the graphics sections. There we find the windowed mode/full screen option and select the first one.

In this case, we simply uncheck. If you need to make it full screen, put it back. After the change, do not forget to click the apply button, then the game will immediately launch in the window and you can start playing.

Changing shortcut properties

There is another way:

  1. Find the shortcut with the desired game and right-click on it. From the list that opens, select “Properties”.
  2. In the window that opens, in the “Shortcut” tab, you need to find the line “Object”. It says the location of the shortcut, and at the very end of this entry you need to put a space and add “–window”, and then the “Apply” button.
  3. Run it and check if the method worked.

If not, then add “-win”, or just “-w”. To return to full-screen mode, just erase what you wrote and save the changes.

Keyboard shortcuts

There are certain keyboard shortcuts that, when pressed, will allow you to make the program appear in windowed mode. During the game, you can press ALT+Enter without closing it, and press it again to return to full-screen mode.

If the combination doesn't work, this means that the game has other hotkeys for this action, and you can find them in the control settings. They can be Ctrl+F, Windows F11, or MacOS Command+M.

Other programs

If the game functions do not allow opening in windowed mode, then this can be done using special programs that can be downloaded on the Internet. One of the easiest programs to implement is D3DWindower. It will download in archive format. When you open it, go to the d3dwindowerenglish folder and open the program itself.

  1. Click on the plus button (Add Program). A window will open where you need to select the desired game by double-clicking or click “Open”.
  2. Select the one you added and click on the closed folder icon (Settings). A menu will open where you indicate required size window. Standard size- 800x600, but you can specify another one.
  3. In the DLL line, you need to select a file called D3dHook.dll, it will be located in the archive you downloaded. Click OK.
  4. After we have installed and saved all the necessary parameters, we need to start it with the button that shows the computer (Run Program).

Everything should automatically launch in the screen size you specified earlier, and the D3DWindower program will close. Further launches the program will open in windowed mode, and to return to the original mode, remove the game from the menu list of this program.

Emulator programs

Emulators are programs that allow you to emulate another program on your computer when the computer does not support its use. In this case, emulator programs will emulate the ability to run the game in a window, which is impossible under normal conditions. These programs are very demanding on the system, so they will not work on every computer.

There are several different emulators; it is better to download them from official sites to avoid viruses from entering the system. But installing the emulator - hard work, a weak computer is not suitable for this, and besides, this requires a lot of hard drive space. Therefore, they are most often used only when really necessary work.

If all else fails

If all these methods fail, then you can contact support. Each game has an official website where they will help you solve your problem. Sometimes support is only available in a certain language, but you will be able to translate it, and some sites have language changes.

Typically, the support service provides assistance either through the account of their game site, where you must register for this, or log into an existing account previously created there, or they will contact you by your email, which they will ask you to indicate, describing the problem.

They can solve the problem by sending you new letters with a solution. If it doesn't work, write about it by replying to the letter, then the support employee will offer another option.

Video

Using this video as an example, it will be easier for you to understand how to open almost any game in a window.

Didn't get an answer to your question? Suggest a topic to the authors.

Each of the modern programs automatically adjusts to the monitor display resolution. But, if someone decides to install a game that was popular many years ago, it may turn out that it is only partially displayed on the monitor. Accordingly, there is a need to make the game full screen.
There are several reasons why the game is only partially visible on the display. However, you shouldn’t get upset in this situation, since there are ways to bring everything back to normal and play in full screen mode.

Method 1: Using hotkeys

The easiest way to put the game into full screen mode is to press two buttons "Alt" and "Enter" at the same time. It helps not only in games released 10 or 15 years ago, but also in modern applications. For example, in WoT. By the way, if you press these two keys again in full-screen mode, you will return to windowed mode.

Method 2: Change startup options

There are situations, especially when playing on someone else's computer, that the game starts in windowed mode due to the fact that the "-windows" option is selected in the settings. Once you get rid of this inscription, the game will immediately appear in full screen mode.

Difficulties may also arise in situations where the game is simply incompatible with the existing operating system. There is a solution in this case too. Go to the shortcut properties and find the "Compatibility" tab there. Select the operating system from the list that matches the one installed on the computer.

But the list of OSes on the list is not as huge as we would like. The last one on the list will be Windows Vista, and version 10 of this OS is no longer available.

Method 3. Setting up the video card

It is possible that the reason why the game does not want to run in full screen mode is the presence of outdated drivers. It will be enough to update them or reinstall them. The menu of a particular video card manufacturer may be displayed differently.

For example, if an Nvidia video card is installed, the user will have to go to the Control Panel and select nVidia. Here you will be able to detect scaling. Mark it and the game will automatically expand to full screen.


If your computer is equipped with an ATI video card, you will need to run the Catalyst Control Center application. The hardest part will be for those whose computers have an integrated Intel Graphics video card. Very often it is included with laptops.

Method 4: Setting up the game

A number of games allow you to set full-screen mode in the graphics settings. This feature is available for games that, for one reason or another, do not launch in full screen mode by default.

The problem is easily solved:

  • you should go to settings;
  • find the item where windowed or full-screen mode is set;
  • start the desired mode.
When the settings are changed, you will have to restart your computer. A reboot will be necessary regardless of the type operating system and screen resolution.

Method 5. Change resolution

It is possible that the methods listed above did not help in your personal case. Most likely, the computer is running the Windows 7 operating system.

There is now only one way to fix the problem - select a different screen resolution. However, this method also has side effects. For example, other programs designed for previously installed parameters may not be available.

So, having played this or that time in old game, return the monitor to its previous resolution.


It is possible that the game only functions at a resolution of 640x480, and the monitor simply cannot support this mode. Then you will have to select it by opening the compatibility tab.

Attention! This function, after the game has been turned off, returns normal resolution in automatic mode

Solving the problem on a laptop

A similar problem may appear when running games on laptops running Windows. The reason is most likely expressed in incorrectly set parameters in the settings of the Intel Graphics video card. To fix the problem you need to:
  1. Use only software from the card manufacturer. If it is not there, then correct the situation accordingly;
  2. Go to graphic characteristics;
  3. Go to the "Display" section. If it is missing, then, by default, the maximum resolution is used.


You need to reduce the resolution and then you can change the monitor screen parameters. After that, set the scaling parameter. As a result, full screen mode will become available.

Take into account that each application will now stretch to fill the entire screen. As a result of this, there is a chance that the clarity of the picture will noticeably deteriorate.

Let's sum it up

Now the user is very familiar with the methods that will help open the game in full screen mode. All of them are intuitively simple, and everyone can figure them out. As a rule, it will take no more than 1-2 minutes to set up the game in full screen mode.

How to run the game in windowed mode on Windows 7, detailed instructions.

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Most often, PC games run in full screen mode, allowing the player to better immerse themselves in the virtual world. However, this is not always convenient. Moreover, frequent switching between the game and other computer programs not only irritates players, but can also lead to freezes.

Freezes usually go away only after restarting the game. Also, in some cases, it is impossible to take a screenshot using the “Print Screen” button on the keyboard. Since instead of an image, only a black window is copied on the screen.

In addition, if the game is launched on big screen, but its settings do not provide for such a resolution, then the image will be unclear. Accordingly, this will also not bring pleasure to the player.

So what to do? To resolve this issue, you can use windowed mode.

In this material you can get acquainted with ways to launch games in windowed mode on Windows OS.

Keys

operating room Windows system is designed so that most commands can be launched using certain combinations that are created using the keyboard. The same applies to windowed mode.

The most common option is the combination “Alt+Enter”. In this case, the game starts first, and only then the “Alt+Enter” keys are pressed simultaneously. Sometimes the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+F” or “F11+F” can be used.

However, using a keyboard shortcut does not always solve the problem. And the presented option, although the simplest, is not the only one.

Settings

Taking into account the wishes of the players, the developers provide the ability for players to launch windowed mode using the internal application settings. In this connection, it is worth looking for this item in the game settings in the “Video” or “Graphics” section.

If you can’t find it yourself, then try visiting the forums dedicated to this game and ask more experienced players about the possibility of launching windowed mode through the settings.

More experienced users can try making adjustments to the game configuration settings. Only when using this method should you be careful, as you can ruin everything and, as a result, you will need to reinstall the game again.

As a rule, configuration files are located in the “config” folder, and you need to open them using regular Notepad. Having launched the configuration, you need to find a line called “windowed”. In this line, after the “=” sign, the number “0” changes to “1”.

Label

After installing the game on your PC, a corresponding shortcut appears on your desktop. Through it you can also add one setting that will allow you to immediately launch the application in windowed mode. True, this option is usually useless for many games. But, nevertheless, you can try to set the necessary settings.

So, to set the required parameter you need:

  • Click on the game shortcut with the right mouse button.
  • In the menu that opens, select “Properties”.
  • Next, on the “Shortcut” tab in the “Object” line, add “-window”, “-w” or “-win” without quotes.
  • To save the settings, click on “OK”.

Summary

As you can see, solving the question of how to run the game in windowed mode on Windows 7 is not difficult. And in addition to the above options, you can install additional utilities for these purposes.

For example, a program such as D3DWindower and others. In any case, a lot depends on the “engine” of the game itself, and switching to this mode is not always a good decision.

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