Most modern games, upon first launch, automatically set the optimal graphics settings for the current computer or laptop. Therefore, provided the PC meets the minimum recommended requirements, most users will not have technical problems.
But if the game is outdated or downloaded from pirated resources, then one Gabin knows what difficulties a player may face during or after installation. For example, it runs in a window. And go figure out what happened: either the driver has crashed somewhere, or there are compatibility problems, or maybe the program just bugged. The good news is that there are a few easy ways to fix this. We will talk about them further.
Content
- Using hotkeys on the computer
- In-game settings
- Launch options in shortcut properties
- Launch options in online store apps
- Steam
- Epic game
- Scaling settings in the graphics card driver
- Compatibility settings
- Changing the screen resolution of your monitor
Using hotkeys on the computer
The fastest way to make the game full-screen – is to use the key combination « the Alt + the Enter» . When this command is activated, the running game will expand to full-screen mode or, conversely, minimize to a window. Depending on the initial settings. This combination works in the operating system itself and works in all games that support full screen mode on Windows 7 and Windows 10.
In-game settings
This method is a little longer than the previous one, but also simple. In most games, even those assembled on unpopular engines, in the graphics settings, you can choose the launch mode in a window or in full screen. Sometimes there is even an option: “In a window without frames.”
You can change this setting somewhere in the “Graphics” or “Image” section, but it can also be moved to a separate item “Screen”.
To select full screen mode, go to the settings (“Preference” or “Settings” in English), go to the graphics section and set “Full screen” in the corresponding menu.
If after that the game remains in the window, most likely the full-screen mode is not available. And then only reinstallation will help solve this problem. But this is only true for modern games purchased from official stores. Old games or pirated repacks may have problems in the installation files themselves. Try downloading another one. But keep in mind that piracy is illegal.
Launch options in shortcut properties
This method will only work with games that were installed directly from the manufacturer, and not purchased from Steam or the Epic Game Store.
The meaning of this method is to register the launch of the game in full screen mode in the properties of the shortcut. To do this, follow these steps:
- Right click on the game shortcut.
- Select Properties from the pop-up menu.
- Go to the “Shortcut” tab.
- In the item “Object”, write the additional command ” -fullscreen” separated by a space .
- Then click the “Apply” button and if the administrator rights confirmation window pops up, click “Continue”.
Not all modern games support these commands, if your after adding the “-fullscreen” parameter in the shortcut continues to run in the window, this is probably the same case.
In the “Object” field, you can find the ” – window ” parameter . As you might guess, he is responsible for starting the game in the window. To run in full screen mode, erase it.
Launch options in online store apps
In the properties of the shortcut of games installed through Steam and Epic Game Store, instead of the “Shortcut” tab, you will find only a link.
Accordingly, prescribing additional parameters will only spoil the web address and lead to the fact that the program will stop running altogether. However, there is a way to register the required parameter for the game through the store utility.
Steam
Steam is much more popular than Epic, and we’ll start with it. To add the ” -fullscreen ” option in the Steam app follow these steps:
- Run the application.
- Go to the “Library” section.
- Find the game of interest in the list and right-click on it.
- Enter “-fullscreen” in the Launch Options field.
After that, just close the window. The parameter will be saved and no additional confirmation is required.
Epic game
In the Epica application, the principle of prescribing a parameter is similar to that of Steam. To set up launch in full screen mode, do the following:
- Open the application window and go to settings.
- Scroll down the menu until you see a list of installed games and select the one you want.
- Click on the name with the left mouse button and put a tick in front of the menu item “Additional command line parameters”. And then in the field that appears, write the parameter ” -fullscreen“.
Just like in Steam, just exit the settings, the parameter will be saved automatically.
Similarly, when setting parameters in shortcut properties, not all games support a set of standard commands.
Scaling settings in the graphics card driver
This method will only work on very old games (for example, in the first release of Minecraft) that do not support automatic scaling. And the result, most likely you will not like it. The fact is that using this method, the game window, which does not have a resolution for your monitor, will be stretched to fill the entire screen. Not only will the picture be “soapy”, but also the dimensions of the objects will most likely be distorted. And yes, it will still be in the window, only expanded to fill the entire monitor.
But as a way it takes place. To use it, follow these steps (for example, an NVidia video card):
- Open the NVidia Control Panel or AMD Catalyst Control Center graphics utility. Respectively for video cards NVidia or AMD Radeon.
- Go to the “Adjusting the Size and Position of the Desktop” section.
- In the working window, select the item “Full screen” and put a tick in front of the option “Override the zoom mode set for games and programs.”
- After selecting the settings, click the “Apply” button.
So you can maximize the window to full screen without changing the settings, or, more simply, stretch its borders automatically.
For the convenience of the user, in most games that are not running in full-screen mode, the mouse will not go beyond the window boundaries. If you want to leave it not minimized and go to the desktop press the ” Windows” key on your keyboard.
Compatibility settings
Some games written specifically for unpopular versions of Windows: Millennium, Vista, Windows 8, etc. may not work correctly on modern OS due to a compatibility conflict. For example, before starting the game itself, settings should appear where you can expand the window to full screen. But this does not happen due to the lack of a set of commands in the used version of the OS.
To solve this problem will help the compatibility mode, which is in the most popular Windows 7 and 10 OS today. To activate it, follow these steps:
- Right click on the game shortcut and go to properties.
- In the window that opens, select the “Compatibility” tab.
- Check the box next to the “Run this program in compatibility mode” option and select the current OS version at the time of the game’s release.
More often than not, older games run fine in Windows XP compatibility mode (Service Pack 3). More modern ones such as “Tanks” and “Undertail” will go to Window 7.
Changing the screen resolution of your monitor
An old folk wisdom says: “If the mountain does not go to Magomed, then Magomed goes to the mountain.” And she perfectly describes this method. Its meaning is to lower the monitor resolution to the one set in the game window. It will still be windowed, but full screen.
As with scaling, the result is likely to disappoint you. Again “soap and distorted aspect ratios or black bars on the sides. On the other hand, this is the only chance to enlarge the screen in the game and see at least something in the case of old games with a maximum resolution of 640x480p on a 4K monitor.
All you need to do is lower the monitor resolution using the screen settings in the Windows menu. To do this, do the following:
- Right-click on an empty space on the desktop.
- Select “Screen Options” in Windows 10 and “Screen Resolution” in Windows 7.
- Lower the monitor resolution so that the game window is maximized to full screen.
