OLD PROGRAMS (EG, SUPERCAL5 v.5 FOR PC) WONT GO FULL-SCREEN IN VM WINDOWS XP
Posted: 2. Jun 2021, 12:22
In my Windows XP computers, these programs run in a window. The window has the empty square symbol at top right, meaning that it is the largest window available (clicking on this square reduces the size of the window frame). There is also the usual MINUS symbol, which drops the program down onto the taskbar.
When displaying in the largest window available (empty square at top right), the long established method for making the program display in 100% full-screen mode is to press ALT and, while holding this key down, press ENTER (or RETURN).
You revert to windowed display by pressing ALT + RETURN a second time.
In Windows XP running as a VM in VirtualBox, this combined keystroke has little effect. When first pressed, the window becomes only slightly larger, and its frame and top line disappear. This is too small a display for serious work, even on a 19" monitor. And, of course, it is a frustrating behaviour when you know that the program will run in full screen mode n "real" XP.
As in "real" XP, the normal windowed display is again obtained by pressing ALT+ RETURN a second time.
What is the procedure (if there is one) for making the basic windowed display of this type of program enlarge to fill the whole screen?
RUNNING THESE PROGRAMS IN "REAL" XP
The programs I am talking about run in the DOS emulator in Windows XP. (They won't run in later versions of Windows except by installing a virtual environment like Oracle VirtualBox.)
Once installed, they can be run from the desktop via a shortcut. There are two screen settings available in PROPERTIES by right-clicking the shortcut:-
1. Full Screen
2. Window
The WINDOW setting is the one to use in both a "real" and a "virtual" XP machine. In "real" XP this makes the program run in a window, and then ALT + RETURN make it run in true full-screen mode. If you change to the full screen setting in the shortcut PROPERTIES, the display is small, and strangely shaped.
So, in real XP, it is simple to get full-screen display:=
- Set SCREEN to WINDOW in the shortcut properties.
-The program then displays in a standard window, a lot smaller than the full screen.
- Press ALT + RETURN and the program displays in true full-screen mode.
When displaying in the largest window available (empty square at top right), the long established method for making the program display in 100% full-screen mode is to press ALT and, while holding this key down, press ENTER (or RETURN).
You revert to windowed display by pressing ALT + RETURN a second time.
In Windows XP running as a VM in VirtualBox, this combined keystroke has little effect. When first pressed, the window becomes only slightly larger, and its frame and top line disappear. This is too small a display for serious work, even on a 19" monitor. And, of course, it is a frustrating behaviour when you know that the program will run in full screen mode n "real" XP.
As in "real" XP, the normal windowed display is again obtained by pressing ALT+ RETURN a second time.
What is the procedure (if there is one) for making the basic windowed display of this type of program enlarge to fill the whole screen?
RUNNING THESE PROGRAMS IN "REAL" XP
The programs I am talking about run in the DOS emulator in Windows XP. (They won't run in later versions of Windows except by installing a virtual environment like Oracle VirtualBox.)
Once installed, they can be run from the desktop via a shortcut. There are two screen settings available in PROPERTIES by right-clicking the shortcut:-
1. Full Screen
2. Window
The WINDOW setting is the one to use in both a "real" and a "virtual" XP machine. In "real" XP this makes the program run in a window, and then ALT + RETURN make it run in true full-screen mode. If you change to the full screen setting in the shortcut PROPERTIES, the display is small, and strangely shaped.
So, in real XP, it is simple to get full-screen display:=
- Set SCREEN to WINDOW in the shortcut properties.
-The program then displays in a standard window, a lot smaller than the full screen.
- Press ALT + RETURN and the program displays in true full-screen mode.