How to setup a specific resolution size in window mode?

[captain420 3,099]

I am running my sim on a large 55" 4K TV and would like to know how I can set P3D to run in Window mode at a specific resolution? I'd like to have it running at 2560x1440 as a window so that I can use my left over space for other apps like my flight planner or have my browser open.

Also would running P3D in a lower resolution window vs at 4k fullscreen give the sim better performance this way?

[vgbaron 3,486]

In the graphics options you can set the display resolution. You might some improved performance with reduced resolution.

 

Vic

[captain420 3,099]

Yes but that only seems to be apply for full screen mode. Not window. Whenever I'm in window mode, its free size which mean I can manually resize the window. But if I do it that way, I don't know the exact resolution. I want to be able to set the resolution of the window to be exact. By having me drag the window doesn't tell me what the actual resolution is.

[howevr 39]

4 hours ago, captain420 said:

Also would running P3D in a lower resolution window vs at 4k fullscreen give the sim better performance this way?

That has been my experience. Tested with many games built in benchmark tools. I have a 43" 4K LG monitor 60HZ. Test the game at full 4k then change the games resolution to 1440p and rerun the test and the FPS is greater. Its math, less pixels to push around. Also, as said, set your in game resolution to what you want (1440p) and the window will take up as much of your 4k screen as necessary. The bigger the 4k monitor the bigger the window. My 43" monitor would show a 1440p window approximately equivalent to a physical 27" screen.

The only downside I found for me running a 1440p windows on a 4k monitor was that I could see everything on the surrounding screen which kills the immersion somewhat. If I could be bothered I could have set a black background and hid my desktop stuff to make is cleaner.

I could also set my monitor to a non native resolution, instead of its 4k native set it to 1440p and compare the quality. I tried it with FarCry5 and I got better frames and the game visuals were very acceptable.

Another thought, depending on how far back you can get from the screen - especially large screens - running in a small window lets you get a little closer to the screen. Some games with lots of movement are difficult to play up close, motion sickness and all that.

Cheers,

[MarkDH 234]

14 hours ago, captain420 said:

I am running my sim on a large 55" 4K TV and would like to know how I can set P3D to run in Window mode at a specific resolution? I'd like to have it running at 2560x1440 as a window so that I can use my left over space for other apps like my flight planner or have my browser open.

Also would running P3D in a lower resolution window vs at 4k fullscreen give the sim better performance this way?

Just resize your window manually to how big you want it. There's no real advange I can see to making it a precise 'resolution' (by which you seem to mean window size). And yes, I would expect it to improve performance, at least in principle. Of course it depends where your bottleneck is.

[vgbaron 3,486]

13 hours ago, captain420 said:

Yes but that only seems to be apply for full screen mode. Not window. Whenever I'm in window mode, its free size which mean I can manually resize the window. But if I do it that way, I don't know the exact resolution. I want to be able to set the resolution of the window to be exact. By having me drag the window doesn't tell me what the actual resolution is.

The resolution of the window doesn't change with the window size. If you set at 1980 x 1024 in full screen, it will be 1980 x 1024 in any size window. When you resize the window it gets bigger or smaller but the "resolution" remains the same.

[cwburnett 1,809]

17 hours ago, captain420 said:

Yes but that only seems to be apply for full screen mode. Not window. Whenever I'm in window mode, its free size which mean I can manually resize the window. But if I do it that way, I don't know the exact resolution. I want to be able to set the resolution of the window to be exact. By having me drag the window doesn't tell me what the actual resolution is.

I believe you will find that you can specify the exact window location and size in these lines in the prepar3d.cfg file:

[MAIN]
Location=-32,0,3700,2106,\\.\DISPLAY1

I haven't tried this myself, but I THINK you will find that the first two numbers specify the upper left corner of the window X,Y (so 0,0 would be the far upper left corner); the second set of number is EITHER the SIZE of the window (X=width, Y=height) OR the X,Y COORDINATES of the lower right corner of the window. I just don't know so you'll have to experiment. You may also find this to be useful, though I believe this is for UI/menu windows, but I could also be wrong about that. http://www.prepar3d.com/SDKv5/sdk/references/configuration_files/user_interface/window_configuration.html

So not so much answering your question definitively as much as getting you headed in the right direction...

You can just experiment with it - set it roughly where you like it, exit P3D, open the CFG file and use that as a guide to tweak it so that you get the exact size and location you want.

In any case, you want to leave your display resolution set to 3840x2160 in the sim and in Windows and then just not use full screen view.  You will be essentially lowering your perceived resolution because you'll be displaying the same 'data' over a smaller number of pixels. This will lower the demand on some aspects of your system because a smaller graphical area is being rendered, but I don't know to what degree.

Edited May 19, 2020 by cwburnett

[pinsel 1]

You could use a little AutoHotkey-Script like this:

#n::
    WinMove, ahk_exe prepar3d.exe, , 0, 0, 1024, 768
return

If you press WIN+n the window is set to position 0,  0 and is sized to 1024x768. It works with fullscreen and window.

[MarkDH 234]

On 5/19/2020 at 6:44 PM, vgbaron said:

The resolution of the window doesn't change with the window size. If you set at 1980 x 1024 in full screen, it will be 1980 x 1024 in any size window. When you resize the window it gets bigger or smaller but the "resolution" remains the same.

Are you sure about that?!

[vgbaron 3,486]

Prove it to your self. Set a window at 4k resolution - then drag it and make it smaller. Look at text particularly - it never changes size, just moves around and you get scroll bars.but the resolution is the same.

I expect one could program a window to auto adjust resolution but don't recall ever seeing it.

Look at it in reverse - take a small window and drag it larger - the text doesn't get bigger, the images do not get bigger, you just see more of the field. Resolution stays the same

Vic

[MarkDH 234]

2 hours ago, vgbaron said:

Prove it to your self. Set a window at 4k resolution - then drag it and make it smaller. Look at text particularly - it never changes size, just moves around and you get scroll bars.but the resolution is the same.

I expect one could program a window to auto adjust resolution but don't recall ever seeing it.

Look at it in reverse - take a small window and drag it larger - the text doesn't get bigger, the images do not get bigger, you just see more of the field. Resolution stays the same

Vic

I don't know what it is you're trying to demonstrate. I understood you to be saying that whatever you set in the 'full screen resolution' field is how many pixels get drawn in the window regardless of how you resize it. Perhaps you aren't saying this (which is preposterous and demonstrably untrue). Maybe all you are intending to say is that the OP is saying 'resolution' when he means 'window dimensions'. I think we can all agree that in windowed mode the resolution of anything you see is whatever you have your Windows desktop set to.

[vgbaron 3,486]

1 minute ago, MarkDH said:

 Maybe all you are intending to say is that the OP is saying 'resolution' when he means 'window dimensions'. I think we can all agree that in windowed mode the resolution of anything you see is whatever you have your Windows desktop set to.

LOL!  Yes, that's what I mean. I do think the op is confusing resolution with window size.

 

Vic

[MarkDH 234]

9 minutes ago, vgbaron said:

LOL!  Yes, that's what I mean. I do think the op is confusing resolution with window size.

Phew, jihad averted!