Start .exe executable Maximized/FullScreen, NOT Shortcut.

[Magnakai]

Hi, under windows 7, is there a way to modify an .exe file to run full screen or at least maximized on app start? The .exe file itself, NOT by maximizing a shortcut of that exe file.

Do not want to achieve this by running a separate utility, i'm asking whether there is a way to permanently modify or hack the .exe file itself in any way.

Thanks.

 

[LMiller7]

In theory this can be done but in practice it isn't practical. There are utilities that can modify specific parts of an exe but this will not do what you want. That would be a serious challenge for an experienced programmer. Even if this were done there are numerous potential problems.

Use a shortcut.

 

[Magnakai]

Hi Miller, thanks for the response. i see i made a mistake in my original post. i did not mean i won't use a 3rd party utility to change the exe file; if after modification, i can dispose of that utility, then i do not mind- what i meant was i don't want to use a trainer, or another program needed to be left running (like some app manager etc.), in addition to the app in question to achieve this.

no use of shortcut completely out of the question, that's why i posted this thread in the first place.

 

[Magnakai]

Hi Miller, thinking again about what you mentioned. Alright, if modding the exe to start up full screen/maximized is impractical, what about a method to start the app window (which is about a quarter screen window with no option to maximize) at an exact default location every time i start it up?

At the moment it does not start up at a default location, nor do windows remember the last location if the app window was dragged around (edges are resizable but this is not remembered by windows as well). The app spawns at one out of several (i observed) possible locations on my screen, and i do not like this characteristic. was wondering if anyone can help me set it to start up at a default location, thanks. If you need further and better particulars, please let me know thanks.

ps. again i would prefer if the app itself could be hacked/modified, and i would prefer not to use a separate utility such as cmdow.exe, or the need to generate some form of shortcut. Modding something in the registry is fine if you show me step-by-step.

 

[LMiller7]

I'm sorry but I don't have good news for you.

Applications have the ultimate control over their own appearance and behavior. This control includes the location and size of it's window or windows. There are certain standards, recommendations and conventions regarding this. Applications should generally be resizable, movable, and remember these things between sessions. But the application developer can accept this as is or disregard any or all of it. Windows does not remember the size or location of any application windows, that being the entire responsibility of the application.

Applications typically provide some means of control to the user. But the extent and means of providing this is entirely up to the application developer. The information may be stored in the registry or elsewhere. There are no real standards for this, only conventions which are frequently ignored.

The only part of an exe that is practical to modify is it's resources. For applications that support multiple languages this information is typically contained here. It contains some other things as well. It does NOT contain information relating to application windows or placement. You need third party utilities to modify the resources. Never ever try this on the original file. One mistake, and they are easily made, and the exe is corrupted and unusable. This is for advanced users only. And as mentioned, it will not do what you want.

Other modifications to an exe for any reason are, as an understatement, very difficult. This is for experts only. I make no claim for that status.

Don't expect any help with modification from the software supplier. Most will actively discourage this and it may well be in violation of the applications terms of service.

All I can suggest is look into the options provided by the applications. If what you want is not there you are likely out of luck.

 

[Alejandro85]

In addition to what LMiller7 said, I would add that being very difficult isn't the only part of the problem. There are some projects that modify programs from the binaries alone, but yes, it takes an expert in assembler and Windows to understand the whole thing. There are two additional problems I can see:

For one, each time the program is updated, your patch is lost. And regenerating it could be a challenge as the internal structure could have changed as well. So take that into account.
Second, it may be illegal to do so. Some programs explicitly forbid any kind of modification to them in their licenses, some even without being redistributed. While being actually enforced is terribly difficult in practice, it's simply not a good thing to do, specially massively.

However, there is one big exception to everything said in this thread: Open Source Software
In case you have access to the source, changing it is often much easier than making the change in the binary. You need to understand the language and the conventions used in the project, but it's much easier to simply change a line of text, recompile yourself and have a sane binary ready for use, with full legal permission to do so and even to redistribute if you want. Any free software provides such an oportunity. The only thing required to do so is the technical knowledge that takes to understand all those concepts.