Hi Madugongmaria, I also am new to DOSBox and have the same problem. I think there may be a way, or if not there shold be. If there is it will probably be a Windows or DOSBox special key to alternate/activate between a window and a screen. I don`t actually know but I hope its that simple.

This is so by design. When swtiching from fullscreen, dosbox will change to window mode.

Every time you press the Alt-Enter sequence, DOSBox toggles between Full Screen and Windowed modes.

Is that what you are asking for? Or something more complicated?

[Edit] Added:

All new users should read the DOSBox README.txt file, which is basically the User Guide.

New users should remember:

DOSBox README.txt = DOSBox User Guide

Each chapter is short.
At the very least, read chapters 1 - 6 and 9 - 11.

1. Quickstart
2. FAQ
3. Usage (with Command Line options)
4. Internal Programs
5. Special Keys
6. Mapper
7. Keyboard Layout
8. Serial Multiplayer feature
9. How to run resource-demanding games
10. Troubleshooting
11. The config file
12. The language file
13. Building your own version of DOSBox
14. Special thanks
15. Contact

In this case, reading Chapter 5. Special Keys would have revealed the desired answer.

wow thanks! i didnt know that haha. tnx really! 😀

Maybe you didn't know about that cute little README file as well?

wd wrote:

Maybe you didn't know about that cute little README file as well?

OUCH!! 😅

Maybe you didn't know about that cute little README file as well?

well sorry if i didn't. you don't have to judge so harshly. mind that im a noob, and i admit that im a noob. besides, being sarcastic doesnt help. at least another reader got enlightened, not just me.

This wasn't sarcasm but a small hint that you can find a lot information
in the docs accompanying dosbox.

Perhaps the installer need to place a shortcut to the README on the desktop and name it something like "All your questions about how to... with DOSBox answered here"

Nah - we need to put 3 trick-questions into the README, have the installer launch the README after installation, and only allow the user to continue when s/he has answered 2 out of the 3 questions....

I think gameplay should be interrupted in DosBox every 10 minutes with a random question with info from the DosBox README.

Configurable in DosBox.conf of course (for those who read the README)

I like that idea. It's another level of nostalgic realism in DOSBox. Since many people these days play cracked oldies (even if it's just for the convenience of it), the classic "documentation check" is missing from the game. A perfect situation for DOSBox to add a new kind of README documentation check. You will feel like back then. Best enjoyed on a 14" screen with scaler=none and 60Hz refresh rate.

Does anyone know where the irony button is? Can't find it... 😀

Great! I think You should create a GUI for displaying the documentation checks in dosbox!

I've suggested this before and I'll take this opportunity to say it again.
I think if the name of the README.txt was changed to User Guide, more people would read it.
I always think of a README.txt file as a file thrown together with last minute notices and bug reports, not as the main User Guide.

Collector had an excellent suggestion. Have the installer put a shortcut named DOSBox User Guide on the desktop which links to the UserGuide.txt (README.txt) file.

Remember, every little thing you can do to help new users means fewer questions posted here and more time to develop DOSBox or use your DOS games/applications. And it gives DOSBox a better reputation.

Until then, new users should remember:

DOSBox README.txt = DOSBox User Guide

Each chapter is short.
At the very least, read chapters 1 - 6 and 9 - 11.

1. Quickstart
2. FAQ
3. Usage (with Command Line options)
4. Internal Programs
5. Special Keys
6. Mapper
7. Keyboard Layout
8. Serial Multiplayer feature
9. How to run resource-demanding games
10. Troubleshooting
11. The config file
12. The language file
13. Building your own version of DOSBox
14. Special thanks
15. Contact

For the guys who've been around awhile and seen every question at least 10 times:
Remember that most users just want to run their old games. They don't want to have to become an expert in DOSBox.
Think of it this way; if you want to assemble a bookshelf and it requires a screwdriver, you don't want to have to become an expert on screwdrivers. You want to grab a screwdriver, put the bookshelf together and start using it.

And making fun of or insulting new users NEVER helps DOSBox!

It really does not make any difference how you name the file judging from my experiences with Exult. The very excellent documentation *cough* comes with every version of Exult in plain text and html, named Readme and readme.html. On our webpage we have a support forum and right on that menu where you chose "discussion" is also the link to "Documentation" and "FAQ"... Guess to where I am pointing many questions in the forum?

And making fun of or insulting new users NEVER helps DOSBox!

you are right it really doesn't but the frustration needs to be vented and even here in this forum people are not following standard netiquette to at least read the stickies of the forum they are posting to. If they did a lot of posts would not exist here. And I'm a strong advocat of educating people when you get the chance. So they are newbies to forums and don't know standard procedures and netiquette, not a big deal, everyone is new once, but that means you have to make sure they know how to behave next time, wherever that next time is, here, another forum or...

Think of it this way: If you want to assemble a bookshelf it most often comes with description on how to assemble the bookshelf (think IKEA - and yes these descriptions suck way more than my Exult documentation) with a screwdriver. Now imagine a. the little screwdriver manufaturer that gets phone calls by customers asking why they can't assemble the bookshelf and b. the bookshelf manufacturer that gets phone calls by customers on how to assemble the bookshelf. The question "did you read the assemble instructions?" gets answered by "no, I thought I'd be able to assemble this without the instructiosn, but while we are on the phone could you instruct me on how to assemble the bookshelf? I want to put my brand new "How to ... for Dummies!" books up there on the wall!".

thank u very much for all your replies. btw, i dont know if ...um... u changed the readme file a bit recently, because this is my second download of the dosbox zip file. i read the readme file before and didn't notice if there was the alt-enter thing, maybe i just missed it or something (stupid me). i mean, hello, if i didnt read that file i honestly wouldn't know how to change my config, other than reading the note in the config file itself. so, sorry for all the trouble i caused.

Hi guys, Im lovin all this. I must admit that I only looked for what I thought was needed for my own purposes and also missed the bit about the `Alt-Enter`, which is something that I wanted to know (but if the question was`nt asked I probably would have looked again anyway). I think there`s a lot of good suggestions in reply to the subject and have 1 of my own - when DOSBox starts and shows some of the key sequences and shortcuts, would it not be a good idea to dispay the `fullscreen to window` key sequence as well ?

because this is my second download of the dosbox zip file

Where exactly did you download it?

madugongmaria wrote:

i read the readme file before and didn't notice if there was the alt-enter thing

It has been there for many versions of DOSBox, if not all. This is nothing unique to DOSBox. It is an old standard. It works to switch a command prompt window to full screen.