This article is written for The Sims 3. For the equivalent Sims 2 article, click here.

Sims 3 Game Help Categories:
Custom Content  | Installation  | Gameplay Guides  | Technical & Graphics Issues  | Miscellaneous Issues
MTS Help Q&A Forums

Contents 1 How do I play in windowed mode? 1.1 Method 1 1.2 Method 2 1.3 Method 3

How do I play in windowed mode?

"Windowed" mode allows you to run The Sims 3 in a window so you can easily switch to other applications/games that you are also running at the same time.

The are 3 known methods to switch to a Windowed mode.

Method 1

The easiest method is to just use the ALT+ENTER keys on PCs or COMMAND+RETURN keys on Macs to toggle between the 2 modes while the game is already running. The keystroke combination work on most screens, just not at the loading screen while the game is just starting.

Method 2

If you're already in the game, then you can tweak the Game Options from the Options (F5) menu. As in the image, a checked option means that the game will be in fullscreen mode and vice versa. Click the checkmark again to confirm your changes.

Method 3

The final method is useful to use when the game cannot start or crash before you have a chance to enter the Options menu. You need to do this while the game is not running.

Navigate to the user folders as shown in the image according to your System's OS. Double-click the options.ini file to open it in Notepad (Win) or TextEdit (OSX), and locate the following line. Edit it according to the values stated below, then save the file and exit the text editor application.

fullscreen = 0

• Value "0" means windowed mode
• Value "1" means fullscreen mode

Sims 3 Game Help Categories:
Custom Content  | Installation  | Gameplay Guides  | Technical & Graphics Issues  | Miscellaneous Issues
MTS Help Q&A Forums