Guillaume Redoulès

Maximize a window in Windows

  2. Python
  3. Other

A window can be maximized by using the win32 API. We will need to import win32gui and win32con

import win32gui
import win32con

In order to maximize a windows, we need its handle number. In our example we will get the handle of the foreground window by using the GetForegroundWindow method.

handle = win32gui.GetForegroundWindow()

The window can then be maximized with the command 

win32gui.ShowWindow(handle, win32con.SW_MAXIMIZE)

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minimized with the command 

win32gui.ShowWindow(handle, win32con.SW_MINIMIZE)

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or restored to its original size with the command

win32gui.ShowWindow(handle, win32con.SW_NORMAL)

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The win32 API allow to hide or show a window. 

import time

win32gui.ShowWindow(handle, win32con.SW_HIDE) #hide the window
time.sleep(1) #keep it hidden for a second
win32gui.ShowWindow(handle, win32con.SW_SHOW) #show the window

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