How do I start galciv2 in a window, rather than in fullscreen?

Use the -w switch in a shortcut's target field pointed to galciv2.exe, or uncheck Fullscreen in the Video options.

Please note that while it may appear to be running full screen while in windowed mode, it is in fact running at the resolution you set it to in the game options. That may or may not be the same size as your desktop. You will still get the benefit of the different memory managing as well as the quicker alt+tabs.

problems I had with windowed mode.

My mouse does not respond as well as in full screen. I have to find a sweet spot to click on and it is sometimes very hard to find.

Anything less than full resolution is too small for my taste.

I have never had a problem switching in or out of the game in full screen so it is not a big deal for me

Find the galciv2.exe file

Drag it to your desktop

Create shortcut

Right click on shortcut to get the properties


Under properties, Change the target by adding a space and a w to the end of the target, the space between the " and the w is important

The target should read something like this.

"C:\Program Files\Stardock\TotalGaming\GalCiv2\GalCiv2.exe" w

If your windows desktop is the same size as you Galciv2 resolution, you may not see any difference, but you may notice that you may more easily use alt-tab and the windows key to switch between programs.

If your galciv2 res is smaller than your windows desktop you can move the galciv2 window around.

I play in windows mode at the same resolution as my desktop, as it makes swiching in and out of Galciv2 easier.

You can do all of that or just do what Yarlen said and go to options > video and uncheck fullscreen

What do you mean by "full" resolution, franco?

My screen can do 2048x1536 fullscreen, but it's a pain in the butt to play on. I either use 1360x1024 fullscreen, or 1024x768 windowed on a 1600x1200 desktop so I can have other stuff open.