Foscre is a Windows tool that serves to temporarily override certain global UI settings during the execution of a program. Foscre may change the screen resolution of the default display, disable Mouse Sonar, automatically hide the taskbar and keep the display on while a program is running, and then undo these changes when the program terminates.
Only one instance on Foscre at a time is allowed: an attempt to start a second instance will result in regular execution of the specified program without any temporary settings being applied and without warning.
The name Foscre is a contraction of "force screen resolution": previous beta versions of the tool were only able to change the screen resolution.
Foscre runs on Windows 9x/Me as well as Windows NT 4.0 and later versions of the Windows NT family operating systems.
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The syntax of the command is:
The following table lists available options and their effect.
| Option | Action |
|---|---|
| /R:width×height | Switches to a specified screen resolution. width and height are both numbers specifying the temporary screen resolution in pixels. |
| /S | Disables Mouse Sonar. This options is only available on Windows XP and later operating systems. |
| /T | Automatically hides the taskbar. This options is only available on Windows XP and later operating systems. |
| /U | Keeps the display(s) on by changing monitor power settings and disabling the screen saver. This options is only available on Windows 2000, Windows XP and later operating systems. |
Each option can be specified only once. When specifying two or more options, use whitespaces to separate them. Options are case-insensitive. Instead of a leading slash, you may use a minus sign (-) to intoduce an option; with the option /R, you may use a small or capital letter X instead of a multiplication sign between width and height.
The file to be launched may be located on the local computer or on the network. The pathname of an executable file may be followed by a set of parameters in its command line. A non-executable file is opened using the proper application according to its extension, and any parameters following the pathname are ignored.
If the file contains whitespaces in its pathname, it must be enclosed in double quotation marks ("). The double quotation marks are also necessary if the first character of the pathname is a slash (/) or a minus sign (-). Parameters following the file specification are typed the same way they are expected with no additional double quotation marks.
Note that you can also open items such as shortcuts, folders, computers or Internet addresses. These items are opened as if they were double-clicked in Windows explorer. When doing so, Foscre usually terminates immediately after opening the item as it cannot determine the process associated with it.
All parameters are expected to be passed from the command line. There is no interactive interface.
The most convenient way to use Foscre is creating a shortcut specifying the target location and any parameters of the file to be launched. Also, you'll possibly need to specify a working directory (this is by default the directory of the Foscre application, no matter where your file is located!). Finally, you may want to change the default icon in order to provide a more intuitive representation for the shortcut.
Foscre 1.2 was released on 2nd December 2008 and is copyright © Francesco Trotta 2008.
Foscre is provided as it is with no warranty of any kind. You are welcome to redistribute this software.
You can contact the author by sending an e-mail to: ft1@ft1.