Apps should be seen and not heard

May 12, 2022 5:09 PM

I am playing a game on Windows (10) which has no save mechanism...

...so I would like to leave it up all the time so that I can continue to progress. But it also has annoying music and provides no way to turn it off. I can of course turn off my machine volume, but that means I can't do other things that require sound (like watch videos or play other games) while the game is running.

Is there a way to suspend an app so that it maintains its current state without making noise? Or is there a Windows mechanism to turn off the sound for an app but leave other apps alone? Or some other solution I haven't thought of? I am not afraid to make small tweaks in the register or other system entities, but I need to know what to do.

posted by ubiquity to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

Best answer: Windows 10 will let you set the volume for individual applications. So you can mute the offending app while leaving the main system volume alone.
posted by RichardP at 5:15 PM on May 12, 2022 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: Wow! Perfect! Just what I was looking for! Thanks!
posted by ubiquity at 5:30 PM on May 12, 2022

The easy way to get to that Windows sound menu is to type "mixer" in the Start menu search ("Sound mixer options"). It's incredibly handy, I don't know why Microsoft hides it. You can also use it to route specific apps to different sound devices.

(also you can create a virtual desktop with Win+Tab and put the game there if you don't want it taking up space on your taskbar.)
posted by neckro23 at 7:57 AM on May 13, 2022 [1 favorite]