How to Hide and Show a Console Window in C++?
Last Updated :
27 Nov, 2022
Improve
The task is to hide and Show the console window of a C++ program. The program for the same is given below.
Note: The results of the following program can only be seen when it is executed on a console.
Example:
// C++ program to hide and show a console window
#include <iostream>
#include <windows.h>
using namespace std;
void countdown()
{
cout << "3" << endl;
Sleep(1000);
cout << "2" << endl;
Sleep(1000);
cout << "1" << endl;
Sleep(1000);
cout << "0" << endl;
}
int main()
{
countdown();
HWND window;
AllocConsole();
// You Can Find HANDLE of other windows too
window = FindWindowA("ConsoleWindowClass", NULL);
ShowWindow(window, 0);
countdown();
ShowWindow(window, 1);
}
Output:

Explanation: The above program counts from 3 to 1 before the Console Window disappears. After the window has disappeared, the ShowWindow helps the program so that the Console Window reappears again after counting from 3 to 1(executing the countdown function).
The execution of the program can be understood by understanding the key functions of the program.
- #include<windows.h> – The windows.h header in C++ programming languages are specifically designed for windows and contain a very large number of windows specific functions.
- AllocConsole()- AllocConsole initializes standard input, standard output, and standard error handles for the new console.
- ShowWindow()- Sets the specified window's show state.
- FindWindowA()- Takes string parameters and checks whose class name and window name match the specified strings