just browsing through msn i found an article about how to make applications that allow both non-console (GUI) and DOS-box modes.
basically it suggest making 2 different application :a .exe (GUI) and a .com (console) application.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdnmag/issues/04/02/CQA/
this might well be the way to go for pd too, as it is supported by older versions of windows too (unlike other methods like AttachConsole)
mfg.a.sdr IOhannes