Your boss has asked you to work on an important text document and, in order to get everything done in the best possible way, you want to avoid any possible distractions while writing it on the PC. Considering the circumstances, you’ve thought about enabling the full-screen view of your favorite writing application… but you couldn’t find the right option to do so.
Excuse me? That’s exactly how things are and would you then like to see if I can help you out? Of course you can, of course you can! If you give me a few minutes of your precious free time, I can explain, in a simple but detailed way, how to put the internal screen on PC, both on Windows and macOS. I already anticipate that, contrary to what you might think, it is not complicated at all.
Well? May I know why you are still standing there? Take a few moments only for you, sit down in front of your trusty computer and start immediately to devote yourself to read the instructions that you find below. I’m sure that, at the end, you’ll be very happy and satisfied with what you’ve learned, as well as, of course, having finally succeeded in your goal.
Preliminary information
Before we get into the heart of the tutorial, going to explain how to put the full screen on PC, it seems to me that we should give you more information about the feature in question.
Full-screen mode, you should know, is a function, available both on Windows and macOS for almost all programs, that lets you open the contents of a given window full-screen using every inch of the monitor, thus avoiding distractions from other possible open windows and without displaying anything else on the computer monitor (except possible notifications).
It can also be very useful for improving the performance on small laptop screens, HDTVs or, more simply, for personal viewing needs. Of course, it is also widely used when the PC is used for gaming.
To enable full-screen mode, there is a button or command on almost all windows. When the button or command is not available, you can alternatively make use of some ad hoc key combinations.
For more details, keep reading: you’ll find everything explained below.
How to put full screen on PC
Having said all of the above, let’s get down to business and find out exactly what you need to do to be able to put the full screen on PC. Below you’ll find explained how to do this on both Windows and macOS. As I told you at the beginning of this guide, it’s very simple, don’t worry.
Windows
If you’re using a PC with Windows installed, to put the full screen on PC, regardless of whether it’s a desktop or a laptop, what you have to do is open the program of your interest, wait until its window is visible on the screen and click on the button to activate the mode in question (usually the one depicting a rectangle with open corners or a double arrow) located in the upper right corner or on the toolbar. Alternatively, you can call the function from the menu of the application you are using.
Unfortunately, I can’t be more precise, as each program may have its own functions. Also consider that for some software the full-screen command is not available, so if you can’t find it, this could be the reason.
However, to give you a practical example, if you’re using the Chrome browser, to activate the full-screen mode you have to click on the button with the three vertical dots located at the top right, locate the item Zoom in the menu that opens and click on the button with the rectangle with open sides that you find in its correspondence.
When the full screen mode is enabled, the toolbar and menu bar of the program and the Windows taskbar are not visible. In order to see them again, you will have to move the mouse pointer to the top or bottom of the screen, respectively.
In addition to the above, you can enable the full-screen view using keyboard shortcuts. To be precise, for almost all browsers and software, you can use the F11 key, while for Windows 10 applications downloaded and / or available through the Microsoft Store the combination to use is Windows+Shift+Enter.
When you feel like it, you can disable the use of the full-screen mode by moving the mouse pointer to the top of the screen, waiting a few moments for the toolbar and/or menu bar to become visible again, and clicking on the button previously used to activate the full-screen mode (usually a rectangle with open corners or a double arrow) in the top corner.
Alternatively, you can press the Esc key on your keyboard or use the key combinations also used to activate the function, i.e.: F11 or Windows+Shift+Enter (only on Windows 10 and only for what concerns the apps you download and/or can find from the Microsoft Store).
macOS
If you’re using macOS, I’ll tell you that, regardless of whether your Mac is a desktop or a laptop, to activate the full screen mode all you have to do is launch the application of your interest on the computer, wait until its window is visible on the screen and click on the green circular button at the top left of the same. Alternatively, you can use the key combination ctrl+cmd+F.
Once the application you are interested in is displayed full screen, the only thing visible will be the contents of the window. If you need to see its toolbar, move the mouse pointer to the top of the screen; to hide it again, move it away.
If you then need to enable the display of the Dock bar, move the mouse pointer to the bottom of the screen or to the right or left side (depending on where you chose to place the Dock) and it will be immediately visible. To hide it again, move the pointer away from the position you moved it to.
Of course, the fact that full screen mode is enabled does not preclude you from moving from one application to another. To do so, swipe left or right across the surface of the mouse or trackpad using three fingers and you’re done.
If you’re interested, I’ll tell you that when the full-screen mode is enabled, you can also choose to take advantage of the Split View mode, which allows you to display two full-screen applications at the same time, dividing the monitor space in half. To use it, click on the green circular button at the top left of the window of the application you are interested in and keep it clicked for a few moments, then choose whether to place the window in the right or left half of the screen.
Now, select, using Mission Control, the macOS tool that gives you an overview of all open windows and allows you to quickly recall them, which has automatically activated in the other half of the screen, the window of the other application you want to open full screen and you’re done. Next, you’ll find a full-screen app in the left half of the display and a full-screen app in the right half.
If you want, you can adjust the amount of space you want to devote to each application’s screen using the slider in the divider line in the center of the screen. To do so, click on it and, while continuing to hold it down, drag it to the right or left, depending on your needs.
If you have already activated full screen mode for a given application, you can also quickly choose which other program to use in Split View mode, again via Mission Control. In this case, the first thing you have to do is enable Mission Control view, by pressing the appropriate key on the Mac keyboard (on most Apple computers it corresponds to F3, however it is located at the top of the keyboard and is marked by the design of three open windows). Alternatively, click on the Mission Control icon (the one with the black background and the three open colored windows) that you find on the Dock bar or Launchpad.
Next, drag the window of the second application onto the window of the already open full-screen application visible on the space bar (above), choose whether to place it on the right or on the left and you’re done.
When you feel like it, you can turn off the full-screen mode (and exit the Split View mode, if it is enabled) by simply moving the mouse pointer to the top of the monitor and clicking again on the green circular button in the left corner.
Alternatively, you can use the key combination ctrl+cmd+F, i.e. the same one you used to enable the mode in question, or you can press the esc key on your keyboard.
How to make a game full screen on PC
Do you use your computer to play games and would you like to know how to put a game on screen on your PC? Well, I would like to inform you that the buttons, commands and keyboard shortcuts to be used in this case are the same as I have indicated in the previous lines, as far as Windows and macOS are concerned, for all other programs. Some computer games, then, offer the possibility to enable this feature directly from their options and settings.
Once activated, the full screen mode can be disabled using the commands, buttons and key combinations that I have already indicated in the previous lines, or using the dedicated keyboard shortcuts. In the specific case of Windows, you can try the combinations Alt+Tab or Alt+Enter.
On the macOS side, however, you can try the following key combinations: cmd+H, cmd+tab or cmd+alt. More useful information on this can be found in my guide on how to minimize a game.