It’s enjoyable to lose ourselves in games and concentrate without being distracted. Distractions are reduced when you use full-screen mode. We’ll show you how to go full screen in games and apps in this article.
For a variety of reasons, some games and apps refuse to run in fullscreen mode.
Full-Screen Mode Using Windows Shortcuts
The Alt + Enter keyboard shortcut is the quickest way to go full screen in an application or game. Unless they use it to enable other features, this method works for most games and apps. The shortcut can also be used to go from full-screen to windowed mode.
Keep in mind that in web browsers, the Alt + Enter shortcut does not work. Press the F11 key to make a browser go full screen.
Use a browser like Google Chrome, Firefox, or Edge to open a webpage and press that key. The page should not have a border and should fill your entire screen.
Set the In-Game Display Settings to Fullscreen
Before doing anything else, check the in-game settings if your game does not launch in full-screen mode. By default, the display mode may be set to Windowed.
There should be a dedicated graphics panel in your game that you can access from the main menu to change display settings. The menu section may be referred to as “Graphics Options,” “Display Settings,” or “Video Settings” depending on the game. Look for Display Mode or something similar in the drop-down menu and select Fullscreen.
Save and apply your modifications.
It’s worth noting that some games may not immediately switch to full-screen mode. If this is the case, you should restart the game.
Scale Your Display to 100%
Due to the computer’s display scaling, some games don’t work properly in fullscreen mode. To make sure this isn’t the cause of your inability to go full screen, open the Settings app, select System, and then Display.
Change the size of text, apps, and other items to 100% using the “Change the size of text, apps, and other items” feature.
Switch the Main Monitor
While dual-monitor setups are extremely common these days, some games may cause problems. If anything strange happens when you try to make your game or app full screen, switch to a different monitor.
Open the Display Settings window on your computer. When it first starts up, you’ll see two or more monitors, depending on your setup.
The screens have numbers on them. To see which monitor is which, go to Identify. Then, by dragging one of your screens to the opposite side, you can rearrange the order of your screens. Save your changes and try running a fullscreen game or app.
Tweak Your Graphics Card’s Settings
You can change your main monitor, display resolution, and other settings in Windows 10’s general application. GPU manufacturers, on the other hand, provide their own tools. You may need to make some adjustments inside one of these applications depending on your graphics card.
Access one of the following applications to change your graphics card’s settings:
- Intel Graphics Command Center: For integrated Intel graphics cards.
- Nvidia Control Panel: For Nvidia users.
- AMD Radeon Software: For AMD users.
Any of these programs can be found by searching for them in the Windows start menu or the search box. They have a different appearance and some of the settings are named differently, but they all work in the same way.
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By adjusting the Nvidia Control Panel settings, we’ll be able to go full screen. However, you can use the steps below as a guide and adjust them to your GPU’s own resolution center.
1. Access the Nvidia Control Panel found inside the Control Panel.
2. Choose Manage 3D settings under the 3D Settings tab and go to Global Settings.
3. Switch to High-performance Nvidia Processor if the Preferred graphics processor is set to Auto-select. When you launch a game, the auto-select feature may not enable your Nvidia GPU, limiting you to the onboard graphics card.
Note that you can only use this option if you have multiple GPUs. This option is enabled by default if the Nvidia GPU is the only one you have.
4. Apply the changes and test full-screen mode in one of your games.
If the steps above don’t work, try changing the size and position of your desktop. Here’s how to go about it:
1. Access the Nvidia Control Panel.
2. Click on Adjust desktop size and position, which is located under Display.
3. Set the scaling mode to No scaling and click on the Apply button.
Full-screen mode should now be available for your games. Apply the same changes in the AMD Radeon Software panel if you’re an AMD user.
Run Games and Apps in Compatibility Mode
You’re probably having compatibility issues if you can’t run a specific app or game in full-screen mode. This is most common with older games and programs that haven’t been updated to work with Windows 10.
Right-click the app/game and select Properties to run it in compatibility mode.
When you open the Compatibility tab, you’ll see a drop-down menu with various Windows versions under Compatibility Mode.
Before you do anything else, make sure you check the For an option, run this program in compatibility mode and then select an older Windows version, such as Windows 7 or even XP. Save your changes and run the game/app to see how it works.
Set the Taskbar to Its Default Settings
If the Taskbar’s settings are changed, some games and apps may not run properly in full-screen mode. Some users claim that repositioning the Taskbar to the bottom of the screen solved their problems.
Right-click your Taskbar and uncheck the Lock all taskbars option if it is not in its default location.
You can now move it to the bottom by dragging it. Once it’s in place, make sure it’s locked so it doesn’t move by accident.
If this proves to be the issue, but you still want to move your Taskbar, you can set it to hide automatically in desktop mode.
To do so, open the Windows 10 Settings app and select Personalization from the drop-down menu. The Taskbar settings are located in the left panel. Set the option to Hide the taskbar automatically in desktop mode to On.
One of the solutions should work if your game or app has a full-screen option. Let us know what worked for you in the comments.
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