Full screen shortcut on Mac: Control-Command-F

Control+Command+F is the answer to the question. It’s usually not the answer to the problem.

People reach for full screen because they want the app to be bigger. Full screen does that, and it also moves the app somewhere else entirely.

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Full screen moves your app into another room

When an app goes full screen, macOS gives it its own space, separate from your desktop. The menu bar slides away, the Dock disappears, and the app gets a slot of its own next to your desktop in Mission Control.

That’s great for one thing at a time. It gets clumsy the moment you need two:

• Dragging a file from Finder into a full-screen app means switching spaces mid-drag.
• Every switch plays a slide animation. Small, but you see it dozens of times a day.
• Two or three full-screen apps later, you’re swiping left and right to find where you left something.

The Setup Kit works on one desktop on purpose. Full screen quietly creates more of them.

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Fill is the full screen you actually want

Since macOS Sequoia, every Mac can tile windows, and one of the tiles is Fill: the window grows to cover the whole screen and stays on your desktop.

Press fn+Control+F. Press fn+Control+R to put the window back where it was.

	Full screen	Fill
Shortcut	Control+Command+F	fn+Control+F
Menu bar and Dock	Hidden	Still there
Own space	Yes	No, stays on your desktop
Drag a file in from Finder	Awkward	Normal
Best for	Presenting, calls, a writing sprint	Everything else

You can also make Fill the double-click action for a window’s title bar, so a double-click on the top of any window fills the screen:

System Settings→Desktop & Dock→Window title bar double-click action→Fill

The Setup Kit’s own setup goes one step further: Raycast’s Maximize on Control+Option+Enter, so window moves share one hand position. The Raycast vs Alfred verdict explains why it’s the launcher we use.

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When full screen is the right call

Full screen earns its place when hiding everything else is the whole point:

• Presenting. Nobody needs to see your menu bar or your notifications.
• A video call you want to give your full attention.
• A writing sprint. Twenty-five minutes, one document, no Dock tempting you.

Go in on purpose, and come back out when the task is done. Leaving apps parked in full screen is how you end up with five desktops you never meant to create.

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Getting out, and moving between them

Press Control+Command+F again to leave full screen. With the mouse, move the pointer to the top of the screen, hover over the green button, and choose Exit Full Screen.

If several apps are in full screen, swipe left or right with three or four fingers on the trackpad to move between them. Command+Tab still works too: pick the app and macOS jumps to its space.

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Bigger is the goal. Another space is the side effect. Fill gives you the first without the second.