How to Enable Full Screen in Excel? 3 Simple Ways

(Note: This guide on how to enable full screen in Excel is suitable for all Excel versions including Office 365)

Have you ever felt that when watching a movie or while surfing the internet, the full-screen mode gives you a more immersive experience? Yes, full-screen mode is effective with almost every application ranging from entertainment to professional purposes. It enhances the way we look at data and improves user interaction.

Did you know that you can expand the screen size in Excel for a better experience of the application? In this article, I will tell you how to enable full screen in Excel in 3 simple ways.

You’ll Learn:

Why Switch to Full-Screen Mode in Excel?
How to Enable Full Screen in Excel?

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Why Switch to Full-Screen Mode in Excel?

If you are probably wondering why you would want to switch to full-screen mode, there’s probably more than one reason. In addition to giving you a full-screen user experience, Excel offers you some additional features:

Enabling full screen in Excel hides the ribbons and the options tray. However, if you feel like there is a need for ribbons, you can enable and disable them anytime you like.

Enabling the full-screen mode makes more space for rows and columns to be visible. In the Normal mode, you’d have 28 rows compared to the 37 rows in full-screen mode.

For some applications, when you’re using them in full-screen mode, the application becomes view only, or you cannot use the program or some of its features. Whereas in Excel, you can use the application as you use it in the normal mode.

How to Enable Full Screen in Excel?

Initially, there was an easy option to enable full screen in Excel with just the click of a button. You’d just have to navigate to View and in the Workbook Views section, click on the Full Screen. And if you wanted to exit the full screen, right-click anywhere on the screen and click on Close Full Screen.

But, this option is not available in Excel 2013 and the following versions like Excel 2016, Excel 2019, Excel 2021, and Office365.

However, there are a couple of additional ways and methods you can use to enable the full screen in Excel in the newer versions.

Using the Ribbon Display Options

This is one way to enable full screen in Excel. When using this method, you don’t have to navigate to any specific ribbon or tabs.

Click on the dropdown from Ribbon Display Options in the right corner of the ribbons tab.
Click on Full-screen Mode.

This immediately hides the ribbons and additional buttons on the Excel window leaving only the worksheets tab visible.

To disable the full-screen mode and return to the normal mode, click on the ellipsis button in the top-right corner of the window near the close button.

This in turn enables the ribbons and the options tray.

Again, click on the dropdown from Ribbon Display Options and click on Always show Ribbon.

This reverts the Excel window to its normal mode.

Note: You can see the taskbar appearing even when the full-screen mode is enabled. This is because the taskbar is a feature of the operating system and not an Excel function. If you want to hide the taskbar too, go to Taskbar Settings and check the checkbox for the Automatically Hide the Taskbar option.

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Using the Shortcut Keys

This is by far the easiest way to toggle between full-screen mode and normal mode in Excel. You can use the shortcut keys to enable full screen mode while using any operation or function.

To enable the full screen in Excel, hold the Ctrl key and press the Shift + F1 altogether i.e. press the keys Ctrl+Shift+F1.

If you want to return to the normal mode, press the same keys (Ctrl+Shift+F1) you used to enable the full-screen mode.

Using the Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar offers a variety of options to perform a variety of functions all with just a click of a button. If you are a person who is comfortable working in full-screen mode and a mouse, then adding the full-screen button to the Quick Access Toolbar might be a better option.

First, check if you have the Quick Access Toolbar enabled. If you cannot see the Quick Access Toolbar, click on the dropdown from Ribbon Display Options. From the dropdown, select Show Quick Access Toolbar.

Once you can see the Quick Access Toolbar, click on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar option. Click on More Commands.

This opens the Excel Options dialog box. From the Choose commands from dropdown, select All Commands.

Scroll down until you see the Full Screen option.

Select it and click on Add.

Click OK.

This adds the Full Screen button in the Quick Access Toolbar.

If you want to enable the full-screen mode, just click on the Full Screen button in the Quick Access Toolbar.

If you want to exit the full-screen mode and revert to the normal mode, just press the Esc key.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I exit a full screen in Excel?

To exit a full screen in Excel, try pressing the Esc key or use the same method you used to enable the full screen mode.

Why can’t I find the full screen option in Excel 2016 or Office365?

The option to enable full screen mode in Excel was only available in versions prior to Excel 2013. In Excel 2016 and later versions, you can only use the ribbon display option, shortcut keys, or by adding the full screen option to the Quick Access Toolbar.

If I close my Excel window, will it restore to normal mode?

If you enable the full screen mode in Excel, you can exit by pressing the Esc key. If it doesn’t work, you can save the file and hard quit by pressing the close button. If you open Excel, it opens in Normal mode.

Closing Thoughts

Full screen in Excel is a very helpful feature that greatly enhances the user experience. Once you start using Excel in full screen mode, you might fall in love with the experience.

In this article, we saw how to enable full screen in Excel in 3 easy ways. Depending on your preferences you can choose the method that suits you the best.

If you need more high-quality Excel guides, please check out our free Excel resources center. Simon Sez IT has been teaching Excel for over ten years. For a low, monthly fee you can get access to 140+ IT training courses. Click here for advanced Excel courses with in-depth training modules.

Simon Calder

Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA.He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!

How to Enable Full Screen in Excel? 3 Simple Ways

Why Switch to Full-Screen Mode in Excel?