A small window can leave a document squeezed between other apps. To expand the active window in Windows without reaching for the mouse, press Windows key + Up arrow. The window fills the available desktop area, giving your work more room.
The keyboard command to maximize a Windows window works on the window with focus. If a different app responds, select the window you want first. Then use the same keys again.
Maximize the Active Window
The Windows maximize shortcut is Windows key + Up arrow. To use this Windows keyboard shortcut to maximize a window, hold the key with the Windows logo, tap the Up arrow, and release both keys. Microsoft’s keyboard guide describes this as moving the focused window toward its maximized state.
To make sure the right window has focus, click it or use Alt + Tab to select it. A title bar or border may change appearance when the window becomes active. Once selected, use the Windows maximize shortcut and check that the window expands. This shortcut for maximizing Windows apps acts on the focused window.
If the window is already maximized, pressing Windows key + Up arrow again generally leaves it maximized. It is a command to move upward to that state, not a toggle back to the smaller size. To reverse this Windows maximization shortcut, use the Down arrow method below.
A snapped window may pass through another arrangement as you use the arrow keys. Watch the window after each press of the Windows maximize key combination. If it has not yet reached the full desktop area, press the combination again.
Restore the Previous Size
With a maximized window active, press Windows key + Down arrow once. The window normally returns to its earlier windowed size and position. You can then move or resize it as needed.
Pressing the combination again can minimize the window to the taskbar. If that happens, select its taskbar button or use Alt + Tab to bring it back. Microsoft describes the Up and Down combinations as moving through minimized, windowed, and maximized states.
This Windows window-maximizing shortcut is handy when you need to read a wide spreadsheet, then return to a smaller window beside your notes. The return trip has its own key combination, so there is no need to drag the corners back into place.
Use the Window Menu
Another keyboard way to maximize a window in Windows uses the window’s system menu:
- Make the window active.
- Press Alt + Spacebar to open its menu.
- Select Maximize with the arrow keys and press Enter. In an English Windows menu, the underlined access letter may also be used.
- To return to the earlier size, reopen the menu and select Restore.
Microsoft lists Alt + Spacebar as the command for the active window’s context menu. The available entries depend on the window’s current state and whether it supports resizing.
The Windows maximize shortcut is quicker when the keys are familiar. The menu is useful when you want to see the available action before choosing it.
Maximized or Full Screen?
A maximized window uses the available desktop area while retaining the window’s ordinary controls and, typically, the taskbar. An application’s full-screen mode can hide more interface elements to give its content additional space.
For example, Microsoft Edge uses F11 to toggle full screen. Other apps may use a different key or offer no such mode. The Windows shortcut for maximizing a window changes the window state; the app’s own full-screen command controls its full-screen view.
If F11 is active in a browser and the normal controls disappear, press F11 again to return to the prior view. On some laptops, the function key may require the Fn key. Then use the Windows maximize shortcut if the window still needs to fill the desktop.
If Nothing Happens
If a Windows window won’t maximize with a shortcut, check which window has focus first. Click the intended window or select it with Alt + Tab, then try Windows key + Up arrow again. If the system menu’s Maximize option is unavailable, the app or dialog may not support that window size; use the size or view controls the app provides.