Full screen mode existed in really old versions of Microsoft Word. This allowed you to use the entire screen of your computer to view documents. However, newer versions of Word do not have this feature, and you will not find an option to make Word full screen.
The question is, has this option really been removed and is there really no way to get Word to run in full screen mode on your computer?
Fortunately, there is still a way. Even though this option has been removed from the Word interface, it seems that this feature still exists and allows you to use the old Word full-screen layout. Since it is hidden from the main options, you will need to find a way to enable it and add it to the menu from where you can easily access it.
There are actually several ways to activate full screen mode in newer versions of Microsoft Word.
Use the keyboard shortcut to display Word in full screen mode
One of the quickest and easiest ways to put the latest version of Word into full screen mode is to use a keyboard shortcut. Although this setting has been removed from the interface, its keyboard shortcut continues to work and does exactly the job it should.
While you are viewing your document normally and want to make it full screen, just press Alt + V on your keyboard at the same time. Then immediately press the U key on your keyboard and the document will fill the entire screen.
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If you want to go back to normal mode, press the Esc key and you will be back where you were.
Enable Word full screen mode from the Quick Access Toolbar
You may have noticed that there is a small toolbar at the very top of the Word screen. It’s called the Quick Access Toolbar and, as the name suggests, lets you quickly access some of the features of Word on your computer.
You can use the toolbar to make Word full screen. There is a command that you can add to the toolbar, which then opens your document in full screen mode when clicked.
- Click the small down arrow icon on the Quick Access Toolbar and a menu will open on your screen. In the menu that appears, select the More Commands option.
- The next screen lists the commands that you can add to the toolbar, but not all of the default commands. To display all available commands, select All Commands from the Select Commands drop-down menu.
- When all the commands are displayed on the screen, look for the command labeled “Toggle Full Screen Mode”. Click on it to select it and then click the Add button to add the command to the toolbar.
- When it is added to the toolbar, you will see it in the command list on the right. Click the OK button at the bottom to save your changes.
- A new icon now appears on the Quick Access Toolbar. Click the icon and the current document will open in full screen mode.
- If you want to exit full screen mode, just press the Esc key on your keyboard.
The full screen icon will remain in the toolbar for all your documents. If you ever want to remove it, you can do so by opening the panel you used to add the command, selecting the command in the right panel and clicking Remove.
Make Word full screen with Reading Mode
Word’s full-screen reading mode may not be a completely full-screen solution for your documents, but it gets the job done to some extent. It hides many formatting toolbars and other elements from the screen, allowing you to focus on the document on the screen.
However, you will see some options at the top that cannot be removed in this mode.
To access Reading View in MS Word, click the View menu while a document is open and select the Reading View option.
To return to normal mode, press the Esc key on your keyboard. You will be returned to the normal editing screen with all the toolbars on it.
Create a customizable full-screen keyboard shortcut in Word
If you don’t want to use the default keyboard shortcut for Word full screen and prefer to create your own, you can do so using a macro in Word.
A macro is a set of actions that are performed when a macro is run. However, you don’t need to know much about this to be able to create a full screen shortcut for Word.
- Open your document in MS Word, click the View tab at the top, click the down arrow icon under Macros and select Record Macro.
- Enter any value in the Macro Name field. Then click Keyboard under Assign Macro to assign a keyboard shortcut to the macro.
- After you press “Keyboard”, a new dialog box will appear on the screen. Place your cursor in the Press New Keyboard Shortcut box and press the keyboard shortcut that you want to assign to full screen mode. Click Assign and then Close to save your changes.
- Press Alt + V on your keyboard. Then click the down arrow icon under Macros in the toolbar and select Stop Recording.
- Click the Macros down arrow again and select View Macros.
- Select a macro in the list and click the Edit button.
- Make sure your macro only contains the following code. You can copy and paste the following code into your macro if you like. Press Ctrl + S to save your changes.
Sub Macro1 () ‘Macro1 Macro’ ‘ActiveWindow.View.FullScreen = Not ActiveWindow.View.FullScreen End Sub
From now on, every time you press an arbitrary keyboard shortcut in Word, the document starts in full screen mode.
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