Here are a few different ways to exit full screen on Windows (2024)

A very few things are as annoying as accidentally triggering and getting stuck in full screen on Windows while using your laptop or desktop. This typically happens while browsing on a web browser, watching a video, working on presentations, and more. Thankfully, exiting the fullscreen mode is fairly simple, and there are a few different ways to do it. If you've accidentally triggered the fullscreen mode on Windows and are scratching your head over how to exit it, then you've come to the right place. Below are a few ways you can exit full screen and get back to whatever it is that you were doing.

Hit the F11 or Esc key on your keyboard

A simple way to exit the fullscreen mode

One of the most common and useful functions of the F11 key on your keyboard is toggling full screen. It's arguably the easiest way to enter or exit the fullscreen mode on Windows, and it works very well across most programs, including web browsers, video players, and even some games. All you really have to do to exit full screen on Windows is simply hit the F11 key on the keyboard. Alternatively, you can also hit the Esc key on your keyboard to exit full screen. It essentially does the same thing in a lot of programs, but it won't work on things like web browsers, for which you'll be forced to use the F11 key.

Exiting the fullscreen mode on YouTube web

This is fairly simple, too

Exiting the fullscreen mode on YouTube while using it on a web browser on a Windows machine is also fairly simple. The most common method is simply pressing the F key on your keyboard, or by double-clicking the video player with the left mouse button. These toggles full screen on and off, providing a quick escape if you accidentally activate it or want to access other parts of your screen. Alternatively, you can even press the Esc key to exit the fullscreen video player, but note that you can't use this to enter full screen.

Forcing your way out with Task Manager

Nothing 'Ctrl + Alt + Del' can't fix

There might be times when you may run into some errors, causing your programs to freeze in fullscreen mode. This can be a bit frustrating to deal with, but one of the ways you can regain control by exiting the fullscreen is by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete to open the security options screen, then selecting Task Manager. This will work most in most cases, and all you really need to do is locate the frozen program under the Processes tab. Simply click on it to select it, and then click the End Task button.

Alternatively, you can even press Alt + Tab to cycle through open applications. Doing so will let you exit the fullscreen mode out of the frozen program. In some extreme cases — when using both Ctrl + Alt + Del and Alt + Tab don't work — you may have to force restart your computer.

Plenty of ways to exit fullscreen on Windows

As you can tell, there are plenty of ways to exit full screen on Windows, and they're fairly simple to execute. From using keyboard shortcuts like F11 or Esc, or employing the Task Manager for unresponsive programs, there are plenty of ways to exit the fullscreen mode on Windows, and they are fairly simple to execute. So the next time you find yourself stuck in the fullscreen mode, simply use one of the methods highlighted above to exit it and get back to your task.