How to resize a window

Updated: 12/05/2021 past Figurer Hope

Resizing a window tin exist helpful in many situations. For example, y'all can resize a DOS command window or resize two program windows to fit both windows on the same screen. The post-obit sections bear witness you how to resize a window in Windows and macOS.

Note

A window that is maximized cannot exist resized. Furthermore, certain types of windows cannot be resized at all.

Bones resize in Windows

As you tin see in the image below, there are 2 buttons for resizing a window automatically.

  • Minimize - Clicking this button, which looks like a dash, collapses the window to the Taskbar.
  • Maximize / Resize - Clicking this button, which looks similar a box or two boxes, toggles the window between full and about full (not maximized) screen.

Windows window resize

Custom resize in Windows

When the upper-right department of the window looks like Resize panel in Windows., your window is now in "resize mode," meaning you lot tin utilise the mouse cursor to make the window any size yous want. To do then, move the cursor to any edge or corner of the window until a double-headed arrow appears. When this arrow appears, click-and-drag to make the window larger or smaller. If this double-headed arrow does not appear, the window cannot be resized.

The animation below shows a double-headed arrow on the bottom, left, and corner of a window and how it resizes a window. To make the window horizontally bigger, movement the cursor to the left or right edge of the window until it changes to the double-headed arrow. To make the window vertically bigger, do the aforementioned thing at the top or bottom of the window. To resize horizontally and vertically at the aforementioned time, employ one of the corners of the window.

Resizing a window

How to resize a window using the Windows key and keyboard

If you are running Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows x, or Windows 11, y'all can use Windows key keyboard shortcuts to resize and suit windows on your computer. For example, pressing the Windows primal and left arrow key resizes the window to fit the left half of the screen. Pressing the Windows central and the right arrow cardinal resizes the window to fit the correct half of the screen.

A window tin exist resized using several keyboard shortcuts. Beneath are the steps for resizing a window only using the keyboard.

  1. Press Alt+Spacebar to open up the window'south menu.
  2. If the window is maximized, arrow downwardly to Restore and press Enter.
  3. Press Alt+Spacebar again to open the window carte du jour, arrow down to Size, and press Enter.
  4. Press the up or down arrow key if you desire to resize the window vertically or the left or right pointer key if you lot want to resize horizontally.
  5. Once an pointer primal is pressed, y'all can printing the same or opposite arrow primal to proceed resizing the window.

How to resize a game window

Playing a computer game most probable defaults to a fullscreen mode that prevents the game from resizing. To resize a game window, the game must first be capable of playing in a windowed fashion. If available, the setting is found in the game's video settings and may be labeled as borderless fullscreen, window mode, or a checkbox. Once in a window mode, it may be possible to resize the window using any method mentioned on this page. Yet, proceed in heed that some games just have a window fashion for performance reasons and may nonetheless not support the ability to be resized.

How to resize a window on a Mac

Buttons used to close, minimize, and maximize a window in macOS.

A Mac window can be resized using the mouse and the buttons in the upper-left corner of the desktop.

  • Minimize - Clicking this button (yellow circumvolve), which looks like a dash, collapses the window to the Dock.
  • Maximize / Resize - Clicking this button (green circle), which looks like a box or two boxes, toggles the window between full and nearly full (not maximized) screens.
  • Custom size - First, make sure the window is non maximized. And then, hover your mouse cursor over the corner, lesser, or top of the window. Click-and-drag to resize the window.