Windows 11 stop excel from always adopting full screen mode

Question

Windows 11 stop excel from always adopting full screen mode

Graeme WARD 5

Locked Question. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

Stefan Blom 353.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-20T17:49:31.6666667+00:00

This is a duplicate question. Please post any further follow-ups in your original thread at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/6008148/windows-11-stop-excel-from-always-adopting-full-sc .

2 answers

Stefan Blom 353.5K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-09-20T17:49:31.6666667+00:00

This is a duplicate question. Please post any further follow-ups in your original thread at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/6008148/windows-11-stop-excel-from-always-adopting-full-sc .

Answer 1

Thomas4-N 22,295 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Graeme WARD,

When you say Excel always opens in full screen, do you mean the Excel window is simply maximized and fills the desktop, while the ribbon and title bar are still visible, or do those controls disappear as well?

That distinction matters because they are different window states and the fix would be different.

If Excel is simply opening maximized, please let me know whether restoring the window to a smaller size, closing Excel, and reopening it causes Excel to become maximized again.

If the ribbon or other Excel controls are disappearing instead, try Ctrl + Shift + F1 once.

Graeme WARD 5 Reputation points

2026-09-20T12:11:24.0366667+00:00

Thank you. Advice fine

But perhaps I didn’t express well my Q

In Excel sheet in full screen mode, the only action possible was to click in the middle (square) of the three icons at top right. Sheet then withdrew into small space at top L of screen. I found that dragging from bottom R corner of this small item expanded sheet to a workable size that could then be dealt with in usual fashion.

Discovered this solution by chance. Apparently no advice on line abt this function. But then, as I said, perhaps the wrong Q asked

Answer 2

If Excel is always opening in full-screen or maximized behavior, use these checks:

Press Ctrl+Shift+F1 in Excel.
- This toggles full screen on and off in supported versions.
- If Excel returns to the normal view, the issue was the full-screen toggle.
If the Excel window is simply maximized, press Alt+Spacebar and choose Restore Down.
- If needed, choose Maximize again later.
If new Excel windows always open maximized, change the shortcut setting:
- In Windows Search, type Excel.
- Right-click Excel > Open file location.
- Right-click the Excel shortcut > Properties.
- On the Shortcut tab, set Run to a normal window instead of Maximized.
If the issue is actually the Windows snap/full-screen behavior, turn off the snap layout prompt:
- Go to Settings > System > Multitasking.
- Under Snap windows, clear the option to show snap layouts when dragging a window to the top of the screen.

Important: the Full screen option is not available in Excel 2013 and later versions. In those versions, screen space can still be increased by hiding the ribbon, tabs, or commands.