How to Activate Full Screen Mode in IE9

screenshot of a web page in IE9
by Scott Orgera
Scott Orgera has been a tech journalist since 2007. He has 25+ years' experience as a programmer and QA leader and several Microsoft certifications.
Updated October 17, 2019

This tutorial is only intended for users running the Internet Explorer 9 Web browser on Windows operating systems. However, one of these techniques will work with any browser including Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Safari, or most other browsers in Windows.

IE9 gives you the ability to view Web pages in full-screen mode, hiding all elements other than the main browser window itself. This includes tabs and toolbars among other items. Full-screen mode can be toggled on and off in just a few easy steps.

Use the Gear Icon

First, open your IE9 browser. Click on the "gear" icon, located in the upper right-hand corner of your browser window. When the drop-down menu appears, select the option labeled File. When the sub-menu appears, click on Full screen. This technique is specific to IE9 or newer.

Use F11

You can use the following keyboard shortcut in lieu of clicking the aforementioned menu item: F11. Your browser should now be in full-screen mode, as shown in the example above. To disable full-screen mode and return to your standard IE9 window, simply press the F11 key (which is the same for Internet Explorer 11). This technique works with most browsers.