Creating Tkinter full-screen application

Tkinter initially creates a window that contains application components such as widgets and control bars. We can switch a native-looking application to a full-screen application by using the attributes('-fullscreen', True) method. To make the window full-screen, just invoke the method with the particular window.

Basic Full-Screen Example

Here's how to create a basic full-screen Tkinter application ?

# Import tkinter library
from tkinter import *

# Create an instance of tkinter frame or window
win = Tk()

# Set the geometry of tkinter frame
win.geometry("750x250")

# Create a Text widget
text = Label(win, text="Hello\nWelcome to Tutorialspoint.com!", 
             font=('Century Schoolbook', 20, 'italic bold'))
text.pack(pady=30)

# Enable full-screen mode
win.attributes('-fullscreen', True)

win.mainloop()

Executing the above code will display a full screen window without window borders or title bar.

Full-Screen with Exit Button

Since full-screen mode hides the window controls, it's good practice to add an exit button ?

from tkinter import *

def exit_fullscreen():
    win.quit()

# Create window
win = Tk()
win.geometry("750x250")

# Create content
text = Label(win, text="Full-Screen Application", 
             font=('Arial', 24, 'bold'))
text.pack(pady=50)

# Add exit button
exit_btn = Button(win, text="Exit", command=exit_fullscreen,
                  font=('Arial', 14), bg='red', fg='white')
exit_btn.pack(pady=20)

# Enable full-screen
win.attributes('-fullscreen', True)

win.mainloop()

Toggle Full-Screen Mode

You can also create a function to toggle between full-screen and windowed mode ?

from tkinter import *

def toggle_fullscreen():
    current_state = win.attributes('-fullscreen')
    win.attributes('-fullscreen', not current_state)

# Create window
win = Tk()
win.geometry("800x600")

# Create content
label = Label(win, text="Press F11 to Toggle Full-Screen", 
              font=('Arial', 18))
label.pack(pady=100)

toggle_btn = Button(win, text="Toggle Full-Screen", 
                    command=toggle_fullscreen,
                    font=('Arial', 12))
toggle_btn.pack(pady=20)

# Bind F11 key to toggle function
win.bind('<F11>', lambda event: toggle_fullscreen())

# Bind Escape key to exit full-screen
win.bind('<Escape>', lambda event: win.attributes('-fullscreen', False))

win.mainloop()

Key Points

• Use attributes('-fullscreen', True) to enable full-screen mode
• Full-screen mode hides window borders, title bar, and system controls
• Always provide an exit method (button, key binding, or Alt+F4)
• Common key bindings: F11 for toggle, Escape to exit full-screen

Conclusion

Creating full-screen Tkinter applications is straightforward using the attributes('-fullscreen', True) method. Always include exit functionality for better user experience, such as exit buttons or keyboard shortcuts like Escape or F11.