How to display full-screen mode on Tkinter?

Tkinter displays the application window by its default size. However, we can create a full-screen window using the attributes() method. This method assigns properties to tkinter windows such as transparentcolor, alpha, disabled, fullscreen, toolwindow, and topmost.

Basic Full-Screen Window

Use attributes('-fullscreen', True) to make the window occupy the entire screen ?

# Import the tkinter library
from tkinter import *

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

# Set the geometry (will be overridden by fullscreen)
win.geometry("650x250")

# Add a text label with font properties
label = Label(win, text="Hello World!", font=('Times New Roman bold', 20))
label.pack(padx=10, pady=10)

# Create a fullscreen window
win.attributes('-fullscreen', True)

# Add instructions for exiting
exit_label = Label(win, text="Press Alt+F4 to exit fullscreen", fg="gray")
exit_label.pack(pady=5)

win.mainloop()

Full-Screen with Exit Button

For better user experience, provide a visible way to exit full-screen mode ?

from tkinter import *

def exit_fullscreen():
    win.attributes('-fullscreen', False)
    win.geometry('800x600')

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

win = Tk()
win.title("Full-Screen Demo")

# Main content
label = Label(win, text="Full-Screen Tkinter Window", font=('Arial', 24))
label.pack(pady=50)

# Control buttons
button_frame = Frame(win)
button_frame.pack(pady=20)

exit_btn = Button(button_frame, text="Exit Full-Screen", command=exit_fullscreen)
exit_btn.pack(side=LEFT, padx=10)

toggle_btn = Button(button_frame, text="Toggle Full-Screen", command=toggle_fullscreen)
toggle_btn.pack(side=LEFT, padx=10)

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

# Bind Escape key to exit fullscreen
win.bind('<Escape>', lambda e: exit_fullscreen())

win.mainloop()

Key Methods Summary

Common Use Cases

Full-screen mode is useful for:

• Presentations − Displaying slides without window borders
• Games − Immersive gaming experience
• Kiosks − Public terminals and information displays
• Media players − Video playback without distractions

Conclusion

Use attributes('-fullscreen', True) to create full-screen Tkinter applications. Always provide an exit method like Escape key binding or visible buttons for better user experience.