Q) I keep getting emails with links to YouTube videos from my friends. They sometimes say that I should watch the video in full screen. What is that and how do I do it?
A) Good questions. Here’s the scoop. In any YouTube video there is a row of small icons beneath the area where the video appears. If you hover the mouse pointer over each of them, you’ll see a small “tool tip” which tells you what each one is for. The one you’re looking for is on the far right. It looks sort of like a picture frame. If you click on this icon the picture will immediately fill your entire screen. When you are done watching the video and want to return your screen to the normal mode, press the escape key in the upper left portion of your keyboard. That’s all there is to it.
While we’re discussing YouTube video tools, take a look at the other ones. Based on your computer, these tools might be a little different, but they’re mostly similar, if not identical. The one that looks like a speaker, usually third from the left, is the volume control. If you hover the mouse pointer over the little speaker, a slider will appear. You can drag the slider to the right or left to increase or decrease the volume.
Check out the other icons as well to see whether there’s something that increases your enjoyment.
The above answer works for YouTube videos but not on normal windows. However, there is a way to make any window go full screen. At the very right top portion of all windows there are three small icons. From left to right they are a dash, a square or two overlapping squares and an X. I’ll explain them one at a time.
The dash – If you hover the mouse pointer over the dash, the tool tip will read “minimize.” Clicking on the dash will make the window disappear. However, the program is not closed. It’s still there, just minimized. You might do this in order to clear up space on your screen to do other work. But you haven’t closed the program you were working on. Rather, you have hidden the window. To get it back, simply click on the icon on your taskbar that contains the item you minimized.
The square or overlapping squares – this is the one that will give you the equivalent of the YouTube full screen option. Except that it’s called “maximize.” If the icon is a single square, hovering the mouse pointer over it will give you a tool tip that says “maximize.” Clicking on that square will immediately make the window fill the entire screen. If the icon looks like overlapping squares, the window is already filling the entire screen. In this case, hovering over it will result in a tool tip that says “restore down.” Clicking on that icon will make the window smaller. It’s interesting to note that while a window is maximized it is unmovable. It fills the whole screen and no matter what you do, it continues to do so. However, when it has been made smaller, the window is malleable. It can be made wider or longer by moving the edges, or it can be moved around by clicking and holding the left mouse button near the top of the window and moving it where you choose.
The X – This is pretty simple. Clicking on this icon will close whatever program you’re working on in this window. Clicking on it may give you another dialog before the program is actually closed. For instance, if you’re working on a document or a spreadsheet, it may ask you whether you want to save the changes you’re made to the document or spreadsheet. Or if it’s a browser window, it may ask whether you want to close just one tab or all of them.
This is a pretty long answer to your question, but I feel that it’s important to understand the utility of some of the tools that are available to us as users of these computers that we all own.
Please note that for questions I’d prefer you start using an email address that I’ve set up for just that purpose. It’s [email protected]. Keep ‘em coming.
