Full screen in Ableton Live

You can maximize your workspace in Ableton Live by using full screen mode, whether you’re working on a single display or using a second monitor. The keyboard shortcuts to enter or exit Live’s full screen mode are:

• macOS: [CMD + CTRL + F]
• Windows: [F11]

If you’re running into issues such as a hidden menu bar, follow the troubleshooting steps below to troubleshoot full screen mode behavior.

Ableton Live’s full screen mode
macOS Full Screen Mode
macOS Maximized Window mode
Troubleshooting full screen and hidden menu bar
Full screen with secondary displays

Ableton Live’s full screen mode

To enter full screen in Live, go to View → Full Screen. Or, use the relevant keyboard shortcut to toggle full screen on or off:

• macOS: [CMD + CTRL + F]
• Windows: [F11]

Note: Full screen mode in Live may hide the menu bar. To reveal Live’s menu bar, exit full screen by pressing [CMD + CTRL + F] on macOS or [F11] on Windows.

To reveal the macOS Finder menu bar while in Live’s full screen mode, you may be able to click in the blank area at the top of the screen. Click anywhere in the Live window again to foreground Live and re-enable Live’s keyboard shortcuts. 

macOS Full Screen Mode

macOS Full Screen Mode applies across all applications with the same function as Ableton Live’s built-in full screen mode, but with slightly different behavior. 

To enter macOS full screen mode, click the green button in the top-left corner of the Live window and choose Enter Full Screen. To exit, hover your cursor near the top of the screen to reveal the menu bar and click the green button again.

In full screen mode, Live may hide the macOS menu bar and dock. To access macOS finder options, use the keyboard shortcut [CMD + Tab] to toggle between active spaces and select Finder.

• To reveal all windows currently open on macOS, press F3 / Mission Control to expose hidden windows.
• To set the menu bar to always be visible in full screen, you can change the macOS setting Automatically hide and show the menu bar to Never. Learn more about Control Centre settings on macOS.

macOS Maximized Window mode

You can also use the green button to maximize the dimensions of an app’s window. To do this, hold [ALT/OPTION] and click the green button at the top left corner. This resizes the application window to fill most or all of the screen, without entering macOS Full Screen Mode. 

• If you experience issues with full screen behavior while using multi-monitor setups, consider using maximized window mode instead of full screen.

Troubleshooting full screen and hidden menu bar

Update software and drivers

• Update Live to the latest version available from your Ableton account.
• Check for available updates to your current operating system.
  1. macOS Settings → General → Software Update
  2. Windows Settings → Update & Security → Windows Updates

Live’s menu bar is hidden

• Press [CMD + CTRL + F] / [F11] to exit Live’s full screen mode.

macOS Dock is not revealed

The macOS Dock may not appear while in full screen mode. To exit full screen and reveal the Dock:

• From macOS full screen, over your cursor near the top of the screen to reveal the menu bar, and click the green button to exit macOS full screen.
• From Live’s full screen, press [CMD + CTRL + F] to exit Live’s full screen mode.

Learn more about Desktop & Dock settings on macOS.

Full screen with secondary displays

Tips for using full screen with secondary displays:

macOS

• Apps may behave differently depending on the setting Displays have separate Spaces. Go to System Preferences → Mission Control and try toggling this option.
• Open System Settings → Displays, then click and drag the white menu bar in the display arrangement diagram to the screen you want to designate as the main display to make it the default for full screen output.

Windows

• Use the keyboard shortcut [WIN + Shift + Left/Right Arrow] to move Live’s window between monitors. 
• In Display Settings, select the screen you want to use for full screen, then scroll down and check the box for Make this my main display.
• In Display Settings, set monitors set to Extend mode.

Troubleshooting full screen on second monitor

If you run into full-screen mode issues with a secondary monitor, follow the steps below to check  your display settings, graphics card configuration, or app options. 

Live won't enter full screen on second monitor

• Move the Live window to the second screen first, then use the keyboard shortcut [CMD + Ctrl + F] / [F11] to enter full screen.
• Try making the second monitor the primary monitor.

Black screen, incorrect resolution, or other GUI issues

• Update your graphics card driver.
• Follow the recommendations in the guide to Recommended Graphics Settings (Windows).
• Disable or check settings for any third-party software that affects window and graphics behavior, such as gaming software, overlays, and virtual display software.