# Playing full screen

> What WolOS does while a game fills the screen: banners wait, frames go out at once, the refresh rate follows the game, and Force Quit still opens.

Source: https://wolos.org/manual/full-screen-games

## What it is

When a game fills the whole screen, WolOS steps back. Notifications wait until you leave the game, each frame goes to the screen the moment the game finishes it, and a screen that can change its refresh rate (variable refresh rate, VRR for short) follows the game's pace. If the game freezes, **Force Quit** still opens on top of it. You set none of this up: it happens because the window is full screen.

## Why

A game that is interrupted, or that waits a few milliseconds for the screen, feels worse than a slower game that is never interrupted. So WolOS treats full screen as a promise: nothing of the desktop draws over the game, and nothing holds its frames back. Desktop widgets pause on that screen, Memory Saver never touches a game, and a banner that arrives while you play is kept for later rather than lost.

## How

1. **Make the game full screen.** Use the game's own video setting (*Fullscreen*, not *Windowed*), or press **Ctrl+Super+F** for any window.
   You see the game cover the menu bar and the Dock.
2. **Play.** A notification that arrives now does not show.
   When you leave full screen, the banners you missed appear, and every one stays in Notification Center.

   ![Three banners stacked at the top right: a Mail message from Dinah, Now Playing with "2 more notifications", and a Calendar event. This is what waits for you after a game.](/img/manual/banners.png)
3. **Want silence outside games too?** Open Control Center and choose **Focus**, then *Do Not Disturb*, *For 1 hour* or *Until tomorrow morning*. **Ctrl+Super+D** turns Do Not Disturb on or off.

   ![Control Center's Focus panel: Do Not Disturb (Off), For 1 hour, Until tomorrow morning.](/img/manual/controlcenter-focus.png)

   The same switch is in Settings > Notifications: "While Focus is on, banners stay quiet and wait in Notification Center. Critical alerts, such as a low battery, still show."

   ![Settings > Notifications: the Do Not Disturb switch under Focus, the sentence about banners waiting, and Notification Center with a Show button.](/img/manual/settings-notifications-wide.png)
4. **If the game stops answering,** press **Alt+Super+Esc**.
   You see **Force Quit Applications** over the game. Choose the game and click **Force Quit**. The rest of the desktop is not affected.

   ![Force Quit Applications: "If an app doesn't respond for a while, choose it and click Force Quit." A list with Files selected, Browser, Terminal and Mail, and a red Force Quit button.](/img/manual/force-quit.png)
5. **Check the refresh rate** in Settings > Displays if your screen supports more than 60 Hz.
   You see *Refresh Rate* next to Resolution and Scale. Choose the highest the screen offers; the variable refresh rate turns on only for full-screen windows, so the desktop stays steady.

   ![Settings > Displays: Built-in Display with Resolution 2560 × 1600, Refresh Rate 60 Hz and Scale 200%, and the Night Shift switch.](/img/manual/settings-displays-wide.png)

### What changes while a game is full screen

| What | While you play | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Banners | Wait, then show when you leave | A banner drawn over the game would also slow its frames |
| The volume sign | Still shows for a moment | You need to see the level you set |
| Frames | Go out at once, even if that means a slight tear | Lower delay between your hand and the screen |
| Variable refresh rate | On, for full-screen windows only | The screen follows the game's pace |
| A game at a lower resolution | Scaled sharp, not blurred | Pixel art and text stay crisp |
| Desktop widgets | Paused on that screen | They would spend power you want for the game |
| Memory Saver | Never touches the game | Games are excluded by rule |

## A worked example

Alice starts a game and presses **Ctrl+Super+F** to make it full screen. Halfway through a mail arrives and a calendar reminder fires, but nothing covers the game. When she quits, three banners appear at once and all three are waiting in Notification Center. The game was never interrupted.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| A banner showed over the game | The game is in a window, not full screen. Switch it to *Fullscreen* in its video settings, or press **Ctrl+Super+F**. |
| The picture tears on fast movement | That is the price of sending frames at once. Turn on the game's own *V-Sync*, or use a screen with variable refresh rate. |
| The game is frozen and the keys do nothing | Press **Alt+Super+Esc** and Force Quit it. |
| I missed a message while I played | Open Notification Center (Settings > Notifications > **Show**): every notification you missed is there, newest first. |
| The refresh rate stays at 60 Hz | Pick it in Settings > Displays. The list shows only what the screen and cable report; some older cables carry 60 Hz only. |

## Related

[Steam and your game library](/manual/steam) · [When a game will not start](/manual/game-fixes) · [Keyboard shortcuts](/reference/keys) · [Settings](/manual/settings)