How to maximise a window on a Mac without going full screen
Short answer: hover over the green button and choose Fill (macOS 15 and later), or Option-click the green button to zoom. To make double-clicking the title bar fill the screen, set System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Double-click a window's title bar to Fill. With Okie Dockie, Control-Option-Up Arrow fills the screen for the window in front, in any app.
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Why the green button is not maximise
On Windows, the square button in a window's corner makes it fill the screen. On a Mac, clicking the green button does something bigger: the window goes full screen. The menu bar and Dock hide, the window moves into a space of its own, and getting to your other windows means swiping between spaces. For many people that is not what they wanted at all — they just wanted the window larger.
Built-in ways to fill the screen
- Fill from the green button — on macOS 15 and later, rest the pointer on the green button and choose Fill. The window takes the whole screen while the menu bar and Dock stay put.
- Option-click the green button — this zooms the window instead of sending it full screen. Zoom is the size the app thinks best, which for some apps is the whole screen and for others is only as wide as the content.
- Drag and resize — always works, and is the slowest.
Double-click the title bar
Open System Settings → Desktop & Dock and find Double-click a window's title bar to. The choices are Fill, Zoom, Minimise and Do Nothing. Choose Fill and double-clicking any window's title bar makes it fill the screen, much like Windows.
One shortcut for every app
Okie Dockie adds keyboard shortcuts that work the same way in every app:
- Control-Option-Up Arrow — fill the screen, keeping the menu bar and Dock.
- Control-Option-Left / Right Arrow — fill the left or right half.
- Control-Option-2, 3 or 4 — tile your frontmost windows side by side.
You can also drag a window to the top of the screen to choose a layout. None of it uses full screen or creates a new space, so all your windows stay one click away. These are part of the free version.
Get every Chrome profile into your Dock
Okie Dockie builds a real Dock icon for each Chrome profile you use, badged with that profile's own picture. Click one and you land back in the window it already had open.
Everything except Chrome profile icons is free forever, and the profile icons come with a 7-day free trial that starts on its own — no sign-up, no card. macOS 13+, Apple Silicon and Intel.
Frequently asked questions
How do I maximise a window on a Mac without full screen?
Hover over the green button and choose Fill, or Option-click it to zoom. Okie Dockie also fills the screen with Control-Option-Up Arrow.
Why does the green button make my window full screen?
On a Mac the green button's click enters full-screen mode, which puts the window in its own space. Filling the screen is a separate option.
How do I make double-clicking the title bar maximise a window?
In System Settings, Desktop & Dock, set Double-click a window's title bar to Fill.
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