FenstermodusFensterModus

Fenstermodus, also known as FensterModus in German, refers to a display configuration in which an application renders its content inside a window on the desktop rather than occupying the entire screen. In practice, this means the program runs within a resizable rectangular area with a title bar and window chrome, or in a full-window borderless variant that fills the screen but is still a window on the desktop.

Variants include windowed (standard window), borderless window or borderless fullscreen (the content fills the screen but remains a window on the desktop, often used to emulate fullscreen with the convenience of tab-switching), and exclusive fullscreen (true fullscreen) which gives direct, exclusive access to the display and may reduce input lag on some systems.

Usage and considerations: The mode is common in video games, media players, and productivity apps. Windowed mode aids multitasking, rapid task switching, screen capture, and multi-monitor setups. Borderless fullscreen can provide seamless alt-tabbing with near-fullscreen performance; fullscreen may offer marginally lower input lag on some hardware, but can complicate multi-monitor workflows. Rendering in windowed mode can introduce vsync and scaling quirks, DPI scaling issues on high-DPI displays, and sometimes reduced performance compared to optimized fullscreen. Some applications implement windowed modes via internal rendering targets or by running as a standard window each frame.

Activation: The mode is usually selectable in the program’s display or graphics settings. Keyboard shortcuts like Alt+Enter have historically toggled fullscreen in many programs and games, though modern software often uses in-app menus.