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Copilot AI commented Dec 18, 2025

Users were confused about the differences between full screen, focus mode, and quake mode—they appear similar but behave differently. Documentation was scattered across multiple files.

Changes

  • New window-modes.md: Centralized documentation with:

    • Comparison table showing which UI elements are visible, default sizes, and use cases
    • Detailed characteristics and activation methods for each mode (keyboard, command palette, CLI, settings)
    • Visual comparisons explaining the key difference: full screen expands the window, focus mode hides UI at current size, quake mode is a special top-half drop-down
    • Mode combination guidance (e.g., full screen + focus, maximizedFocus)
  • Updated TOC.yml: Added page after "Panes" section

Quick reference added

Mode Tabs Title bar Border Size Use case
Full screen Optional No No Full monitor Maximum space
Focus mode No No No Current Distraction-free
Quake mode No No No Top half Quick drop-down access
Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Difference between full screen, focus mode and quake window</issue_title>
<issue_description>From @htcfreek in microsoft/terminal#13799

What is the difference and correct usage of the follwoing window types:

  • full screen window
  • focus window
  • quake mode window

For me the full screen window looks the same as an fokus window except that a fokus window is not on the full screen. Both have not tab row, title bar and window border. Here is a screenshot of wt after enabling the "focus mode": image

If I choose "Show/hide quake window" in the command palette on a normal window, nothing happens. Same on a quake window. wt-quake-command

maintainer note: maybe we just need a top-level "focus mode" page, or a top-level "features" with something like focus mode (& cmdpal, search, ) under it
</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)


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Learn Build status updates of commit acb5a30:

✅ Validation status: passed

For more details, please refer to the build report.

- Created new window-modes.md with detailed explanations
- Added comparison table for all three modes
- Documented activation methods for each mode
- Included use cases and visual comparisons
- Added to TOC.yml after Panes section

Co-authored-by: mattwojo <7566797+mattwojo@users.noreply.github.com>
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Learn Build status updates of commit cdc5400:

✅ Validation status: passed

File Status Preview URL Details
TerminalDocs/TOC.yml ✅Succeeded View
TerminalDocs/window-modes.md ✅Succeeded View

For more details, please refer to the build report.

- Changed focus mode keybinding to use correct format
- Use 'keybindings array' terminology consistently
- Reference built-in action IDs instead of creating new actions

Co-authored-by: mattwojo <7566797+mattwojo@users.noreply.github.com>
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The following report lists PoliCheck issues in PR files. Before you merge the PR, you must fix all severity-1 and severity-2 issues. The AI Review Details column lists suggestions for either removing or replacing the terms. If you find a false positive result, mention it in a PR comment and include this text: #policheck-false-positive. This feedback helps reduce false positives in future scans.

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Learn Build status updates of commit d8e01cd:

✅ Validation status: passed

File Status Preview URL Details
TerminalDocs/TOC.yml ✅Succeeded View
TerminalDocs/window-modes.md ✅Succeeded View

For more details, please refer to the build report.

- Use combined command+keys format for consistency with tips-and-tricks.md
- Provide both globalSummon and quakeMode shorthand examples
- Clarify that bindings go in actions array

Co-authored-by: mattwojo <7566797+mattwojo@users.noreply.github.com>
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✅ No issues found

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Learn Build status updates of commit a37159b:

✅ Validation status: passed

File Status Preview URL Details
TerminalDocs/TOC.yml ✅Succeeded View
TerminalDocs/window-modes.md ✅Succeeded View

For more details, please refer to the build report.

Co-authored-by: mattwojo <7566797+mattwojo@users.noreply.github.com>
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Learn Build status updates of commit 0ad0714:

✅ Validation status: passed

File Status Preview URL Details
TerminalDocs/TOC.yml ✅Succeeded View
TerminalDocs/window-modes.md ✅Succeeded View

For more details, please refer to the build report.

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PoliCheck Scan Report

The following report lists PoliCheck issues in PR files. Before you merge the PR, you must fix all severity-1 and severity-2 issues. The AI Review Details column lists suggestions for either removing or replacing the terms. If you find a false positive result, mention it in a PR comment and include this text: #policheck-false-positive. This feedback helps reduce false positives in future scans.

✅ No issues found

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Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Clarify differences between full screen, focus mode, and quake window Add centralized documentation for window modes (full screen, focus, quake) Dec 18, 2025
Copilot AI requested a review from mattwojo December 18, 2025 20:24
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Difference between full screen, focus mode and quake window

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