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I'm new to macOS and I really like the way you can assign a window to be it's own Desktop via full-screening. However, I have an issue with the default way the Menu bar works in full-screen. I often move my cursor to the top of the screen to click on my tabs in my browsers and editors, and accidentally trigger the Menu bar obscuring my tabs.
Note
If you enabled the org-wide app setting, Allow interaction with custom apps, you may not see app setup policies yet in the Microsoft Teams admin center. It's currently being rolled out and will be available soon in your organization.
Full Screen Mac Command
As an admin, you can use app setup policies to do the following:
- Full-Screen Mode. An app window in full-screen mode offers a distraction-free working environment. Toolbars, menus, and other standard controls are often hidden and revealed only when the user calls for them, such as by moving the pointer to the top of the screen. Some apps even hide essential controls to increase the focus on content.
- Mar 28, 2018 Leave full screen mode when finished. To switch a full screen program back to normal, move your mouse to the top right corner of the screen. Click the blue icon that appears in the top right of the full screen program window. Your program will return to its original space.
- Customize Teams to highlight the apps that are most important for your users. You choose the apps to pin and set the order that they appear. Pinning apps lets you showcase apps that users in your organization need, including those built by third parties or by developers in your organization.
- Control whether users can pin apps to Teams.
- Install apps on behalf of users (in preview). You choose which apps are installed by default for users when they start Teams. Keep in mind that users can still install apps themselves if the app permission policy that's assigned to them allows it.
Apps are pinned to the app bar. This is the bar on the side of the Teams desktop client and at the bottom of the Teams mobile clients (iOS and Android).
Teams desktop client | Teams mobile client |
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To see their pre-installed apps, in the app bar, users click ... More apps in the Teams desktop and web clients and swipe up in the mobile clients.
You manage app setup policies in the Microsoft Teams admin center. You can use the global (Org-wide default) policy or create and assign custom policies. Users in your organization will automatically get the global policy unless you create and assign a custom policy. You must be a global admin or Teams service admin to manage these policies.
You can edit the settings in the global policy to include the apps that you want. If you want to customize Teams for different groups of users in your organization, create and assign one or more custom policies.
Note
If you have Teams for Education, it's important to know that the Assignments app is pinned by default in the global policy even though currently, you don't see it listed in the global policy. It will be the fourth app in the list of pinned apps on Teams clients.
Create a custom app setup policy
You can use the Microsoft Teams admin center to create a custom policy.
- In the left navigation of the Microsoft Teams admin center, go to Teams apps > Setup policies.
- Click Add.
- Enter a name and description for the policy.
- Turn on or turn off Upload custom apps, depending on whether you want to let users upload custom apps to Teams. You won't be able to change this setting if Allow third-party apps is turned off in org-wide app settings.
- Turn on or turn off Allow user pinning, depending on whether you want to let users personalize their app bar by pinning apps to it.
- To install apps for users (in preview), do the following:
- Under Installed apps, click Add apps.
- In the Add installed apps pane, search for the apps you want to automatically install for users when they start Teams. You can also filter apps by app permission policy. When you've chosen your list of apps, click Add.
- To pin apps, do the following:
- Under Pinned apps, click Add apps.
- In the Add pinned apps pane, search for the apps you want to add, and then click Add. You can also filter apps by app permission policy. When you've chosen your list of apps to pin, click Add.
- Arrange the apps in the order that you want them to appear in Teams, and then click Save.
Edit an app setup policy
You can use the Microsoft Teams admin center to edit a policy, including the global (Org-wide default) policy and custom policies that you create.
- In the left navigation of the Microsoft Teams admin center, go to Teams apps > Setup policies.
- Select the policy by clicking to the left of the policy name, and then click Edit.
- From here, make the changes that you want.
- Click Save.
Assign a custom app setup policy to users
You can assign a policy directly to users, either individually or at scale through a batch assignment (if supported for the policy type), or to a group that the users are members of (if supported for the policy type).
To learn about the different ways that you can assign policies to users, see Assign policies to your users in Teams.
FAQ
Working with app setup policies
What built-in app setup policies are included in the Microsoft Teams admin center?
- Global (Org-wide default): This default policy applies to all users in your organization unless you assign another policy. Edit the global policy to pin apps that are most important for your users.
- FirstLineWorker: This policy is for Firstline Workers. You can assign it to Firstline Workers in your organization. It's important to know that like custom policies that you create, you have to assign the policy to users for the settings to be active. For more information, go to the Assign a custom app setup policy to users section of this article.
Why can't I find an app in the Add pinned apps pane?
Not all apps can be pinned to Teams through an app setup policy. Some apps may not support this functionality. To find apps that can be pinned, search for the app in the Add pinned apps pane. Tabs that have a personal scope (static tabs) and bots can be pinned to the Teams desktop client and these apps are available in the Add pinned apps pane.
Keep in mind that the Teams app store lists all Teams apps whereas the Add pinned apps pane includes only apps that can be pinned to Teams through a policy.
I'm a Teams for Education admin. What do I need to know about app setup policies in Teams for Education?
The Calling app isn't available in Teams for Education. When you create a new custom app setup policy, the Calling app is displayed in the list of apps. However, the app isn't pinned to Teams clients and Teams for Education users won't see the Calls app in Teams.
How many pinned apps can be added to a policy?
A minimum of two apps must be pinned to the Teams mobile clients (iOS and Android). If a policy has less than two apps, the mobile clients won't reflect the policy settings and instead will continue to use the existing configuration.
There's no limit on the number of pinned apps you can add to a policy.
How long does it take for policy changes to take effect?
After you edit or assign a policy, it can take a few hours for changes to take effect.
User experience
How can users see all their pinned apps in Teams?
To view all apps that are pinned for a user, users may have to do the following depending on the number of installed apps and the size of their Teams client window.
Teams desktop client | Teams mobile client |
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In the app bar on the side of Teams, click ... More apps. | In the app bar near the bottom of Teams, swipe up. |
What do I need to know about the Teams mobile experience?
The Teams mobile clients (iOS and Android) currently don't support personal apps with static tabs. Depending on the apps set in the policy, apps pinned to the Teams desktop client might not appear in the Teams mobile clients. Personal bots will still appear in Chat on mobile clients.
With the Teams mobile clients, users will see core Teams apps such as Activity, Chat, and Teams, and you can pin some first-party apps from Microsoft, such as Shifts.
Can users change the order of apps pinned through a policy?
Users can change the order of their pinned apps on Teams desktop and mobile clients if the Allow user pinning option is turned on. Users can't change the order of their pinned apps on Teams web clients.
Does user pinning take precedence?
If the app setup policy assigned to the user is changed to block user app pinning, Teams removes any apps pinned to the app bar. If the policy is then changed to allow user app pinning, users must re-pin their previously pinned apps.
Custom Teams apps
My organization built a custom Teams app and published it, either to AppSource or the tenant app catalog, but the app icon isn't displayed as expected when the app is pinned to the app bar in Teams. How do I fix it?
Make sure that you follow the logo guidelines before you submit the app. To learn more, see Checklist for Seller Dashboard submission.
Related topics
Some apps are just meant to be enjoyed in full-screen modes, like movie players or games but some Mac users prefer to open apps in full screen because of their personal preferences. Full-screen mode in Mac gives you the maximum working space while minimizing distractions since the dock and the status bar are hidden so allowing to open an app on Mac, automatically, in full-screen mode can prove quite helpful.
But the problem is that there is no system-wide setting in macOS that lets apps open in full-screen mode by default. However, there’s a workaround, the Apple app opener, that allows your apps to open straight into full-screen mode. The easiest way to open Mac apps in full screen by default is to slightly change the app usage behavior and combine it with an adjustment. With this, apps that support full-screen mode will launch directly into full-screen mode when you open them and this article will show you the step-by-step guide on how to open an app on Mac directly in full-screen mode.
How to Open an App on Mac in Default Full-Screen Mode
Macs have a built-in setting that allows apps to resume or save their state before closing. When the app is re-launched, the application remembers the previous setting and will open itself in the same state. It means that any documents or windows you previously opened will be captured and relaunched. This feature also captures window settings like full-screen mode, which is what we want to achieve in this tutorial. This process is made up of two parts.
First, you need to adjust the settings under System Preferences so that Mac apps will resume their prior state before they were re-launched. To do this, follow these steps:
- Open the Apple menu and go to System Preferences > General.
- Uncheck Close windows when quitting an app.
- Close System Preferences.
This step is crucial because it lets you open your app where you left off. So when you quit an app, the windows within that app will not close, but will instead re-open and resume from its state before the quitting. This step is essential if you want to open your app in full screen by default.
The last step in this process is to the change the quitting behavior of the app. Instead of closing all the windows of an app before quitting, now you have to quit the app with the full-screen window still open. For example, if you’re using Safari, don’t close all the tabs when you quit the app. Leave one tab open even if it’s blank. Here’s the step-by-step process of closing an app so that it reloads into full-screen mode.
- Open the app and launch into full-screen mode by clicking the green button located at the upper-left corner of the window.
- When you’re done using the app, don’t close the window – leave the full-screen mode active. You can close some of the tabs or windows, as long as you leave one open.
- Quit the app as usual, while the full-screen window is still open. You can quit the app by clicking from the menu bar, by pressing Cmd + Q or by right-clicking the app’s Dock icon.
- When you re-launch the app, it will launch directly into full-screen mode.
- Follow the same steps for all other apps.
Enter Full Screen Mac
This Apple app opener works for most Apple apps like Safari, iTunes, Photos, App Store and others. It also works for some third-party apps like Skype and Microsoft Office apps. However, several third-party apps don’t support full-screen mode. Photoshop, for example, doesn’t have a full-screen mode. It only maximizes the window by taking up the available monitor space. You’ll know when an app is in full-screen mode when the menu bar is hidden.
By following these steps for all your apps, you’ll be able to open them into full-screen mode without doing anything else directly. The process might be a bit complicated and troublesome because you have to do all these for each of the apps, but it pays off in the end because you only have to set it up once.
Opening Apps at Startup
You can also open specific apps when you log in so that they’ll be ready when you open your Mac. For example, if you always use Microsoft Office apps and Safari when you work, you might want them to launch at login, so you don’t have to open them manually. Take note that startup applications mean longer boot up time. So if you don’t want to wait for lengthy startup time, you might want to limit the number of apps you want to launch during login. To set up your startup applications, follow these steps:
- Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups.
- Click the Login Items tab.
- Click + at the bottom of the list of applications.
- Choose the applications you want to add to the list.
- Close the window.
Shutting Down Correctly
To make sure that all of these changes are applied, you have to make sure that you are shutting down your computer and closing your apps correctly. When you shut down your Mac, you have the option to reopen all of the apps and windows that you have open before the shutdown. Whatever you’re working on and whatever apps you have open will be re-launched once you log back in. To do this, tick off the box that says ‘Reopen windows when logging back in’ in the Shut Down dialog.
Another thing you have to remember with this Apple app opener is how to quit your apps correctly. We have mentioned earlier that you should not quit the app entirely and that you should leave at least one window open. It is so that your app will re-open in the same state during quitting, letting you quickly pick up from where you left off. This Mac app opener tutorial allows you to open your apps in full-screen mode without having to do anything else. The advantage of this workaround is that you can choose which app you want to apply this setting to, and leave some apps to open as is.
Bonus tip: Improve your Mac’s performance by using Tweakbit MacRepair to clean out junk and unnecessary files. This app allows you to maximize your computer’s performance, allowing for a smoother Mac experience.