[ ← blog / phpstorm ](/) Oct 08, 2020  ·  \#phpstorm  ·  1 min read 

# PhpStorm trick: keyboard shortcut to expand your tool window



I accidentally found a cool keyboard shortcut for PhpStorm, and probably every IntelliJ IDE. On macOS, you can use Shift + CMD + Apostrophe to force your tool window to expand to the entire screen. I'm assuming for Linux and Windows this is Shift + CTRL + Apostrophe. I don't know about anyone else, **BUT I AM VERY EXCITED**.

This is what my terminal window usually looks like. It's pretty annoying and I find myself constantly adjusting its height. Larger when I need to focus, smaller when I need to quick run some commands while coding.

     ![PHPStorm with Terminal opened](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2020-10/Screen%20Shot%202020-10-07%20at%202.13.37%20PM.png?itok=G_oc1P9-) 

 

But, today I found a new shortcut. I was trying to change my active terminal tab with `Shift + CMD + ]` and accidentally hit `Shift + CMD + '`. When I did, my terminal popped up and down. It went from its current size to meet the full height of my IDE! Perfect for getting a focused terminal and not having to manually change the height.

 ![Video of PHPStorm shortcut in action](/sites/default/files/2020-10/expand-toolwindw.gif)

 

This is definitely a new productivity hack for me in PhpStorm.

 

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I write about Drupal, PHP, and the quiet infrastructure behind large sites — caching, config, and testing. New posts land every week or two.

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