Gmail engineers finally heard users plight and brought back the old Compose design. You can find this expand option in the top-right bar.
Technically, it is not exactly full screen but a bigger box positioned at middle of the page. Nevertheless, it is better than old small box at the corner. You can also select Default to full screen from the bottom drop down which will always open Compose box in full screen mode covering the entire page. At least now you can write lengthy emails without having to scroll to see what you have written and what you have missed. The new full screen compose mode also shows formatting toolbar by default. This was one of the most requested feature in the new design. It has become very difficult to find text formatting options and common actions in new chat like compose box. Alternatively, you can also use following methods: To open Compose Box in a new window #. Shift + Click on the Compose Button #. Shift + c keyboard shortcut To open Compose Box in a new tab #. Ctrl + Click on the Compose Button #. d keyboard shortcut Google brought these changes with the view to simplify messaging. By placing compose window in place of chat boxes, Google was promoting a culture of short messages. Though the idea was to multitask like searching while composing, Google unknowingly made the mistake trying to change people’s habit. Google inadvertently forgot that people still write large emails and even if they write short messages, they want large space to concentrate on the message. It was unwise to overlap two products. Mail’s functionality cannot be bonded with chat or vice versa.
