Window Layout Guide
Fit windows into your own zones while using your desktop normally.
1. Drag and drop
Install Window Layout for Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, or extract the portable ZIP and run WindowLayout.exe. The installer supports a custom destination; the desktop shortcut is selected by default. Start menu and startup options are off by default.
Two additional installer options are off by default. Help me pin to the taskbar after installation opens the installed app and shows the Windows pinning steps: right-click its running taskbar icon and choose Pin to taskbar. Delete this setup file after successful installation removes only this installer after it exits. It asks afresh on each installation and leaves other files alone; Windows locks or permissions can prevent removal.
- Grab a window by its title bar and start dragging.
- Hold Shift to reveal the current preset’s zones. You can hold Shift before starting the drag instead.
- Move the pointer into a zone and release the mouse. That window moves and resizes to fit.
The starting preset has four zones. Targets follow the display under the pointer, using the preset’s proportions. The target beneath the pointer is highlighted. Release Shift to return to ordinary dragging; release outside every zone to keep the ordinary Windows movement. Escape cancels the zone drop unless you have chosen it as an activation key. Dropping does not displace windows already in the destination zone.
2. Remember programs
Open Windows & rules on Home. Select an entry under Visible windows, then choose its destination on the layout preview. Place window moves that particular window once. Tick Remember for this program to also save the destination for future windows. You do not need multiple presets; no program rules exist until you add them.
- Open in this zone describes the ordinary remembered rule: future windows from that program open in the chosen zone. After placement, move or resize them freely.
- Keep in zone additionally corrects the window if the program subsequently moves or resizes itself. This is optional; an ordinary remembered opening rule does not enforce its position.
Deliberately dragging or resizing a kept window releases enforcement for that window until you choose Reapply or reopen it. Its saved program rule remains for future windows. A program that repeatedly rejects correction is released instead of causing endless resizing or disabling other windows; its status appears in Windows & rules.
Under Remembered programs, use Up and Down to arrange the priority ladder. Priority resolves competition for kept zones: with one available zone the highest-priority eligible program wins; with three zones, up to three do. Preferred destinations are used where possible. Lower-priority windows remain open as ordinary windows; the app does not close or minimize them to make room. You can disable or remove a rule, change its Keep setting, or use Reapply deliberately.
Multiple ordinary windows from one program share its remembered destination. The list still shows them separately, so placing one Chrome window elsewhere does not change Chrome’s saved rule. Destinations remember a position within the layout and choose the corresponding available zone when its shape or zone count changes. Rules identify the executable’s full path, rather than changing document or chat titles. If an update moves the executable to a different path, reconnect the program to its rule.
3. Place new windows
In Settings under New-window placement, Automatically place newly opened windows is on by default. A newly opened ordinary app window first follows any remembered program destination. Otherwise it uses an empty zone, then the least-covered available zone. Coverage includes windows positioned manually, not only windows placed by this app. Turning off general automatic placement leaves your explicit remembered program rules enabled.
When every zone is filled, the window uses your chosen overflow destination, top-left by default. Select it with When all zones are filled, use. Other windows remain open. General automatic placement prefers zones without kept occupants and never overrides a remembered program rule.
This is a one-time placement when a new window opens, not continuous rearrangement. The app waits briefly for the new window to settle, so its initial position may be visible. Starting or resuming Window Layout does not sweep existing ordinary windows into zones. Dialogs, menus, notifications, minimized and fullscreen windows retain their normal behavior. A newly opened ordinary maximized window can be restored into its destination.
4. Switch presets
Hold Alt and press 1–9 on the number row or numeric keypad to select a numbered preset. No mouse action is needed. Its zones briefly fade in and out on the display under the pointer, confirming the targets available for your next drop. Holding Alt alone shows nothing. If the selected slot is empty, the app tells you to create a preset in that slot on Home.
The app has up to nine saved preset slots with stable numbers. Select a slot on Home to edit it, create a preset in an empty slot, or duplicate, rename or delete a saved preset. Four is the initial number of zones, not a limit on the number you can create. If an earlier version saved more than nine presets, Restore saved preset lets you bring a retained extra into an empty slot.
Ordinary windows stay where they are when you switch, edit or save presets. The exception is windows explicitly set to Keep in zone: they can follow a selected layout, with their preferred destinations and program priority resolving the available space. Manually released windows stay under your control.
5. Edit a preset
Edit preset opens the selected display. Drag inside a zone to move it. Grab any of its four edges or four corners to resize; the grab area extends around the thin outline. Nearby edges align magnetically, with guides showing the alignment. Hold Alt to bypass snapping. Snap tolerance is adjustable in Settings. Drag a floating panel by its Move grip to uncover a zone edge beneath it.
Use Tab to select zones, arrow keys to move one pixel, and Shift + arrows to resize. Numeric fields specify position and size as percentages of the workspace inside the outer margins. Add zone splits the selected rectangle; Remove deletes it. Save validates and saves the preset without rearranging ordinary windows. Escape cancels the edit.
6. Margins and gaps
Open Spacing for the selected preset to choose its editor display and set left, right, top and bottom margins independently. Dragging and shortcut previews use the display under the pointer. Values are percentages of the usable display area, which respects the taskbar. Link all sides makes uniform changes easier. A margin can be zero; reserve desktop space wherever you need it. Save spacing updates future drops.
The inner gap uses pixels at 100% display scaling. Gap protection is on by default and stops a placed window reaching nonoverlapping neighbors placed with the same preset geometry during resizing. Resize neighboring windows together is off by default; enabling it adjusts shared boundaries while respecting minimum sizes. Ordinary dragging lets you move a window out freely.
Expand placed windows is an explicit action for windows already placed by the app. By default it removes outer margins and keeps inner gaps. Configure outer margins, inner gaps or both in Spacing before placing windows; each placed window retains those choices. Restore spacing returns the expanded arrangement to its previous spacing.
7. Keys and appearance
In the app’s Settings, Drag activation accepts any single key or two-key combination. Shift is the default; both the activation keys and a window drag must be held together, in either order. Preset shortcut chooses the single held key used with 1–9; Alt is the default.
You may choose ordinary letters or keys already used by another application. Those bindings can also type or trigger that application’s commands. Choose different keys if that happens; a custom shortcut does not make the original function disappear.
Zone overlay starts with thin yellow borders, 20% white opacity inside zones, and 50% pure-black shading everywhere outside them, including gaps and outer margins. Border colour, thickness, fill, shading and subtle corner rounding are adjustable; set the corner radius to zero for square corners. Rounding changes the visual outline, not the rectangular window bounds. The drag overlay disappears when you release activation; a preset selection shows only a brief fading preview. Neither overlay takes keyboard focus or captures mouse clicks.
Each settings section has its own Reset defaults action. For example, resetting Zone overlay restores that section’s colours, opacity, thickness and rounding without deleting presets, remembered programs or unrelated preferences. Spacing also has separate resets for margins, gaps and resizing, and expansion.
8. Active-window highlight
Enable Active window highlight in Settings for a border, with optional glow. The default border is one pixel with glow off. Colour, thickness, corner rounding, glow spread and strength are independent. Set the corner radius to zero for square corners. It follows ordinary focused windows, including those outside your presets, and allows clicks through.
Use the HEX field, colour picker and RGB/custom colour controls to choose any colour. Settings also offers the four familiar interface themes.
9. Shortcuts and tray
- Shift + window drag: reveal zones and drop into one.
- Alt + 1–9: select and briefly preview a preset.
- Ctrl + Alt + Space: expand placed windows or restore spacing.
- Ctrl + Alt + E: edit the current preset.
- Ctrl + Alt + P: pause or resume management.
The first two bindings are customizable. The additional Ctrl + Alt shortcuts can be disabled in Settings; registration conflicts are reported. Closing the window keeps the utility in the tray. Use Quit to stop it, or Restore original positions to return windows moved in this session. Start with Windows is optional. Pin the installed app through Windows’ normal taskbar controls if desired; the installer can show those steps.
10. Practical limits
Some applications have fixed sizes, custom movement behavior or higher privileges and may reject positioning or fail to expose a normal native drag. Fullscreen windows retain their normal behavior; fullscreen and maximized windows suppress the focus highlight. Other window managers can conflict if they control the same windows.
Gap protection and Keep in zone react to Windows events; a brief correction can be visible. Resizing errors are confined to the affected window so Shift-drag remains available for others. A program that refuses positioning cannot be forced to cooperate; compatibility with a particular game client is not guaranteed. Changes to the display configuration pause management so you can review the target display and preset before resuming. The app controls open windows and does not launch applications.
The owner marks this release Complete · maintained. Physical multi-monitor setups, mixed display scaling and behavior in individual third-party applications still require testing for those configurations. Automated checks on a virtual Windows display do not establish responsiveness on every computer.
11. Local data and source
The installed app needs no account or network connection and includes no telemetry. It observes shortcut key states and native window movement locally to recognize your controls. It does not save typed text. Presets, settings and remembered program rules are saved in %LOCALAPPDATA%/. Remembered rules include program identity and destination preferences; the current window list, titles and temporary editor screenshots stay in memory. Uninstall preserves your settings; deleting that specific folder resets them.
Original code and the adapted Capture & Paste controls are MIT-licensed. Third-party notices remain in the downloads. Download source and build instructions.
Website settings
Main site and the named parents above the page follow the site’s hierarchy. Guide and Settings use local pages where available.
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Choose System, DM Sans, Outfit, or Outfit headings with DM Sans body text in Settings. The preview and interface change immediately. Outfit is the first-visit default; fonts are served by these websites. Your saved selection is preserved.
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Contact in the footer opens the main site’s contact options in a new tab. Use it for questions, problem reports or suggestions.
The shared interface rules explain navigation, link markers, themes, raised surfaces and control states.