Tiny window sizes when opening applications

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Apologies if this has already been canvassed – not sure what search terms to use. Since starting to use Windows 10 (don’t remember which version, but now on 21H2), I never know what to expect when starting an application. Occasionally applications open full screen, even more rarely at the same size and location on screen as when I last closed the application. But by far the most, applications open sized with just the rectangular right end of the title bar displayed – that is, one line high and just the icons normally at the right end of the title bar (ie, Minimize, Maximize, Close). Sometimes the window opens with a squarer shape and a bit larger, say 4-5 cm or about two inches square. Furthermore, this small window can appear anywhere on my 28″ screen, lost in the background of other open windows. So if the new app is not immediately visible, I have to start a visual hunt around the screen to find it, then maximize it or adjust to the size and location I want. If I am opening numerous applications and getting set up after booting, this is very time-consuming (not to mention annoying).

I don’t recall seeing this mentioned anywhere before, so maybe it is just me. Perhaps there is a setting somewhere that I have overlooked. The inconsistency of how an application will open its window is the most annoying part.

If anyone has any insight into this, it will be very much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

Dell Precision 3630 w/32 GB RAM, 500 GB (C:), 1 TB (D:)
Window 10 Pro x64
Internet: FTTC (Fibre to the Kerb)

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Not sure if it has been changed but you should be able to right-click on the shortcut that starts the tiny window and then click on properties. Look down where it says run and it should say Normal Window.  It should give you the choice of Maximized or Minimized too.

Also, if you can resize the window, do it and then click on View at the top left and then go down to Refresh and click on that.  Hopefully Windows will remember your size setting.

This is how it has worked for a long time, but they’re constantly changing things in Win 10.

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

1 user thanked author for this post.

LH

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Charlie,
Thanks for the response.  I checked the properties of several app windows – they were all set to “Normal Window”, and the other options were Maximized and Minimized as you said.

“click on View at the top left and then go down to Refresh and click on that”
Didn’t quite follow that: if you mean “View” menu, not all applications have such a menu, and where they do the menu items are different depending on the app; if you mean the left end of the title bar, clicking on that drops a menu that includes items: Restore, Maximize, Minimize and Close.  Maximize and Minimize do what you would expect.  Clicking Restore takes the window from Maximized to, in my case, the small 2″ square box or thin top-right strip.  Restore is then disabled, but you can double-click in the title bar to toggle back and forth between maximized and the smaller window.  In any case, I didn’t find a “View” item with a “Refresh” option.  Would you please mind clarifying?

Cheers.

Dell Precision 3630 w/32 GB RAM, 500 GB (C:), 1 TB (D:)
Window 10 Pro x64
Internet: FTTC (Fibre to the Kerb)

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I’m referring to the  File  Edit  View  Help  that is or was called the Menu Bar.  If you don’t have this, try right clicking the upper top area. You should get a box with Menu Bar in it, click it so a check mark appears and that should bring them up.

The reason I keep saying “it should” is because I’m using a Win 7 Classic Theme.  This may not work on a standard theme.  Also, if you do get the View to appear, it may not have the Refresh in all windows. For instance, Notepad doesn’t have it.

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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If only I remember all the geek things I’ve forgotten.  I had a computer do this to me. It’s supposed to remember the size of the window when closing and it lost that setting.

https://www.tenforums.com/software-apps/155790-registry-editor-reset-window-size-default.html

See if that does anything?  As I recall it was something like this that fixed it up and we theorized that something installed inserted a registry key.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

1 user thanked author for this post.

LH

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Susan,
Thanks for your response.  The TenForums thread is mainly concerned with the size of a particular window – the Registry Editor window.  However, one posting in the thread caught my eye: “close Window with CTRL + Top Right Cross to exit and that will set the default size”.

Doing this with a few application windows seemed to work, but as the problem seems to be random I will have to monitor it over a few days (and maybe with a reboot in between).  However, you would have to do this on an app-by-app basis.  I was hoping that there was a global setting that would allow all apps to open their windows to the size and location as they were when last closed.  If such a thing exists, it would no doubt be a registry setting.

This was the way it used to be pre-Windows-10 (and maybe also in early Win 10 releases).  I got Win 10 on a new PC – I think it was Win 10 2004, but I am not sure now.  And I can’t remember if this problem was in existence then (I suspect not).  I can’t be the only one to have this problem (or maybe I am) – so there must be a simple solution (he said, hoping :-).

Cheers.

Dell Precision 3630 w/32 GB RAM, 500 GB (C:), 1 TB (D:)
Window 10 Pro x64
Internet: FTTC (Fibre to the Kerb)

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I use a small app called ShellFolderFix to remember the size & position of my windows & programs. Works fine.

Zig

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Captain Al, LH

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I ran into the same issue. I found a lot of other people did as well and I just found a solution!

Follow this YouTube video, then sign out of windows and sign in and the scaling issue is resolved!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WwcPuRSe4c&t=121s

1 user thanked author for this post.

LH

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I can’t help but think that the real question – which I came here trying to figure out – is WHY does this keep happening?

I think it’s safe to assume it’s not part of the design.

OK, then it’s a mistake of some sort.  This has been going on for years and MS knows about it.  So if it’s a mistake, it’s the type that MS can’t or won’t fix.  We all know that it CAN be fixed.

So we keep getting ridiculous answers about how to make the window the right size from the slaves to technology.

 

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It’s not part of the design and more often than not it’s another software program – not native Windows – inserting a bit of code that makes this happen.

Especially if you use older programs, they often have software that was intended for older operating systems. I haven’t had this happen to me in years.  Bottom line more often than not we’re doing this to ourselves, not Microsoft.

Susan Bradley Patch Lady/Prudent patcher

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Just thought I’d let you all know this can still be a problem.  I just had to reinstall Windows (10) from scratch due to hardware maintenance — don’t get me started on that — and ever since I did Acrobat Reader will not open maximized.  Apparently I missed updating the Windows Update settings, because last night my computer rebooted itself.  Today, all my LibreOffice files opened mid-size although I always have them maximized.

I’m theorizing an overnight Windows Update — which is waiting to be completed with another restart — because (a) there is a restart pending, and (b) Copilot and OneDrive turned themselves back on.  I’ll upgrade to Windows 11 after tax season, and then I can put up with the every-3-days nagging about needing to finish setting up Windows, instead.

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