Window arranger

Topic

Not a very good title, but part of the problem is I don’t know what the thing is called.  See the screenshot.

What is that thing in the upper left corner with all the rectangles called?

Based on extremely minimal experimentation, I gather it’s supposed to help arrange windows, but I don’t yet understand how.

Is there any way to stop it from appearing unbidden, apparently whenever the mouse pointer is placed in the maximize or restore symbol?

Replies

First I’m assuming you mean upper right corner?

This looks like you are using a predefined screen arrangement tool like PowerToys FancyZones or something.

Try viewing Ask Woody from a different browser for a comparison.

More basic info would help like your hardware, graphics card and what version of Windows are running.

Desktop Asus TUF X299 Mark 1, CPU: Intel Core i7-7820X Skylake-X 8-Core 3.6 GHz, RAM: 32GB, GPU: Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti 4GB. Display: Four 27" 1080p screens 2 over 2 quad.

TechTango wrote:

First I’m assuming you mean upper right corner?

This looks like you are using a predefined screen arrangement tool like PowerToys FancyZones or something.

Try viewing Ask Woody from a different browser for a comparison.

More basic info would help like your hardware, graphics card and what version of Windows are running.

TechTango wrote:

First I’m assuming you mean upper right corner?

Yes, right corner of course.  Thanks for picking that up.

Win 11 23H2. Nether PowerToys nor FancyZones present.

 

I don’t use Windows 11 but a Google Lens search for that grid layout shows that it’s Windows 11’s Snap Layouts feature:

You can read more about Snap Layouts and other features in this Cool Windows 11 Features That May Make You Love This OS article.

Hope this helps…

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satrow, TechTango

Bob Coleman wrote:

Is there any way to stop it from appearing unbidden, apparently whenever the mouse pointer is placed in the maximize or restore symbol?

Settings, System, Multitasking, Snap windows, Show snap layouts when I hover over a window’s maximise button (uncheck):

2 users thanked author for this post.

Bob Coleman, TechTango

That was easy when you know where to look.  Thank you.

 

1 user thanked author for this post.

b

Bob Coleman wrote:

Is there any way to stop it from appearing unbidden, apparently whenever the mouse pointer is placed in the maximize or restore symbol?

You can use a .REG file. Either create one or download/unblock/unzip the attachment at the end of this post.

To create one:

1. Open a text editor, e.g. Notepad.

2. Copy/paste the following into Notepad:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Win 11 Snap Layouts – DISABLE
; This will disable the hover flyout when you mouse over maximum/restore in the titlebar

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced]
“EnableSnapBar”=dword:00000000

(Note: Microsoft advise including a blank line at the end of any .REG file.)

3. Use Save As… from the File menu to save as something like “disable_snap_layouts.reg” (including the quote marks otherwise Notepad will save the file as disable_snap_layouts.reg.txt).

4. Double-click on the .REG file you have just created, dismiss the User Account Control (UAC) warning then click OK to merge the .REG file.

5. Sign out/sign in or restart your device for the change to take effect.

Hope this helps…

The following attachment includes two .REG files – one to disable the Snap Layouts hover behaviour; the other to re-enable it if you change your mind.

Win11_Snap_Layouts

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Bob Coleman, TechTango

I assume it would have helped, thank you, but it seems to be more than I need at least for now.

 

I guess I have to enter something here to indicate RESOLVED.