Mac Users WISH They Had The Killer Windows Screen Management App

Mac users have Time Machine. They also have iMovie and Preview. I’m jealous of these apps and, as a Mac-turned-Windows user, I miss them dearly.

But if there’s one thing that Windows just crushes MacOS at, it’s desktop window management. I find this ironic, since Apple pioneered the window-based desktop interface that we’ve all become used to. But if you’re someone who works with a bunch of windows open at the same time, there’s no contest; Windows dominates here.

First, we got the infinitely useful 🪟+ left arrow (or right arrow) shortcut. You know about this, right? This keyboard shortcut will effortlessly and perfectly divide your screen in half between two open apps.

All images and screen recordings by the author

Then Windows 11 brought us snap layouts. Drag an app to the top-center of your screen and you can drop it into one of several preset configurations.

Want a three-app layout? How about a 2x2 grid? Personally, I get the most use out of the 65–35 split, which works great when you want to pair a chat window or a project management app with your primary task.

And then, finally, we have the ultimate window management app: FancyZones. This utility comes with the Windows PowerToys app collection, which I’ve written about several times before. It allows you to slice your desktop up into a totally customized array of windows, bespoke to how you like to get work done.

If you’re just using a single laptop screen, then FancyZones is a ‘nice-to-have’. For this use case, though, I think Snap Layouts are probably good enough for most people. There’s only so many ways you can divy up a normal laptop screen, and Snap Layouts include most of the good ones.

But what if you’re working with more than just a single 15" display?

If you have a multi-monitor setup, I’d argue that FancyZones borderline-essential when you’ve got that much space to manage. And if you’ve got an ultrawide monitor (as I now do)? It’s required.

FancyZones Setup

To use FancyZones, first you need PowerToys, as this free collection of apps doesn’t come standard with Windows. If you don’t already have these utilities installed, here’s how to get them.

To start off, you’re going to want to create a screen layout. This is an arrangement of boxes on your screen that your apps will snap to.

A FancyZones layout turns your screen into a bento box. Instead of dividing up your lunchbox to organize tasty treats, you’re dividing up your screen real estate among different apps.

Created with MidJourney; I guess it’s cool to eat with 1.5 chopsticks now?

To create a new layout, left-click on the rainbow-colored PowerToys icon in your system tray, then select FancyZones.

You can go with one of the preset templates or just create a new one from scratch. Give your layout a name, select ‘grid’ or ‘canvas’, then click ‘Create’. For your first layout, I’d suggest going with a grid layout, where your windows don’t overlap one another.

Now comes the fun part. Following the directions in the dialog box, divide up your screen into the areas where you want your apps to fit. If you need to merge two zones, you can drag your mouse across them.. Click to insert a divider. Hold down the shift key to insert a vertical divider.

If you’re feeling stuck, think about a specific task or project that you work on regularly where you need to have multiple windows open and visible. Try to build your first layout around that use case.

As an example, I do a weekly review each Friday. I like to have four apps open:

1. A big window for my primary task (processing email, reviewing my calendar, etc.)
2. My weekly review checklist in a smaller window
3. A music app
4. A TickTick pomodoro timer

Here’s what that layout looks like in the FancyZones layout editor:

Drag your dividers around until you’ve got your first layout (or, at least, a draft of it), then hit save. Now that we’ve got a layout configured, how can we actually use it?

Using FancyZones

Let’s keep rolling with my earlier example: I’m gearing up to do my weekly review and I want to arrange my four apps as I’ve shown above. First, I open up the FancyZones layout editor (there’s a keyboard shortcut for this, which you can customize in the PowerToys settings). I make sure that the layout I want is selected:

Next, I open my four windows and drag them into place. This took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out, but you need to click and drag the menu bar of each window while holding down the shift key. This will cause each window to snap neatly into place. Observe:

My review this week involved creating a mechlord owl image.

See each zone lighting up with a red shadow? That’s me hitting the shift key as I drag the window, showing me where the app will land.

This is Just the Beginning

That’s a relatively quick introduction to using Fancy Zones. You now know enough to be dangerous; go forth and create your own bento box of productivity.

I’m planning a follow-up post to dive into some of the settings and best practices for getting the most out of Fancy Zones. If you have any of your own recommendations for me to include, be sure to comment and let me know.

The MechLord Owl commands that you go forth and FancyZone