Disable Aero Snap (the Mouse Drag Window Arranging Feature in Windows 7)
One of the hot new features in Windows 7 is the improved window management functions… you can simply drag a window to the top or sides of the screen, and it will be maximized or resized to take up only half of the screen.
The only problem is that some people like to drag windows partially off the screen, a very useful technique when you only need to see the edge of a window… but in Windows 7 it will resize the window to fill half the screen. So how do we disable it?
Here’s a screenshot of what we’re talking about… for more screenshots see our review of the Windows 7 beta release.
Disabling this feature will also disable dragging to the top of the screen, but you could turn it on or off as needed.
Disabling Mouse Window Drag Arranging
Open up your Control Panel, and then go to the Ease of Access center. From there, click on “Make the mouse easier to use”…
And then remove the checkbox for “Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen”, and then click the Apply button to actually save the setting.
I personally like this feature so I probably won’t be turning it off, but it’s nice to know it’s configurable.
Editor’s Note: We’ve been covering Windows 7 quite a bit, but don’t worry, we aren’t going to stop writing about other topics.
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It is of note that this also disables using the Windows key with the corresponding arrow keys to perform the same function (e.g. Windows Key + Left arrow = no longer docks to the right).
Does Windows 7 allow you to override the feature (without switching it off) by holding down the CTRL or ALT key whilst performing the drag?
If so, you would then get the best of both worlds.
It is a very useful feature, but almost completely worthless on multiple monitors. You can only get it to work on the outside edges, and not on the side that borders the other monitor
@ Joe – Actually, using the keyboard shortcuts, you could place the window on the monitor you want it on (with the mouse or using Windows Key+Left/Right Arrow) and then use Windows Key+Left/Right/Up to “dock” it where you want it on that monitor.
@ myself – I meant to say (…using Windows Key+SHIFT+Left/Right Arrow)
Is there an app that adds this or similar functionality to older Windows versions (XP)?
@Tim:
Yes, there is. It’s called AeroSnap. You can get it here:
http://www.aerosnap.de/index_eng.htm
@The Geek:
Actually this is called Aero Snap. You got me a little confused when I went to your page. Hope you update your article.
@Frank
Good point, I don’t know why I didn’t include that… just updated the article.
An even better tool: http://www.winsplit-revolution.com/
can i disable this feature for speific window, like chris said: to press ctrl or alt key when dragging window?
thanks.
THANK YOU for showing how to turn of this ANNOYING “feature”. This should be OFF by default…
Thanks! I like the snap with dual monitors, having a app running on one screen and multiple on the other, opening a webpage on half the screen is nice. However it can be annoying when you want to run a fullscreen app in window mode, the title bar pushes the viewable area off the screen a bit. Disabling the window snap allowed me to position it off the screen a bit
@Larry thanks for pointing out the windows shortcuts.
You can hide the window off the side of the screen as long as the mouse pointer doesn’t hit the side. So grab the window by the far side (from the screen edge you want to hide it on) of the title bar and you can hide as much of it as you’d need.