Do you guys lose windows "off-screen" all the time? Improve my workflow!

I’m currently using two screens at home, in addition to my laptop screen. It’s fine, but I’m so tired of having to move windows to the “correct” screen all the time. I do have shortcuts for that, but it’s still just way too futzy. I’ve experimented with closing the laptop lid, but that has no measurable impact on how annoyed I get when a window I was completely certain was set to half of the second screen turns out to ACTUALLY be located completely off-screen on the primary screen, so now I have to close the window and open a new one. (You know what I mean - where the app is active but the window isn’t there, so you use app expose, and it comes back while app expose is active, but when you select the window it disappears out beyond the edge of the screen again as if someone on a different computer in the other room is using it right now.)

I use the app Stay to fix another problem I used to have, which was that whenever I reconnected the laptop to my displays, the windows would seemingly randomize their position, size and which screen they were on - that problem has disappeared. And if I had a completely static set of work apps that I used the same way every time, that app could help me with that as well, but moving specified windows to specific places. However, I’m a software developer - I keep opening and closing tens of apps throughout my day, and depending on what I’m doing, I want to have at least one of those on my main screen, and some others… you know…other places!

So I have two main questions:
1: Beyond third party apps, is there a quick shortcut to getting a window back to where it’s supposed to be? Or at least on the primary screen, so I can MOVE IT where it’s supposed to be?
2: Would I be less annoyed if I bought an ultrawide screen, or is that just my Gear Acquisition Syndrom showing?

Hmmm, I use an external monitor on my macbook pro and I’ve never had problems unplugging it and then having the windows go back to where they were when I plug in. That said, if I close an application and reopen it in laptop-only mode I do have to move it to where I want it when I get back to the second monitor.

It sounds like it might be because you are closing windows and opening them when in detached mode? In my case, I have a set of windows open and never close anything

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I see this sometimes. If you go to the dock, you can usually select an app’s open windows from its dock icon, or by making it active and from its menu. From there you can move the window to another display which will put it into a visible part of that display

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Seems like it would be easier to script it with KM… But so unnecessary! I hate bugs like this…

You’ll never hear me argue against writing a script to solve anything :slight_smile:

I’m kind of baffled: I use my MBP connected to an external screen all the time, do all manners of wonky things (unplugging the screen, using the laptop for a while, returning the laptop to its place) and windows always pop back where they are supposed to be when I plug the screen back. I wonder if you might not have some other conflict.

For me it only seems to happen after a crash, and every once in a long while after the external displays wake after waking from the screens having been locked. It’s very uncommon (for me), but not unheard of. Also, I’ve only noticed it in the past week or so, which coincides with my MBP starting to crash :frowning:

I agree that this bug most likely has to do with screens being reconnected - something that can happen when the computer wakes from sleep, even if no cables have been touched. But does it ever happen if you just have one external display?

There is a saying that one should always use a prime number of external displays. (I know that it’s a saying, because I just made it up :stuck_out_tongue: ) This has actually never come up for me, because I have two external displays at work and at home. I should give that a try, but I think that I’ll wait and deal with the crashing issue first.

Thanks @ACautionaryTale, that’s a handy tip to know!

I occasionally get an issue with Stickies, sometimes they seem to drift off screen. Shall give this a try next time.

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