Precise control over your windows

Using your computer can be made considerably more efficient if you learn a few shortcuts well enough so that they become second nature. Hotkeys, switching from one window to another and minimizing everything at once are some examples, but even moving windows around your screen can be done without even touching the mouse.

WinLayout is a tiny little program that lets you control the behavior of your windows with the windows key and the number pad. It is controlled by right clicking on the icon in the taskbar – there’s no interface to speak of. The one window you will want to see, however, is the list of WinLayout shortcuts. There are plenty of them, and you’ll need to learn them if you want to use the program.

Most of the WinLayout shortcuts involve moving, re-sizing and “snapping” windows to the edges. There are plenty of variations on this – resizing while moving to the bottom right of the screen for example – but the commands can only be applied to the active window. WinLayout has no option to activate various windows, or to close them, so once you have finished moving or resizing them, you’ll have to either pick up the mouse or change tactics to go any further.

If you manage to learn a few of the WinLayout shortcuts, you can definitely employ them to make your day-to-day a little bit easier. Some of the commands are actually very useful; you can move windows pixel by pixel, for example, which will be a great help for jobs that need precision. Beyond that however, it will take a fair bit of determination to learn off the commands. If we’re being honest, that’s probably a little more determination that the most users will possess.

WinLayout is perfect if you need precise control over the placement of you windows. If not, you probably won’t be bothered.