The Sundarban
Printed Mar 11, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT
Brady is a skills journalist for MakeUseOf with years of ride protecting all issues cell, computing, and frequent tech. He has a focal level on Android telephones and audio gear, and holds a B.S. in Journalism from St. John’s College.
Brady has written for publications love Android Central, Android Authority, XDA, Android Police, iMore, and others. He has ride reporting on predominant events held by Google, Apple, and Samsung, in addition to exchange presentations love Lenovo Innovation World and IFA.
When he isn’t writing about and testing the latest objects, yow will come all over Brady searching at Large East basketball and running.
Windows is terribly stellar at window management, and the running system took issues up a notch with Snap Layouts in Windows 11. They fetch it easy to arrange windows and apps by snapping them into role all over your veil, protecting the UI tidy and productive. On the opposite hand, ultrawide monitors might maybe also gain they want a better solution to maximize the extra role with out feeling overwhelmed. That is the set up FancyZones reach in — it is a feature integrated in the free PowerToys utility that enables you to kind and set up window snapping layouts. They’ll be activated with a easy keyboard direct, saving you the bother of organizing your desktop role every time you hearth up your PC.
The name FancyZones comes from the feature’s tell of “zones” to settle the set up windows snap for your desktop. When the usage of the default Windows 11 Snap Layouts feature, you are restricted to Microsoft’s preset snapping zones. FancyZones helps you to kind your own snapping zones, permitting you to gain the accurate map for your windows. Opposite to standard belief, this utility would not ruin up your ultrawide monitor into multiple digital monitors. It merely provides you more build a watch on over arrange windows and apps, which is terribly most traditional on widescreen shows.
FancyZones snaps windows in role
It be a better methodology to arrange and put together your windows and apps
Credit rating: Yadullah Abidi / MakeUseOf
At its core, FancyZones is a technique to snap windows in role. In case your needs are met by Windows 11’s default Snap Layouts and Snap Wait on features, that you just might presumably not want FancyZones. There are just a few programs the default alternatives might maybe also topple quick, though. For one, Snap Layouts work with a most of two window columns. This makes sense for a frequent monitor, the set up having two apps facet-by-facet feels love basically the most. For an ultrawide monitor, it is an extraordinarily rather plenty of story. Which that you just will doubtless be ready to match three or four apps conveniently in vertical columns on the ultrawide veil, nonetheless Snap Layouts might maybe also not enable you to fabricate that.
In its set up, you want to set up PowerToys from the Microsoft Store or GitHub, and hearth up FancyZones. After taking off PowerToys, navigate via Windows & Layouts → FancyZones and flip the toggle beside Enable FancyZones. From there, you will be ready to originate fooling around with the default zones in FancyZones. Click and scamper a window whereas urgent the Shift key to look your zones. Delivery a window in a zone to look it snap into role.
To tell FancyZones as a change for Snap Layouts, dig into the PowerToys settings and pick out the Override Windows Snap choice. Then, you will be ready to tell the Windows key and the arrow keys to snap windows into active zones the usage of keyboard shortcuts. This is already a lovely tidy methodology to put together windows, nonetheless the enjoyable in actual fact starts need to you kind custom zones.
Which that you just will doubtless be ready to kind custom layouts with FancyZones
Repeat every app the set up to be, and spin them with a keyboard shortcut
Developing custom layouts helps you overcome the obstacles of window snapping in Windows 11 to this point as ultrawide monitors are concerned. Which that you just will doubtless be ready to fetch your own zones by the usage of either the Grid or Canvas layout. Whereas the Grid layout provides a 3-column setup to originate and might maybe also be configured from there, I love the Canvas layout since it starts with horny one zone. It be love a tidy slate, and also you will be ready to add zones from there. In the Canvas editor, you will be ready to click on a zone to divide it, and spin a divider by clicking and dragging the thumb. Which that you just will doubtless be ready to pick out multiple zones and Merge them together to successfully delete one for those that will possess too many.
The wintry thing about FancyZones is that you just will be ready to kind multiple zone layouts and switch between them with easy shortcuts. In the editor for a layout, click on the pencil icon to put that layout a quantity between zero and 9. This prompts a keyboard shortcut for that layout, and also you will be ready to trigger it by getting into Receive + Ctrl + Alt + [number]. Which that you just will doubtless be ready to also automate the set up windows seem by tweaking a setting in FancyZones. To fabricate this, navigate via Windows & Layouts → FancyZones → Windows → Window habits and hitting the Pass newly created windows to their remaining known zone toggle.
This finally provides FancyZones a “memory” for your windows. For those that are love me and meticulously role your apps in the identical spots for your ultrawide every time you work, FancyZones automates this task for you. In my case, Slack will gain its dwelling on the left, adopted by a photo editor and two browser windows. Ensuing from you will be ready to also customize the window snapping zones your self and hot swap them, there are never-ending programs to configure your ultrawide UI to toughen your productivity.
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I’m on no yarn the usage of Windows with out this app again
Windows is huge, nonetheless including this makes it unstoppable.
Why FancyZones is supreme for ultrawide monitors
Ultrawide facet ratios will doubtless be tough to build organized with out structure
I held off on switching to an ultrawide monitor for years, in fragment because I most traditional the separation dual monitors supplied. I might maybe with out problems tell ruin up veil window layouts on every monitor,
