Disable Aero Snap Auto Maximize and Arrange Window in Windows 7
Windows 7 includes a new feature called Aero Snap that intends to improve open windows management on the desktop. Aero Snap allows user to drag a window to the top of the screen to maximize the window automatically, or to the left or right side of the screen to resize the window to fill and take up half of the screen estate on the moved side automatically. (See also hack to enable Aero Snap on all Windows OS)
AeroSnap is definitely a welcoming feature to many users who need to quickly maximize or half-maximize windows for viewing or comparison. However, some Windows 7 users may have different need or usage behavior, such as those need always drag a window to the edge of the desktop to work on other tasks, or just need to monitor and look at the some tiny corner part of the window. In Windows 7 system with multiple monitors, Aero Snap auto adjustment of window may go erroneous too, where the maximized window may span across multiple monitors, making it harder to read.
Use the trick below to disable and turn off Aero Snap ability to auto arrange or auto maximize window when dragging.
- Go to Control Panel.
- Click on Ease of Access link or Ease of Access Center icon.
- Select Change how your mouse works or Make the mouse easier to use option.
- Tick the check box for Prevent Windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen with the mouse under “Make it easier to manage windows” section.
- Click OK or Apply to make the change effective.
Once Aero Snap is disabled, the window won’t be automatically maximized and arranged when window is dragged to the edge of the screen, including both top and sides of the screen.
There are more ways to disable and turn off (or enable and turn on) Windows 7 Snap.
Related Articles
- AeroSnap Free Download to Enable Windows 7 Aero Snap Features in XP and Vista
- How to Disable or Enable (Turn On or Off) Windows 7 Snap Automatically Maximize and Arrange Window
- Enable or Disable Aero Border Frame in Windows Live MSN Messenger (with Auto Switcher)
- New Keyboard Shortcut Keys (HotKeys) in Windows 7
- How to Disable Windows Vista Aero Glass Transparency Effect
- Press and Hold F5 to Auto Arrange Icons and Shortcuts on Windows 7 Desktop
- Force Enable Windows Aero Glass or WDM on Unsupported and WDDM-Incomptible Graphics Card
- Hide or Disable Snap Preview Anywhere (SPA Site Preview) Bubble Pop Up
- Shortcuts to Enable and Disable Vista Aero Theme
- Disable Windows Aero via Vista Registry
Entries (RSS)
January 28th, 2010 16:27
Thank you for this information, I’ve been suffering this snap feature for a while and hate it. Hopefully there was a way to disable it, thank you again, and thanks to internet too.
January 12th, 2010 07:00
Many people find the mouse activated Aero Snap annoying because it happens inadvertently when they’re just intending move a window. But there’s also the keyboard shortcut for Aero snap: Windows key + Up (or Left or Right) cursor keys that do the same thing. I prefer that method because it’s faster and more direct & it never happens by accident. Unfortunately, disabling the mouse Aero Snap also disable the keyboard method. Doh!
Listen up Microsoft: all that’s needed is a user option to separately enable/disable Aero Snap via Mouse and Aero Snap via Keyboard. Easy to implement and a nice win for everyone.
December 14th, 2009 10:40
Thanks for the tip – I’ve been wanting to find a fix to this annyoning thing with Windows 7
July 22nd, 2009 01:34
[...] people may feel the feature is too smart till inconvenient. In this case, it’s possible to disable or turn off Snap from automatically arrange window when it’s moved to the edge of [...]
May 24th, 2009 03:09
It’s great to finally know how to turn off Windows 7’s terrible auto maximize anti-feature. Anyone with a monitor over 24″ knows maximizing a windows is usually a mistake. Instead of giving us system and application control over what Maximize means, Microsoft has demonstarted they simply do not understand User Interfaces.
May 22nd, 2009 07:45
Aero Snap is pretty slick. If you would like to understand all of the other neat features and capabilities of Windows 7 go to the Windows 7 support forum, at micorsoft.com/springboard. The site will also give you all sorts of useful information, such as the “what’s new in the r.c.” feed….
Thanks,
Glen@microsoft-springboard