Window snapping on Windows 11: every shortcut, Snap Layouts and FancyZones

Press Win + Left or Win + Right to snap the active window to half the screen, Win + Up to maximize it, and Win + Z to open Snap Layouts, with more layouts to pick from. Win + Shift + Left or Right moves the window to the next monitor. For layouts Windows doesn't offer, PowerToys FancyZones lets you draw your own zones and snap windows into them by holding Shift while you drag.

Every snap shortcut

Microsoft documents these shortcuts for snapping and moving windows. Once you know them, they're the fastest way to arrange windows.

After you snap one window to a side, Snap Assist shows thumbnails of your other windows so you can pick what fills the rest of the screen.

Snap Layouts

To put more than two windows side by side, which the arrow keys can't do, press Win + Z or hover over a window's maximize button, then choose a zone in one of the layouts. The window moves there, and Snap Assist opens so you can fill the other zones.

You can also drag a window toward the top of the screen to open the Snap bar and drop it on a zone, or drag it to a corner of the screen to snap it there.

Snap groups

Windows remembers the windows you snapped together as a group, so you can get the whole arrangement back after switching away. Hover over the taskbar icon of any app in the group and choose the group or just that app. If that setting is on, groups also show up in Task View and when you press Alt + Tab.

Snap settings

Settings > System > Multitasking > Snap windows has a main switch that turns Snap on or off. Expand it to change single behaviors:

• When I snap a window, show what I can snap next to it
• Show snap layouts when I hover over a window's maximize button
• Show snap layouts when I drag a window to the top of my screen
• Show my snapped windows when I hover over the taskbar apps, in Task View, and when I press Alt + Tab
• When I drag a window, let me snap it without dragging all the way to the screen edge

If Snap Assist's thumbnails get in your way, clear the first option. If the layout flyout pops up when you only meant to maximize, clear the second.

FancyZones

Part of Microsoft PowerToys, FancyZones lets you draw your own zones and snap windows into them. It fits when the built-in layouts don't match how you work, for example on an ultrawide monitor where you want a narrow column for chat and two wide ones for work.

Hold Shift while you drag a window and the zones appear. Drop the window on one to snap it there, or hold Ctrl as well to stretch it across several zones.

The editor has two kinds of custom layout. Grid starts with three columns that you split and merge, and it resizes with the screen. Canvas starts with one zone and lets you add zones that can overlap, like windows.

In FancyZones' settings, Override Windows Snap makes Win + arrow keys move windows between your zones instead of Windows' halves. Show zones on all monitors while dragging a window helps on multi-monitor setups, and Allow zones to span across monitors treats all screens as one, as long as every monitor has the same display scaling. Move newly created windows to the last known zone puts apps back where they were when you open them again.

To snap apps that run as administrator, such as Task Manager, PowerToys itself has to run as administrator.

How do you move a window to another monitor?

Press Win + Shift + Left or Right and the active window moves to the monitor on that side. FancyZones doesn't take over these keys, so this works the same with it running. With the mouse, drag the window across and snap it on the new screen as usual.

Snapping from the pointer

Keyboard shortcuts work on the window that has focus, and Snap Layouts needs you to aim at a small zone. If your hand is already on the mouse, a tool that opens around the pointer can be quicker.

OceanBreeze's Snap tool is one of these. Hold Caps Lock, flick toward Snap in Ring 1 and let go, and the front window snaps to a half. Push past Snap, beyond the ring's edge, to choose from six layouts on an arc: left half, right half, left third, center third, right third and maximize.

You can also say it. Hold Caps Lock without moving, say "Put Figma on the left and Chrome on the right", and let go: OceanBreeze snaps both windows. Your speech is turned into text on your PC, and the audio is never sent or kept. Speech to text on Windows 11 explains how its dictation works.

Design mockup

It doesn't replace FancyZones' custom grids or Windows' snap groups; it's a faster way to reach the common layouts with the mouse.

For more on menus that open around the pointer, read what a radial menu is and the best radial menu apps for Windows 11. To launch apps the same way, see app launchers for Windows 11.

Common questions

Sources

Mythic Brain makes OceanBreeze. Facts about other products come from the sources above and were checked on 14 November 2026.