I get why @techchizkid is a bit frustrated with Microsoft’s handling of multi-monitor setups, but honestly, there are some native options you might wanna try before diving into third-party software or those tedious registry edits. They’re not foolproof, but they work for a lot of people and might save you some cash and a bit of sanity.
First off, here’s a pretty simple method that many users often overlook:
- Open the program you want to set to a specific monitor.
- Drag the window to the monitor you want it to open on (OK, you’ve probably done this a million times, but stay with me).
- Resize the window if needed.
- Close the program using the close button in that window’s top-right corner (don’t use Alt+F4 and don’t maximize it).
Next time you open the program, Windows should remember that last position. I know it sounds too easy and sometimes Windows just ignores it, but it’s worth a try before moving on to more complicated solutions.
If that doesn’t do it, another trick involves making sure the monitor you want the program to open on is set as the primary monitor temporarily. Here’s a step-by-step way to do this:
- Right-click on your desktop and select Display Settings.
- Click on the monitor you want to open the program on, and scroll down to “Make this my main display.”
- Open the program.
- Close the program.
- Set your primary monitor back to its original setting.
For many programs, they will then open on that monitor in future sessions.
Some applications store window positions in their own settings files. For those, if you’re comfortable poking around, you can sometimes find configs or ini files in the app’s folders that let you manually specify window positions. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves—this usually involves quite a bit of trial and error and a lot of patience.
Now, if you’re feeling brave and are up for some registry editing (backup your stuff first!), you might try:
- Open the Registry Editor: Press Win+R, type regedit, and hit enter.
- Navigate to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\[Your Program's Name]\[Version]\[Window Settings]. - Look for keys like
Left,Top,Right,Bottomto adjust where the program opens. This is like fine-tuning exactly where you want the window to appear.
Please note that messing with the registry can cause issues if you don’t know what you’re doing, so proceed with caution.
Honestly, if after all this Windows is still being stubborn, @techchizkid’s advice about third-party software isn’t wrong. However, an alternative you might like is AutoHotkey, which is a free scripting language for Windows. It requires a bit of scripting knowledge, but you can write a simple script to detect when a window opens and move it to the desired monitor. Here’s a basic script to get you started:
; AutoHotkey Script
SetTitleMatchMode, 2 ; This allows partial title matches
WinWait, [The title of the program window]
WinMove, [The title of the program window], , X, Y, Width, Height ; Where X and Y are the coordinates
Save this as a .ahk file, and make sure AutoHotkey is installed to run it. You can set it up to run at system startup if you want persistent behavior.
Lastly, some folks have luck with tweaking their graphics driver settings. Software from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel usually come with control panels that have settings for multi-monitor layouts. Sometimes adjusting settings there can nudge Windows into playing nice with your programs.
Hope one of these methods does the trick for you. Dual monitors should be making your life easier, not just adding to the hassle. Good luck! If anyone has any other tricks, jump in and share!