Window Layout

Save and restore complex Windows desktop layouts from a simple folder, with no installation required.

This project uses PowerShell plus built-in Windows APIs to:

• Capture the current monitor-aware window arrangement
• Restore named layouts from a text file
• Reorganize windows across multiple virtual desktops without dragging them around manually
• Work across different monitor numbering by matching monitors by position
• Support multiple monitor setups such as 3 monitors, ultrawide, or laptop
• Support both per-window rules and cascade rules for multi-instance apps

Why It Is Useful

• Windows can renumber monitors after events such as screensaver/sleep/wake, but this tool identifies monitors by position rather than number
• Similar home and office monitor layouts can still match even when positions and sizes are close but not identical
• Different monitor resolutions still work because window placement uses percentages instead of fixed pixel coordinates
• Virtual desktops are tedious to organize by hand when you first open a group of windows; this tool can place them on the right desktops for you
• You can also use partial layouts, for example a MyProject.cmd script that opens a few apps and then runs WindowLayout.cmd -ApplyLayout "MyProject" to arrange only those windows
• Configurations can be copied from computer to computer

What It Looks Like

Setup examples:

• 3 monitors - developer: IDE large, CAD smaller
• 3 monitors - engineer: CAD large, IDE smaller
• ultrawide - developer: IDE on the left
• ultrawide - engineer: CAD on the left
• laptop - default: mostly full-screen windows on a single monitor

You can also apply a layout directly from an interactive terminal or from a shortcut script:

WindowLayout.cmd -ApplyLayout "3 monitors - developer"

When WindowLayout\window_layouts.txt is reformatted, the script also regenerates one .cmd file per saved layout inside WindowLayout\, for example WindowLayout\WindowLayout - 3 monitors - developer.cmd.

Features

• No dependencies: runs with built-in Windows PowerShell and .NET only
• Portable: runs directly from a folder such as the desktop
• Monitor setups: separate physical monitor arrangements from window layouts
• Relative monitor matching: matches the current monitors to a saved setup by relative position, not Windows numbering
• Capture workflow: saves the current layout to current_layout.txt, which you can trim and copy into window_layouts.txt
• Readable config: uses a pipe-delimited text format instead of JSON
• Regex titles: supports regex title matching, including | inside regex patterns
• Cascade support: capture emits both a cascade row and individual rows for multi-instance apps
• Virtual desktops: captures and restores a manually editable desktop number for each window
• Editable percentages: capture writes integer x, y, w, and h values, but you can manually change them to decimals for finer positioning
• Ignore list: processes without a valid desktop number are written to processes_to_ignore.txt and excluded from future captures and restores

Folder Layout

Folder contents:

WindowLayout.cmd
WindowLayout/
  WindowLayout.ps1
  readme.txt

window_layouts.txt is created on first run.

Per-layout .cmd shortcut scripts inside WindowLayout\ are generated from window_layouts.txt when it is reformatted.

current_layout.txt is generated only when you capture a layout.

processes_to_ignore.txt is updated automatically when capture finds processes without a valid desktop number.

Quick Start

1. Download or copy the folder.
2. Keep WindowLayout.cmd next to the WindowLayout folder.
3. Double-click WindowLayout.cmd.
4. Choose a saved layout, or capture the current layout.
5. After capture, copy the parts you want from current_layout.txt into window_layouts.txt.

Capture usually sees more windows than you want to keep, including helper windows and some windows that are not obvious at first glance. Processes without a valid desktop number are not written to current_layout.txt; instead, their process names are added to WindowLayout\processes_to_ignore.txt.

Configuration Model

The config separates:

• MonitorSetup: the physical monitor arrangement
• Layout: the window arrangement for that monitor setup

Example:

[MonitorSetup 3 monitors]
role       | x     | y
primary    | 0     | 0
upper-left | -1600 | 1250
lower-left | -1600 | 2160

[MonitorSetup ultrawide]
role    | x     | y
primary | 0     | 0
left    | -1600 | 1250

[MonitorSetup laptop]
role    | x | y
primary | 0 | 0

[Layout developer]
monitorSetup | 3 monitors
processName | title           | match    | x  | y  | w  | h   | monitorRole | cascade | desktop
chrome.exe  | Main            | contains | 20 | 20 | 60 | 70  | primary     | no      | 1
chrome.exe  | YouTube         | contains | 0  | 0  | 30 | 100 | lower-left  | no      | 2
notepad.exe |                 | contains | 45 | 0  | 55 | 100 | upper-left  | no      | 2

That shows the main idea:

• monitor setups describe the physical arrangement
• Layouts describe where apps go inside that setup
• A row with a title targets a specific window pattern
• A row with an empty title can target any window from that process
• desktop is a 1-based virtual desktop number and can be edited manually to place windows across multiple virtual desktops
• Captured x, y, w, and h values are written as integers, but you can manually edit them to decimal values when you want finer control

Excel example:

[Layout engineer]
monitorSetup | 3 monitors
processName | title        | match    | x  | y  | w  | h   | monitorRole | cascade | desktop
excel.exe   | Visual Basic | contains | 2  | 0  | 60 | 100 | primary     | no      | 1
excel.exe   | - Excel$     | regex    | 60 | 10 | 35 | 40  | primary     | yes     | 2

That shows a useful pattern:

• The Excel VBA editor (Visual Basic) is pinned on the left
• All normal workbook windows (- Excel$) are handled together with cascade = yes
• In regex mode, - Excel$ means the title ends with - Excel; $ marks the end of the title
• Those workbook windows are moved to desktop 2 during restore
• Changing the desktop numbers in window_layouts.txt is the normal way to place windows across multiple desktops

Capture Notes

• Capture learns ignored processes automatically and stores them in WindowLayout\processes_to_ignore.txt
• Processes without a valid desktop number are blacklisted and omitted from current_layout.txt
• Capture still writes integer percentages, but manual decimal edits in window_layouts.txt are preserved when the file is reformatted

Restore Notes

• Restore moves each window to its saved desktop number before applying size and position
• If a window is already on the target desktop, the script skips the desktop move and only applies size/position
• If a saved desktop number is missing during restore, the script leaves that window on its current desktop and continues with the rest of the layout
• Restore also uses WindowLayout\processes_to_ignore.txt, so previously blacklisted processes are skipped

Commands

WindowLayout.cmd
WindowLayout.cmd -ListLayouts
WindowLayout.cmd -CaptureCurrent
WindowLayout.cmd -ApplyLayout "3 monitors - developer"

License

MIT. See LICENSE.