KDE Mover-Sizer New Logo, in large 256 pixel size. KDE Mover-Sizer

Move and resize Windows windows just like Linux Windows!

An essential add-on for Windows XP, 2K, Windows Server, Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1.
Yeah, okay, and Vista!

Here is a page about my KDE Mover-Sizer. Okay, it's not entirely mine, not even mostly, but I've added enough code to call it mine, and it's too damn essential to not have a page of its own somewhere, so here it is..

What does it do?

KDE Mover-Sizer is a background application that emulates the behaviour of KDE, which is a rather good Linux desktop environment. Actually, Gnome and other Linux window managers also do it these days, but that wouldn't make for such a funky name. Essentially, you hold down the Alt key, and Left-click to move a window, Right-click to resize it; and from anywhere inside the window. That's it. And once you use it for a few minutes, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it.

The utility itself is coded with AutoHotKey, originally a fork of AutoIt, and highly useful in its own right. The original script (which I snaffled from the AutoHotKey forum, the best of many similar scripts) did all the above, but was missing something essential, that is; window snapping. So I added that, and gave them it back.

The window snapping is important for at least two reasons; 1) it enables you to place a window, as if by magic, exactly at the edge of your desktop. If, like me, you like to keep your main document windows in the centre of your screen, and leave lots of folder windows open up and down the sides of your desktop (I have a widescreen monitor now, which makes this even more effective) then you will find it invaluable. And 2) it enables you to resize the window from the edge of your screen. This is easier to do than to explain, though I'm going to attempt that anyway, with a couple of how-to style tips..

Cool Tricks..

I've gotten into a couple of habits thanks to the KDE Mover-Sizer. The first is a quick one-two action where I first Alt-Left-click a window and throw it roughly into place (off the edge of the screen), and then do a single Alt-Right-click to snap it back into perfect view. I've already had a week-off with all the time this good habit has saved me.

The new version can also snap directly to the edge during regular Alt-Left-Click moving - so long as you are within the snap distance, it will lock against the edge of your desktop. You can also constrain movement along the X or Y plane by holding down the<SHIFT> key, very nice!

The second habit of one of resizing windows from the edge. First, I get them there, as in tip 1, then I grab a corner (anywhere in the quadrant is fine) with an Alt-Right-click, and drag-resize them while the two opposite edges (one of which is bang up against the edge of the desktop) stay put. This isn't so much a time saver, as a sanity saver. I'm very particular about the amount of white space that shows in folder windows, and it they don't look right, I couldn't leave them open. Leaving them open is what saves time.

Another thing I've started doing, is sliding windows up and down the edge of my desktop by Alt-Left-click+drag (at the very edge of the desktop). The snap keeps them from moving left and right - it's like they are on rails! Very handy. And remember, it works on windows behind windows, too, and without bringing them to the front.

Try it!

You need to play with it to fully appreciate the beauty of KDE Mover-Sizer. Fortunately, I have a precompiled Windows executable which you can simply download and run. There's no installer, and it doesn't use the registry. The only settings are in a regular plain text ini file, which lives right next to KDE Mover-Sizer.exe, so it's completely portable. When running, a cute tray icon enables you to exit, if required (unlikely!), as well as a few other options. Drop a shortcut into your startup folder, and then you're cooking with KDE!

Then forget about it..

KDE Mover-Sizer uses very little resources to work its magic, and works on all desktop windows, even windows that aren't at the front, even those daft fullscreen installer windows. It will even sneak inside a Sandboxie and work there. It also enables you to resize windows that don't normally allow resizing, which can be a real bonus with certain dumb dialogs (cough *FirefoxSearchPlugin* cough). In no time, it feels perfectly natural, and you're throwing windows around with a whole new level of precision and abandon!

Like I say, I "couldn't live without it", and I'm fairly certain that if you use it for a wee while, you will feel the same way. At any rate, it's free; so why not try it and see..

KDE Mover-Sizer Download

download

KDE Mover Sizer for Windows

click to see zip archive contents

LIVE MD5+SHA1 Multi-Hashes..
# made with checksum.. point-and-click hashing for windows (64-bit edition). # from corz.org.. http://corz.org/windows/software/checksum/ # #md5#KDE Mover-Sizer for Windows.zip#2014.09.10@11.15:30 b14b27a7556b2c2e7dd8a1fff9b2a107 *KDE Mover-Sizer for Windows.zip
download

KDE Mover Sizer for Windows x64

click to see zip archive contents

LIVE MD5+SHA1 Multi-Hashes..
# made with checksum.. point-and-click hashing for windows (64-bit edition). # from corz.org.. http://corz.org/windows/software/checksum/ # #md5#KDE Mover-Sizer for Windows x64.zip#2014.09.10@11.15:34 34d40215c5023ebeb8dfdc86b4bdd82f *KDE Mover-Sizer for Windows x64.zip
NOTE: Multiple monitors are now supported! Thanks to some sterling work by Matthias Ihmig.

While I'm about it, the next time KDE Mover-Sizer saves you time and sanity navigatin' your mouse to a 1 pixel wide border or incy title bar or corner handle, feel free to whisper "Thanks Bud!" under your breath to the following good people who all had their grubby mits on KDE Mover-Sizer at some point..



If you want to check out the source (with fuller credits), perhaps customize it to your own requirements, even add some new feature and your name to the above list, or whatever, the code is freely available, here..

Another of AutoHotKey's tragically poor icons
View the Source Code


Have fun!

;o) corz.org

p.s. KDE Mover-Sizer works inside a Sandboxie sand box, without having to load a separate instance. KDE Mover-Sizer also works inside CoLinux, e.g. Portable Ubuntu. In fact, it would be quicker to list the places it doesn't work, if I knew of any.

Welcome to the comments facility!


previous comments (twelve pages)   show all comments

ryan - 23.05.16 10:21 pm

Would it be possible to allow moving windows WITHOUT having to click the mouse? smiley for :roll:

For example, press ALT and move the mouse to move the window under the mouse.
Press ALT+CTRL and move the mouse to resize the window under the mouse?

For laptop trackpad users the "CLICK" is often very awkward. I used to use a Mac OS x app called Zooom/2 (http://coderage-software.com/zooom/index.html) that would allow moving this way.

Also, instead of using ALT, would it be possible to use the "fn" key found on most Windows laptops?


chromax - 15.06.16 5:57 pm

At the moment not. If you delete the mouse key in the ini, it stops working.

In my tests with solid tools for keyboard remapping, they all not recognized the fn key. So it seems that there is no signal leaving the keyboard and the logic happens inside the keyboard.


Matthias - 16.06.16 6:00 pm

@ryan: Chromax is right - FN cannot be used as mouse click.
But you can use any other key, e.g. try:
MovingWindow_Mouse=Space

Then hold down Alt, press space and move the mouse.

If you want Alt+Space for moving and Alt+Ctrl+Space for resizing, set
MovingWindow_Hotkey=!
MovingWindow_Mouse=Space
ResizingWindow_Hotkey=!^
ResizingWindow_Mouse=Space

Hope that helps..



gm - 01.08.16 6:01 pm

it works great with my mouse, but not with my wacom intuos 4 graphic tablet (Win7 64).

there is already a topic here:
https://autohotkey.com/board/topic/49172-window-dragging-not-working-properly-vista-x64-intuos-4/
(i am for some reason not allowed to post there, that's why i do it here)

the suggested script at the bottom doesn't work either.
anyway it would be much more elegant to integrate tablet function into KDE-mover-sizer, as it seems to be an already working powerful solution.

thanks to everyone coding these things.


jgatto - 21.08.16 5:17 pm

Just a "thanks muchly" to all, KDEMove does the do better than VirtuaWin ... I'll donate one day! (when I get paid ...it WILL happen)

I appreciate all the work, and loved the router scripts, I even miss the router because of your "arse", ahem ... application.

Great website too, fresh, orangey..

Jay


abbie someone - 22.09.16 1:01 pm

Many MANY thanks. Extremely useful.


trace - 21.12.16 6:38 am

Neat. I use this to move and resize full-screened Firefox windows to have them be borderless.

Is it possible to include an size-to-fit feature into this program like Windows offers? I. e. if I drag the window off to the side, I want it to automatically resize to fill exactly half of the screen estate, or one forth if I drag it further up from there.

Thanks!


Matthias - 23.12.16 4:22 am

@trace: A feature like already exists. It's mentioned in a two-liner in the About-Box ("quick-fit"). It divides the screen into a grid and positions&resizes the window depending on the mouse location. If you don't find the two-liner in your about-box, please download the latest version.

Use as follows:
- Start resizing or moving a window using Alt+Mouse button as usual
- (Only) release the Alt key, but keep Mouse button pushed
- Push&Hold the Alt key again
- Move the mouse around and watch the window change position and size
- Release the mouse button to end operation

Hope this helps,

Matthias


trace - 23.12.16 4:55 am

Hi Matthias,

that is awesome. I did find the tiling/grid feature, but did not bother to read the about pop-up. It does exactly what I want it to, and after literal years, I have finally found a way to make borderless browsing work.

Is there a donation option or some other way through which people can support the project(s) here?

Thanks again.


chromax - 30.12.16 5:02 am

I always get a modal message window when I scroll with my mouse wheel very fast.

It says

"(Caption) --- KDE Mover-Sizer.ahk ---

151 hotkeys have been received in the last 1703ms.

Do you want to continue?
(see #MaxHotkeysPerInterval in the help file)"

I already tried to set the MaxHotkeysPerInterval, but it didn´t worked.


Matthias - 08.01.17 11:38 pm

@chromax:
I assume, this only happens when you have the Special Feature "Mouse wheel scrolling on inactive Windows" enabled.

To which value did you set MaxHotkeysPerInterval?
It's strange that setting the MaxHotkeysPerInterval to e.g. 500 didn't help. The message box should not show values smaller than what you set. Otherwise, the setting wasn't applied.

Still, 150 mousewheel events in 1.7s is quite much.
Do you by chance have a mouse utility/driver which does some "scroll wheel acceleration" and increases the scroll wheel events when you scroll fast? If yes, it seems this implementation is wrong or badly configured. Try to disable that acceleration.


Does the message appear on all windows/programs, or just on programs which take some time to scroll, e.g. when they implement something like "smooth scrolling"?

In that case, you could try to disable "Smooth Scrolling" in Windows or any other animation done during scrolling.

You could also try to play around with the FocuslessScrollSpeed parameter, but don't think this will solve your problem, because it will also affect slow scrolling.

Matthias



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