Two Ways to Make the Most of Your Screen Size

Post by David Pierce. Find me on Twitter.

One of the constant struggles for any computer user with a screen less than about 30 inches is figuring out how to make the most of your screen real estate. You’ve got a browser open, a document editor, and a music player – how do you access them all?

For me as a student, I run into this dilemma the most when I’m researching for class (I have a 15″ laptop). I’ve got my paper open in one window and my research in another, and not being able to see them both at the same time is a huge pain. Constantly resizing all my windows so I can see them both – also a huge pain.

Here are two free, Windows-only applications I’ve tried, liked, and kept for this small, but useful, task:

WinSplit Revolution

With WinSplit Revolution, moving and resizing windows to any corner is a whole lot easier. There are a number of preset shortcuts for various spots on the screen (top right corner, left half, bottom half, etc.), and with a simple keystroke you can snap a window to that spot. WinSplit Revolution is great for keeping windows side-by-side, or the even cooler four-square layout.

The only thing I don’t like about WinSplit is that you can’t pick a spot for a window other than the ones it’s already created for you. I like my windows to be a particular size, and occasionally WinSplit doesn’t support the layout I’m looking for.

MaxTo

MaxTo is a little more complicated than WinSplit Revolution, but once it’s configured properly, is a fantastic piece of software. You choose, on each monitor you use, how you want it to be divided – you can draw lines along existing windows, or just to where you’d like the desktop to be divided. Once you’re finished, anytime you maximize a window, it’ll be set to fit inside that portion of the screen.

So, if you draw a small box that your IM windows will go into, just drag your IM windows over there and press the Maximize button – you’ll have a window the exact size you were looking for. Using a keyboard shortcut, you can still truly Maximize a window, but I’ve found I don’t really need to do so once I configure MaxTo the right way.

Often, having one window taking up your whole screen is a total waste of space (unless you’re trying to work distraction-free). With either of these two apps, you’ll do much better with your screen space – no matter what size.

Photo: Dave Schumaker

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