Window Layout

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

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

• Capture the current monitor-aware window arrangement
• Restore named layouts from a text file
• 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
• Configurations can be copied from computer to computer

What It Looks Like

The launcher shows layouts in the form:

• 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 - laptop: 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"

Features

• No dependencies: runs with built-in Windows PowerShell and .NET only
• Portable: works 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: captures the current layout into 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

Folder Layout

Release zip contents:

WindowLayout.cmd
WindowLayout/
  WindowLayout.ps1
  readme.txt

window_layouts.txt is created on first run.

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

Quick Start

1. Download the release zip and extract it.
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 to the user. Trim the captured file before keeping it.

Configuration Model

The config separates:

• MonitorSetup: the physical monitor arrangement
• Layout: the app/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
chrome.exe  | Main            | contains | 20 | 20 | 60 | 70  | primary     | no
chrome.exe  | Personal        | contains | 0  | 0  | 30 | 100 | lower-left  | no
ms-teams.exe|                 | contains | 45 | 0  | 55 | 100 | upper-left  | no

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

Excel example:

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

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

Commands

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

Build A Release Zip

This repo includes a packaging script:

.\build-release.ps1

It creates dist\WindowLayout.zip with the deployable files only.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.