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microsoft
Windows Explorer Position on launch
Microsoft PowerToys version
0.41.4
Running as admin
- [X] Yes
Area(s) with issue?
FancyZones
Steps to reproduce
I place Windows Explorer in a zone, close it and re-open it. It does not go back to the zone I left it in. All settings has been setup correctly because all other software remembers their positions and zones...
✔️ Expected Behavior
Windows Explorer is supposed to open in its Zone
❌ Actual Behavior
Windows Explorer opens outside any zone available
Other Software
No response
I can repro this pretty easily. I'm not sure if Windows Explorer has special properties that makes it override the previous zoning, but it's worth investigating for our general stability efforts.
I also notice different behaviors for other apps (like calculator) based on the zone I attach them to. For a zone that takes up the full height of the display, closing and reopening the app displays it at full screen, whereas a zone that only takes up, say the top right corner, will close and reopen in the same position as expected.
This is a workaround I found : It might not solve the problem now but the workings of it might help to see what windows is doing : https://superuser.com/questions/771431/change-default-windows-explorer-file-browser-size-and-position
So after positioning my window to a zone, I noticed that it keeps opening exactly where I let the window go, in the zone. So after zoning it, i moved my mouse to the edge as if I want to resize it, then just click the border while the resize arrow is showing, and then closing it with ctrl-shift-"close X". Then it opens exactly on last position.
Having the same issue, however in my case it does work as indented with File Explorer but no other UWP apps, Mail, calendar, To Do, Calculator, Media Player, 3d Viewer all open full screen after closing.
My only fix to date is to delete and recreate my custom zones but the issue returns after a while.
Windows 11, 3440x1440 Primary Display, 4K Secondary Display.
Since my issue was closed as a dup of this, I will add my info - which is related but a bit different: Everything works, incl. snapping explorer windows, Powershell, etc. Then, when I reboot my computer, the snapping when re-opening a windows that was snapped previously doesn't work. The windows don't open like they would if PowerToys isn't running, they do get affected, but they certainly aren't opening snapped to a zone. Snapping them to a zone still works as normal, but closing/opening the windows have them open elsewhere. However, if I open the PowerToys settings and toggle FancyZones off and on again, then the windows snap back to the zones they were snapped to before (even back to zones they were snapped to before the reboot) and everything works perfectly, till the next reboot (even through a computer sleep FancyZones will keep working - just a reboot "breaks" FancyZones).
Have the same problem with multiple apps (Discord, Cider, Steam etc.).
The temporary workaround mentioned by @huntardy works: what I do is I go into the zones editor and duplicate all my layouts, assign the new versions to the correct monitors, and then delete the old layouts. After that it works for a while, until it breaks again.
I'm still encountering this issue with the functionality of moving newly created windows to their last known zone in version 0.66.
I have noticed that this problem is not only limited to Windows Explorer, but also affects other programs such as WhatsApp, Telegram, the Windows default mail client, Brave, and possibly more. Sometimes, these programs, including Windows Explorer, open in the upper left corner of my first monitor with a very small window size.
It's quite frustrating to have to constantly reposition my windows every time I open them😂
@SeraphimaZykova I'm guessing this situation would be because explorer.exe is always running, and the windows that are created all come from the same process. I believe the desktop and task bar are also explorer.exe (correct me if needed) so that might be confuzing for FancyZones??
Reporting the same problem. Non-UWP apps don't seem to remember their last position after getting closed. Visual Studio, Firefox, Discord etc
Same problem, doesn'y work as expected, i use PowerToys 068.1 and Wind 11 22H2 (22621.1413) before the last windows update works fine. Any solution?
Same thing happens with the "Move newly created windows to active monitor" option enabled. Only UWP apps are moved, apps like Firefox, Discord and Windows explorer remain on the last monitor I closed them
Fancy zones issue - certain apps not remembering last zone [Win 11] [5120x1440 monitor] [Version 0.75]
Expected Behaviour:
- Apps return to last known zone after closing window/PC restart (without rounded corners).
Actual Behaviour:
- Firefox and NZXT CAM not returning to last zone following PC restart. Spotify and file explorer not returning to last zone following PC restart AND closing window. Most apps resume their rounded corner state.
Settings:
-
Running as permanent administrator.
-
'Move newly created windows to their last known zone' (on).
Additional info:
- move to last known zone worked for windows explorer on Win 10 but not Win 11
- some apps incl Spotify successfully return to the center zone but not my smaller corner zones. (rouded corners still present)
IMPORTANT UPDATE
As of v0.75.1 - "The generalization of a fix for snapping popup windows was causing many applications to not be snappable by FancyZones. We're reverted that change for this patch and we'll investigate a better fix for a future release."
This change has resolved some of my issues and created others.
-
return to last known zone (following end task) working for NZXT CAM, Windows Explorer, Spotify and Firefox (all without rounded corners!)
-
return to last known zone (following pc restart) still not working for Spotify
-
Apps that have popup windows such as Windows Settings and Steam are no longer capable of shift snapping to zones
