Windows scattered everywhere, half-covering each other — and your thoughts and focus follow suit? You drag and resize endlessly, trying to make everything line up, only to have everything scramble the moment a new app opens. Find out here how to snap windows to tiles on Windows 11 using built‑in snapping or PowerToys FancyZones.
First, Unshaken, Not Disturbed
When the pasta is done, you are not: there’s still the cooking water to pour off — though it’s always worth saving a few spoons’ full.
Resist the urge to shake the colander and pasta dry. Keep the pasta moist instead, and it will silkily slip into what comes next in your recipe.
Now that dinner is coming together handsomely, perhaps your windows should, too. Two or three perhaps, all settled into their place, undisturbed by the other apps in the background. Simply shake your mouse:
How to Snap Windows to Tiles on Windows 11
Using Built-In Windows Snapping
Time needed: 1 minute
To arrange your windows in tiles using Windows 11:
- Drag a window to an edge or corner to select a tile for snapping.
Here’s where: Drag the window to the left or right edge of the screen to snap it to the left or right side (splitting the screen in two); drag to a corner to split the screen in four tiles and snap the current window to the quarter that fills the respective corner.
- Wait for the outline that shows where the window will land to appear.
Windows snap keyboard shortcuts: Use Windows ⬅ and Windows ➡ to snap the window to the left and right side of the screen respectively, Windows ⬆ and Windows ⬇ to snap to the upper and lower part of the screen.
Nothing happening: If no outline appears, check that window snapping is enabled; see below under “Enable Window Snapping in Windows 11”. - Release the mouse button to snap the window to the tile.
- Optional: Pick from open windows for the remaining unfilled tiles.
Enable Window Snapping in Windows 11
To allow windows to snap to predetermined areas in Windows 11:
- Open the Settings app.
Here’s how: You can select Settings in the Start menu to open Settings, for example.
Windows keyboard shortcut: Press Windows I to launch Settings. - Open the System category.
- Go to Multitasking.
- Turn on Snap windows for window snapping.
Using MS PowerToys FancyZones for Tiles
To snap a window to an area in a PowerToys FancyZones layout:
- Enable FancyZones in PowerToys; see below.
Layouts: In FancyZones, you get to pick the arrangement of windows — and even add your own zone layout. - Start dragging a window with the left mouse button.
- Hold the Shift key.
- Release the mouse button as the desired area is highlighted.
More than one: For flexible arrangements, you can have a window occupy more than one zone.
Using the keyboard: With FancyZones overriding Windows window snapping enabled in settings (see below), press Windows ⬅ and Windows ➡ to cycle through the zones in your FancyZones layout.
Enable FancyZones in Microsoft PowerToys
To let FancyZones arrange your windows in a tiled layout:
- Open Microsoft PowerToys settings.
Here’s how: Click with the right mouse button on the PowerToys icon in the system tray and select Settings from the menu that has appeared.
No PowerToys icon: If you do not see a PowerToys icon in the tray, open the PowerToys app from the Start menu. - Go to FancyZones under Windowing & Layouts.
- Turn on Enable FancyZones.
Keyboard operation: Turn on Override Windows Snap to use Windows plus arrow keys to snap windows to FancyZones zones with keyboard shortcuts (instead of snapping to the built-in Windows positions).
How to Snap Windows to Tiles on Windows 11: FAQ
Can I have Windows arrange windows in tiles automatically?
No.
Snapping windows to predefined areas on the screen, you can arrange them as desired. Windows cannot act as a classic tiling window manager that will always fill the screen with all visible windows in a tiled arrangement, however.
Can I resize snapped windows?
Yes.
With Windows snapping, hover with the mouse cursor over the border between two windows to resize them both. With FancyZones, you can resize windows snapped to zones normally (without any effect on other windows or the FancyZones layout itself).
Can I create custom zone layouts?
Yes.
In PowerToys, you can edit existing arrangements or create your very own FancyZones layouts.
Can a window span multiple zones?
Yes.
With PowerToys FancyZones, you can have any window occupy any number of (adjacent) zones.
(Tested with Windows 11 Version 25H2 and PowerToys 0.95–0.96; first published November 2025)