Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity
Corral your desktop windows with SizeUp
I want to make a quick mention regarding one of the most useful utilities I've found in recent days: SizeUp. It allows you to resize and reposition windows using keyboard shortcuts. It's no secret that I like my screen real estate, and making the most of it is a big deal to me. You can sit and resize windows all day, but I'd rather hit a couple of keys and have everything in place.
SizeUp offers half-screen (vertical or horizontal) and quarter-screen sizing (easily positionable in any corner), as well as a true Windows-style maximize function. You can also set a custom size for the "Center Window" option, which resizes the window to the specified dimensions and positions it in the center of its current screen. Not the screen you want? The last set of shortcuts lets you jump the window between existing monitors in your setup.
The hotkeys are configurable, but the defaults (surprisingly) didn't conflict with any of my extensive collection of shortcut combinations. SizeUp is shareware, but you can pay what you think it's worth (Fair licensing). A suggested price of $9.99US doesn't seem at all unreasonable to me. If it's useful to you, but not that useful, a minimum donation of $2.99US is requested. The maximize function alone is worth that. Developers Irradiated Software also offer a "lite" version called TwoUp which can do the split screen trick on its own, free. Grab a fully-functioning demo of SizeUp at the Irradiated Software website.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jackinloadup said 1:43PM on 4-27-2009
looks like xmonad
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samu said 2:06PM on 4-27-2009
I've been using this for a while. Absolutely fantastic; irons out a couple of the last remaining niggles I've had with OSX. I LOVE having "proper" maximisation again.
xmonad looks great as well, but...
1. Install the xmonad binary and config library.
2. Wire xmonad up to your login manager.
3. Logout and back in. You're in xmonad.
4. alt-shift-enter to open an xterm.
5. Write a ~/.xmonad/xmonad.hs to configure xmonad.
6. mod-q to reload your config file.
7. Install the xmonad-contrib config library.
8. Edit your xmonad.hs to include this new fantasticness.
9. mod-q to reload your config file.
http://www.xmonad.org/documentation.html
...it's not for me.
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Jackinloadup said 9:33PM on 4-27-2009
O man i know just what you mean. This is awesome! I was just thinking about linux.
Its awesome there is now an easy solution for mac
Gio said 11:21AM on 4-28-2009
It's possible to get a window always on top with SizeUp or xmonad??
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Smb3m22 said 7:31AM on 5-01-2009
It's possible to get a window always on top with SizeUp or xmonad?
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bump said 10:15AM on 5-02-2009
Check out Afloat to keep windows on top.
Marcus said 4:23PM on 4-27-2009
This software is very well-done! Wouldn't mind paying them the full price.
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Nirgal said 4:49PM on 4-27-2009
One of the Finder's most glaring defects is the inability to auto-size and tile windows. It's extremely galling because it's been an MS Windows ability forever. My next click is to the Irradiated Software site.
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brian said 10:21PM on 4-27-2009
The ability to make windows full-screen is probably in the top-5 list of features that I'd like that Windows has had since FOREVER (literally--since 3.0 for sure, probably since 2.0, maybe even 1.0) and that Mac OS has NEVER had--not in any 10.x, or 9, or 8, or 7. Made more painful every day by the fact that the green button is practically USELESS.
Blake Hyggen said 9:43PM on 4-27-2009
AWESOME FIND!!! I have been looking for a simple solution like this for 2 years (since I made the switch). I have learned to live with being unable to fully maximize my windows, but now I don't have to! Thanks for the tip!
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patte said 5:30PM on 4-28-2009
Use MercuryMover… this dev was the first one.
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Harvey said 9:51AM on 4-30-2009
I just wish MondoMouse could be merged with SizeUp or MercuryMover. I much prefer resizing with mouse+keyboard like I always have in the Linux *-box window managers. MondoMouse is great, but doesn't work (sizing) on some older-style apps.
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Irradiated Software said 10:21AM on 5-03-2009
Stay tuned ;)