Keep fullscreen and maximized windows inside a zone
Confinement is the core of VirtualZones. While it is running, any window that tries to take over a monitor is resized into a zone instead, as if that zone were a separate monitor.
Turn it on with Start in the main window, tray → Start, or Ctrl+Alt+R. The status line reads Active: fullscreen/maximize snaps to zones; Shift-drag to snap. while it runs and Idle when it is stopped.
What triggers it
Section titled “What triggers it”A foreground window is confined when it:
- is maximized (maximize button, title-bar double-click, Win+↑),
- goes fullscreen, such as F11, a slideshow or a video player, or
- is simply sized to cover the whole monitor or work area.
This applies on any monitor that is Enabled and has a layout.
Which zone it lands in
Section titled “Which zone it lands in”- The zone under your mouse pointer. You usually just clicked maximize or pressed F11 there, so that zone wins.
- If the pointer is on another monitor (for example you maximized with the keyboard), VirtualZones uses the window’s normal (restored) position if it is clearly smaller than the screen, otherwise the window’s center.
- A one-zone layout always uses that zone.
A maximized window is first restored, then placed so its visible edges sit flush on the zone. Windows 10/11 have invisible resize borders, which VirtualZones accounts for.
What works
Section titled “What works”| Scenario | Result |
|---|---|
| Maximize button or title-bar double-click, any app | Snaps into its zone |
| PowerPoint slideshow | Confined |
| Video players and borderless-fullscreen apps | Confined |
| Chrome, Edge and Firefox F11 | Confined (Chrome and Edge since 1.3.16) |
| A video’s fullscreen button in a browser (e.g. YouTube) | Confined, and the page redraws to fit the zone (since 1.3.16) |
| Exclusive-fullscreen games (DirectX) | Not confined. They bypass the desktop compositor. Use the game’s borderless windowed mode. |
Windows that are never confined
Section titled “Windows that are never confined”- Always-on-top windows and tool windows. This is deliberate: screenshot and region-capture overlays (ShareX, Snipping Tool, OBS region pickers) would otherwise be pushed into a zone. It also means an app you set to “always on top”, such as a mini player or picture-in-picture, won’t be confined. You can still place it with Shift-drag or a move hotkey.
- The taskbar, Start menu, Alt+Tab, Task View, notification and other Windows shell surfaces.
- VirtualZones’ own windows.
- Windows on a monitor that is disabled or has no layout.
- Elevated (administrator) windows, when VirtualZones itself is not running as administrator. Windows blocks normal apps from moving elevated ones.
Apps that fight back
Section titled “Apps that fight back”Some apps re-assert their full-screen size after being moved. VirtualZones keeps re-confining them, but after 3.5 seconds of back-and-forth it gives up on that window until the window stops being full-screen. This avoids an endless flicker. Browsers are handled specially: a fullscreen Chrome or Edge window is put back in its zone whenever it tries to take over the screen again, for example when you switch between its windows.
The animation setting
Section titled “The animation setting”While confinement runs, VirtualZones turns off Windows’ Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing effect so windows snap into their zone instead of zooming to full screen first. Your previous setting is restored when you press Stop or exit.
Even so, a single frame (about 16 ms) can flash at full size when an app goes fullscreen with F11. This is cosmetic, and the window ends up confined.
Hiding the borders
Section titled “Hiding the borders”Show zones in Preferences, Ctrl+Alt+Z, or tray → Hide zones hides the zone borders. Confinement keeps running. The borders come back each time you press Start.
When the trial has ended
Section titled “When the trial has ended”Without a license, confinement can’t be started after the 7-day trial. If it was running it stops within a minute, and the status reads Trial expired - click License to activate.