VirtualZones main window and tray menu explained
Main window
Section titled “Main window”The main window is a single panel with a custom title bar and four cards. It remembers its position between runs and moves back onto a visible monitor if the one it was on is gone.
Title bar
Section titled “Title bar”| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| VirtualZones | App name. Drag here to move the window |
| Language dropdown | Choose one of 26 UI languages (details) |
| Theme switch ☀ / ◐ / ☾ | Light, Auto (follows Windows) or Dark (default) |
| – | Minimize |
| ✕ | Close: hides to the tray if Show in tray is on, otherwise exits |
Start / Stop card
Section titled “Start / Stop card”- A large Start / Stop button. It becomes Add when the selected screen has no layouts, and is disabled when the trial has ended without a license.
- A status line:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
Active: fullscreen/maximize snaps to zones; Shift-drag to snap. |
Confinement is running |
Idle |
Confinement is stopped |
No layouts yet - click Add to create one. |
The selected screen has no layouts |
Trial expired - click License to activate (red) |
The trial is over and no license is active |
Screen and Current Layout card
Section titled “Screen and Current Layout card”- Screen tabs, one per monitor (Multiple monitors).
- A preview of the selected monitor with its resolution, the active layout and each zone’s size.
- The Enabled switch for that screen.
- The Current Layout dropdown and the Edit Layouts… link (Custom layouts).
Preferences card
Section titled “Preferences card”Toggles for Show zones, Start confining on launch, Cover taskbar, Start with Windows, Show in tray, Start minimized and Update automatically, plus the Keyboard Shortcuts… and App color… buttons. Each is explained in Settings.
License card
Section titled “License card”- License… opens the License dialog.
- The license status:
Licensed to {your name},Licensed.,Trial: N day(s) left.orTrial expired - click License to activate. - The version number and an About button.
- Update to <version> (top right of the card) whenever a newer version is available, even if you chose “Skip this version”. Click it to open the update dialog.
About dialog
Section titled “About dialog”Shows the version and release date, a short feature summary, a link to virtualzones.cc, and your personal usage counter: Used N times since <date>. It counts snaps, shortcut moves, shares and newly confined windows. The counter is stored only on your PC and is never sent anywhere. Contact me opens a feedback email to the developer.
Keyboard navigation
Section titled “Keyboard navigation”Tab / Shift+Tab move the focus ring between controls, Space or Enter activate the focused control, and Esc closes an open dropdown.
Tray icon
Section titled “Tray icon”The tray icon is a small three-zone tile in your app color. Its top-right tile shows the state:
- App color: confinement is running.
- Red: confinement is stopped.
Left-click or double-click the icon to show the main window. Right-click it for the menu:
| Item | Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Show | Open the main window | |
| Start / Stop | Ctrl+Alt+R | Toggle confinement |
| Hide zones / Show zones | Ctrl+Alt+Z | Hide or show zone borders (greyed out while stopped) |
| Layout ▸ | Ctrl+Alt+C | The selected screen’s layouts. The active one is checked |
| Share ▸ | <Monitor>: Zone N for every enabled monitor, up to 9 zones each. Checked means shared |
|
| Exit | Quit VirtualZones completely |
The shortcuts shown in the menu reflect your current bindings, or Unbound if cleared.
The tray icon is present while Show in tray is on, or whenever VirtualZones started hidden (Start minimized or Start with Windows).