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Known limitations

  • Displays share a workspace. Switching projects changes all displays together; independent workspaces per display are not supported. The Layout bar stays on the main display. See Multiple displays.
  • macOS Spaces and full screen aren’t workspaces. Layout’s workspaces don’t use macOS Spaces: Layout moves windows in and out of sight instead. A window in macOS full screen is left alone, and Layout refuses to switch workspaces while a window it would hide is in full screen. Leave full screen before switching. Moving from Spaces? See Coming from Spaces.
  • Dialogs and other non-standard windows, such as modal windows and panels, are left out. They stay where their app puts them.
  • Windows of apps that refuse to move can’t be sent out of sight or placed. Some apps also refuse to be moved off screen.
  • Minimum sizes. Some apps impose a minimum size, and some, like Simulator, can’t be resized. Their windows can overflow their zone. See Layouts and zones.
  • New windows. Whether an app creates a window depends on the app. Launching an app that’s already open but has no window doesn’t guarantee that it creates one. Layout shows an error when that happens.
  • Where web pages open. Safari and Arc decide which window and tab your pages open in. Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Brave open them in a new window.
  • Staying on top. macOS keeps the focused window in front. Layout can’t pin a window above the others.
  • A shortcut to cycle through the apps of a stack. Meanwhile, use ⌘Tab with the replacement on, or the Layout bar.
  • Rules based on a window’s title or document.
  • Splitting a saved desktop. A saved desktop keeps a fixed frame for each window; choose a template to turn it into a regular layout.
  • Which window belongs to which workspace, after a restart of your Mac. Layout remembers it while your apps keep running, through updates, crashes and quits. After a restart of your Mac, every open window starts in General. See Workspaces.
  • Undo history and link memory. The undo history of window moves and the memory of which app links are already open are kept in memory, and cleared when you pause or quit.