PowerResizer is a free program that brings the window resizing/docking function popularized by Windows 7 to all Windows platforms. It is unique in that once two windows are docked PowerResizer will let you grab ahold of any one of the edges in the ”border” are between the two Windows and drag it to resize both windows simultaneously, in case you wanted one of them to take up a larger area than the other. A really nifty feature. Additionally, you can perform all sorts of resizing behaviors using a combination of resizing and hotkeys.
Another program that lets you drag your windows to any side of the screen to snap them into horizontal or vertical half-screens, a very useful feature if for example your are (a) comparing the contents of two windows side by side, (b) would like to make maximum use of your screen real estate, or (c) are moving files or folders across folders, in the style of a two-pane file manager (just to name three uses).
A couple of things are worth mentioning though
- Interactive docking: once you’ve docked two windows into two half-screens (vertical or horizontal), you can grab the middle edge of any one of the two and drag it to resize both simultaneously. Very cool.
- Memory use: a very small 5 megs in memory.
- Hotkeys: there are a lot of these. Look in the “Readme” in the program’s start menu entry. If you grab ahold of a window and press (A/W/S/Z) the window will be snapped to the four respective sides of the screen, whilst (1/2/3/4) will snap windows to the upper left/upper righy/lower left/lower right respectively. Control and shift will resize your window in interesting ways, and the keys 5 to 0 will result in various window sizes (read the readme for details).
- How to dock your windows: simply grab a window and move it to any of the four sides or the screen then release.
- Reposition Windows: an option that is launched from the app’s system tray icon; restores your windows such that they are of equal size, and the border between them is exactly in the middle.
- Transparency: you can enable this option in the settings (right click on the tray icon). It will change the behavior of windows such that they appear transparent when dragged. Not my cup of tea, but will doubtlessly appeal to some users.
Wish list (i.e. the CONS section):
- At times, the “outer” window is resized while the inner window remains unchanged (and yes I mean even for windows that will resize without a problem if the resizing is done manually). I am assuming this glitch will be ironed out with future releases, though.
The verdict: there are a number of freeware programs that deliver this function, such as Aerosnap, and the previously reviewed MaxTo and WinSplit Revolution (the latter being a more sophisticated program that can do all sorts of things with your open windows). PowerResizer’s appeal, however, lies in the ability to quickly resize docked windows in relation to each other. The other thing I like is its small 5 meg footprint, while the hotke If you want the Windows-7 style docking to the edge of the screen this one is a very good option.
Version Tested: 0.9
Compatibility: Windows All.
Go to the program page to download the latest version (approx 1.8 megs).
How does this compare with the previously reviewed allSnap?
Microsoft’s ‘Sysinternal’ has this function/application. Is it better than all others?
Windows XP Pro SP3 up-to-date
Had to uninstall it right away.
Lesser problem: if I had 2 windows docked, say one to left side and one to right side, resizing one using the inside border did *NOT* resize the other accordingly.
Much bigger problem: it was stuck “ON”, meaning if I had EVER touched a window with Power Resizer, typing the alphanumeric half of a hotkey combo ALWAYS affected the window, even after exiting Power Resizer! Example: If I docked a window to the right half of my screen using Power Resizer with Windows Move + S, then later maximized it again, then exited Power Resizer via a right-click on the tray icon, typing just an “S” or “s” into that window all by itself docked the window to the right side of my screen again even though Power Resizer was no longer supposed to be running. Worse, I couldn’t maximize the window anymore. That’s why I uninstalled it.
Did not work at all, too bad. At least the uninstaller worked.
Winsplit is nice tool if you wan give it a shot,
http://winsplit-revolution.com