[FancyZones] Map keyboard shortcuts to zones directly to zone windows quicker

[kraoli]

I want to hit a user definable shortcut and the focused window should resize to the zone which is mapped to this shortcut .

I would map some keys e.g. on the numpad to my e.g. 4 zones. Now I can just press one of these keys and my windows is resized to the chosen zone.

Cycling with WIN + arrow is nice, but just hitting a key is a lot faster!

[indierawk2k2]

Seems like a good suggestion for a general purpose shortcut key manager (which is a PT utility on the backlog).

[bizerk44]

+1 to this. This is precisely how I would want use it. This allows me to hook this up to tools like Dragon Naturally Speaking / Windows Voice Recognition so it's voice enabled. Thanks to the team for working on a window manager! This is great for large monitors.

[mac-tron]

+1 to this. I would also like to use hotkeys to snap windows to the specified FancyZones rather than iterate through using Win + arrow.

[natesubra]

I would love to see this, I've cobbled together various Autohotkey solutions and being able to nix them and having this capability in FancyZones would be fantastic!

[eliahreimers]

+1 to this :-)

[Jerph]

Two additional thoughts on this feature, both coming from gTile:

1. Allow keyboard shortcuts to go to a Zone in any Layout
2. Allow one keyboard shortcut to be assigned to multiple Layout/Zones, which would cycle through them

The gTile shortcut interface is pretty clunky, and it limits you to one layout grid per shortcut. FancyZones could have more powerful separate layouts that don't adhere to X-by-Y grids, and a nice UI for setting the shortcuts would be possible.

Cycling through multiple zones is important to me because as a developer on a laptop without a numpad, I have very few unused shortcuts available. With gTile I use a modifier and just 3 keys (j, k, and l) to cycle windows in different priority grids as for my 4k monitor and laptop screen.

[MaxR0SS]

+1 - this could even be mapped through the PT Keyboard Manager?

[Jay-o-Way]

@fthdgn Nice, thanks! I didn't know that! That looks like the best thing to copy/make for FZ.

[bwanaaa]

On Windows 11, Win + Z shortcut opens a popup window to snap a window to a specific location without using mouse.

For example, this key sequence, snaps the window to middle large area on my ultrawide screen. Win + Z 6 2

On FancyZones, we already can assign a number to a custom layout. Zones on a layout also have numbers assigned them.

For example Win + Shift + Z shortcut can open a similiar FancyZones popup which lists numbered custom layouts. Clicking a number selects the layout, than clicking the second number snaps the window.

yes but i prefer windows 10. From the above comments it seems that moving a window requires two sets of keypresses and a mouse click
1)first keycombo brings up the layout menu
2)mouseclick selects the layout
3)number selects the zone

Is there a way to map a zone to a keycombo so it's one and done?

[TrevorSquillario]

I'm on Windows 11 and I have to click the layout. Pressing a number key after Win+Z doesn't do anything

[fthdgn]

@bwanaaa

Mouse clicks are optional. On my machine both numpads and numbers on the top row make the layout and zone selected automatically.

keyboard: WIN+Z
keyboard: 1
keyboard: 1

and the windows is on the left half of the screen.

I don't know any key combination or settings that can do it directly.

@TrevorSquillario

When the popup is first opened, it shows numbers on layout. If you click empty spaces on the popup, numbers disappear and number keys stop working.

Does your popup shows numbers when it first opened?

Maybe it depends on the Windows 11 version. My current OS is Windows 11 Pro 22H2.

[TrevorSquillario]

No zone numbers on mine. Running PowerToys 0.74.1

[Jay-o-Way]

@TrevorSquillario

• the method that's been discussed in the latest comments is a Win 11 thing.
• I don't know in which build number (of Win 11) this functionality was added. But is there a reason to still use 21H2? Its two years old :⁠-⁠)

[TrevorSquillario]

@Jay-o-Way

Corporate laptop, not under my control :(

[crnolan]

Two additional thoughts on this feature, both coming from gTile:

1. **Allow keyboard shortcuts to go to a Zone in any Layout**

2. **Allow one keyboard shortcut to be assigned to multiple Layout/Zones, which would cycle through them**

The gTile shortcut interface is pretty clunky, and it limits you to one layout grid per shortcut. FancyZones could have more powerful separate layouts that don't adhere to X-by-Y grids, and a nice UI for setting the shortcuts would be possible.

Cycling through multiple zones is important to me because as a developer on a laptop without a numpad, I have very few unused shortcuts available. With gTile I use a modifier and just 3 keys (j, k, and l) to cycle windows in different priority grids as for my 4k monitor and laptop screen.

Just bumping this comment here, because I've been using gTile for years now and nothing else is nearly as efficient. Like @Jerph, I map sets of sizes to each of hotkey+j/k/l and each shortcut cycles through different sizes in the left/middle/right position on a monitor (i.e. press ctrl-win-j once, window is 1/4 maximised on the left, press it again it's 1/3). The closest I can get right now with FZ is to have an overlapping layout with all possible window locations, and cycle through them all with win-left/win-right.

[KonRay]

+1 for this to be implemented. I also use multiple monitors and desperately need this.

[zachtytuslyles]

+1 this is long overdue!

[blankster]

I had the same wish as all of you, and I was already in the process of writing my own script with AutoHotkey, but then I stumbled upon a great solution that has already been implemented. I see it as a proof of concept for how FancyZones could work: https://github.com/thesobercoder/polygon

[ersan]

Afer 4 years and no hope of this being worked on I gave up and bought MaxTo instead, which lets you make recipes to do this sort of thing.

[GLADgames]

Sad to see this still hasn't been implemented. I think, like ersan above, I will just end up purchasing MaxTo. Maybe one day FancyZones will catch up with the competition.

[theskills101]

Also very dissapointed this isn't implemented. I'm trying every other solution at the moment because it seems like this topic isn't a priority on fancyzones :(. I need this desperately with my 49 inch ultrawide.

[JEFF-LIU-me]

Alternatives: buy 4 monitors... or get a Mac... or both! (Yes, I was desperate... "Windows" needs better windows mgmt.) Thanks for suggesting MaxTo and Polygon -- I'll try both.

...or maybe MSFT needs to start funding PowerToys ;)

[NeuronHuskie]

I wrote this AutoHotkey script which I use to move my windows to specific 'zones'.

[rvega]

+1

[ilude]

Note to Project Maintainers (ie. A kind suggestion): as @Catriks pointed out here it's great the the "bot" shows similar issues. But it does not suggest the issue (lowest numbered open issue???) where this feature, most likely, is being tracked!

Beyond the primary ability of knowing the status of the feature request, this also allow for review by users wanting this feature to see if anyone has an alternate work around they have been using to get something close to the requested functionality. Which I will now being toing on this issue thread.

So, Yes I obviously found this issue eventually but, and I'm just suggesting here, it would speed up things greatly for all involved, IMHO, to have the bot be "more" helpful. a

If this feature were to be added to the "bot" it should also retro-actively review all tickets to make sure the existing bot messages are either updated (if that is possible on a closed issue, I'm not sure) or an additional message should be injected with the message "This feature request being tracked here:..." . Because there are ALOT of closed issues for this feature in particular!

Thanks for your time and effort all! (And yes I would love this feature!)

[CCProHu]

+1

[GaborTorma]

+1

[FelixRizzolli]

+1

[petterhoel]

+1