Make a program always open on the monitor you want

Your mail belongs on the left screen, the music on the top one, the editor in the middle. Here is how to make each program open exactly there, every time.

Doing it by hand

Most programs try to reopen where they were last closed, until a monitor sleeps, a game changes the resolution or the laptop leaves its dock - and then they open wherever Windows puts them. Win + Shift + Left or Right arrow moves a window to the next monitor, but that is a press for every window, every day.

Give each program its place

In Stillward Display, make a preset and choose the program it follows - the moment it opens is what starts the preset.
The setup window shows your monitors as they stand on your desk. Click the one you want and pick a layout: the whole screen, a half, a third.
Put the program in its spot, and add anything that should come with it.
Save.

From then on, whenever the program opens, it goes straight to its monitor and its spot. You can choose whether the windows stay where they are when it closes or go back to how they were.

Good to know

A website can do the same: a preset can follow a page by its title, and the page opens in a browser window of its own, so your other tabs stay where they are. The layout keeps its shape whatever the resolution of the monitor.

More guides

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