microsoft / microsoft/PowerToys

Support configurable stacked/offset window layouts in FancyZones

Open
#49,568 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
Needs-Triage Product-FancyZones
Dominant language
C
Stars
139k
Forks
8.6k
PR merge metrics
PR metrics pending

Description

### Description of the new feature / enhancement

I'd like FancyZones to support configurable stacked (cascading) window layouts, where multiple windows assigned to a group or zone are automatically positioned with a configurable X/Y offset instead of occupying the exact same rectangle.

For example:

- Base position: (100, 100)
- Window 1: (100, 100)
- Window 2: (120, 120)
- Window 3: (140, 140)

This would make it easy to keep several related windows visible while still organizing them as a single workspace.

Suggested options:

- Horizontal offset (pixels)
- Vertical offset (pixels)
- Maximum visible stack size
- Bring selected window to the top while preserving the stack

### Scenario when this would be used?

Use cases:

- Comparing multiple documents
- Multiple terminal windows
- Browser windows for related tasks
- Chat/email applications
- Keeping reference material visible without fully tiling every window

This would complement the existing tiling layouts by providing an organizational pattern between full overlap and full tiling.

### Supporting information

_No response_

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

Start by locating the FancyZones component and its existing layout behavior. Clarify how stacked groups, horizontal and vertical offsets, maximum visible windows, and bringing a selected window to the top should interact with current layouts. Done means the behavior and configuration are implemented and verified for the listed window-management scenarios.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.