Window Layouts & Snapping

This page focuses on the parts of Tangrid that belong to Window Manager, including:

• Window Management Mode
• Snap Assist
• Auto Flow
• Exclusion Rules
• Tweak

Window Management Mode

Inside Window Manager, you can choose between three states:

• Snap Assist
• Auto Flow
• Disable

When to choose Snap Assist

Use Snap Assist if:

• you want to keep a mostly floating workflow
• you prefer to organize windows only when needed
• you rely more on dragging than on continuous tiling control

When to choose Auto Flow

Use Auto Flow if:

• you want windows to tile by default
• you like BSP-style automatic layout splitting
• you plan to adjust layout continuously with shortcuts

When to choose Disable

Use Disable if:

• you want Tangrid mainly for Window Switcher and Dock Preview
• you do not want Tangrid to manage layout behavior at all

How Snap Assist works

The core gesture is simple: hold the configured Drag Modifier Key and drag a window.

From there you can:

• place a window into the initial snap grid
• fill remaining space in an existing arrangement
• split an existing managed region with another window
• swap positions between managed windows

How Auto Flow works

The core idea of Auto Flow is that windows tile by default.

Its behavior can be summarized like this:

• the first window fills the screen
• later windows split the focused window
• the layout continues to evolve through a BSP structure

High-value actions in Auto Flow

These are the actions most users will rely on:

• Toggle Tiling/Floating
• Toggle BSP Split Orientation
• Equalize Windows
• Increase Window Size
• Decrease Window Size

Exclusion Rules

Exclusion Rules exist so that some apps or windows can stay out of default tiling behavior.

That is useful for windows that are better as floating windows, such as:

• temporary utility windows
• very small tool apps
• windows that do not adapt well to narrow or compressed layouts
• app-specific preview or helper windows

INFO

Exclusion Rules for the Window Manager are editable only in Auto Flow.

Two ways to add Exclusion Rules

Select Window

Use Select Window or the status bar command Pick Window to Add Rule..., then click a window on screen.

Tangrid can prefill:

• Application
• the current window title

This is the fastest way to create a specific rule.

Create Rule

If you choose Create Rule, you can configure:

• the target Application
• whether to Only match windows with specific titles
• the Window Title Pattern
• whether the rule is Enabled

Title matching

If you enable Only match windows with specific titles, Tangrid uses a regular expression through Window Title Pattern.

That is useful when:

• only one type of window inside an app should be excluded
• a preview window, helper window, or popup needs separate handling

Tweak

The Tweak page focuses on floating-window behavior.

Constrain window to screen

This setting controls whether floating windows should:

• move freely
• stay within screen bounds
• stay within the configured outer gap area

It applies only to floating windows, not tiled windows.

Auto Center Open Window

When Auto Center Open Window is enabled, newly opened floating windows are centered automatically.

This is useful for:

• dialogs and utility windows
• workflows where you want floating windows to appear near your visual focus

If certain windows should not be centered automatically, you can exclude them with rules on the same page.

Practical layout tuning suggestions

If you want a more spacious layout

• increase Inner Gaps
• increase Outer Gaps
• keep window movement animation enabled

If you want higher information density

• reduce Inner Gaps
• keep Outer Gaps controlled
• choose sensible values for Minimum Window Width and Minimum Window Height

If layouts feel too fragmented

• raise Minimum Window Width
• raise Minimum Window Height
• add more Exclusion Rules for apps that should remain floating