Using a large iMac or Studio Display well
A 24 or 27 inch screen is big enough to waste. Layouts that use the space without turning it into a pile, from two columns to three plus a stack.
On a big screen, a maximised window is too wide to read comfortably, and a scatter of small windows is hard to keep track of.
Layouts that fit
- Two columns, two thirds and a third. Main work and a side panel.
- Three columns. Equal thirds for comparing or for reference heavy work.
- Two columns plus a stack. Main work, then a column with chat over music, or mail over calendar.
Keep reading width sensible
Text is easiest to read at roughly 60 to 80 characters a line. On a 27 inch screen that is far less than full width, which is why columns beat maximised windows.
Doing it with ClutterFreeMac
Pick Screens with three windows per screen for equal thirds, or Free scrolling to set each width yourself with ⌃ ⌥ R. Stack small windows into one column with ⌃ ⌥ ]. Gap and edge spacing are adjustable in Settings, Layout, so columns do not feel crammed on a big display.
Questions
How should I arrange windows on a 27 inch Mac screen?
In two or three columns rather than one maximised window, so each stays a comfortable reading width.
Read next
- Guide
How to move a window to another monitor on a Mac
Dragging across screens works but is clumsy. The Window menu option, the keyboard way, and how to send a window to the next display with one shortcut.
Read › - Guide
The best window layout for two monitors on a Mac
Two screens, twice the room for clutter. Layouts that work, the Mac settings that matter, and how to give each display its own row of windows.
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A Mac window setup for developers
Editor, terminal, browser, docs, chat. A window layout for coding on a Mac that keeps the loop of write, run and check one keystroke apart.
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