A window is off screen on your Mac: how to get it back

A window opened partly or fully off the edge after you changed monitors. Five ways to bring it back, from the Window menu to Mission Control.

Guide · Updated 13 October 2026

It usually happens after you change monitors: an app opens a window where the old screen used to be. You can see the app is running, but not the window.

Five ways back

  1. Click the app, then Window menu, Move & Resize, Fill or Centre (macOS 15 and later). Or press fn ⌃ F.
  2. Window menu, Zoom. Many apps pull the window fully on screen when zooming.
  3. Open Mission Control (⌃ ↑) and click the window; it comes forward, and you can drag it from there.
  4. Click the app, then Window menu, and choose the window by name to bring it forward.
  5. Quit and reopen the app. Most apps forget the off screen position if you hold ⇧ while reopening, which skips restoring windows.

Stop it happening

A window manager that places every window itself never lets one open in no man's land. ClutterFreeMac puts each new window in a column on the display it belongs to. When you quit or pause it, every window it moved goes back exactly where it was before.

Questions

How do I move a window I cannot see on my Mac?

Select the app, then use Window menu, Move & Resize, Centre (or `fn` `⌃` `C`) on macOS 15 and later.

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