# How to Organize Windows on Mac

How to organize windows on Mac when the desktop is a pile. Spaces, Stage Manager, tiling, snapping, and a scrolling strip: which solves what.

How to organize windows on a Mac depends on the mess. Mixed projects need Spaces. One app at a time needs Stage Manager. Two windows side by side need tiling. Lots of windows that must stay readable need a scrolling strip. Pick one. Stacking them is why windows jump.

## Spaces, for mixed projects

A Space is another desktop. You can have up to 16.

1. Press Control-Up Arrow, or swipe up with three or four fingers.
2. Point at the top until the Spaces bar appears, and click the add button.
3. Move between Spaces with Control-Left Arrow and Control-Right Arrow, or a sideways swipe.
4. Right-click an app in the Dock, then Options, to keep it on one desktop.

Turn off "Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use" in System Settings → Desktop & Dock if the desktops keep changing order.

Spaces do not tidy the windows inside one desktop. Use a Space per project, then use one of the tools below inside the busy Space.

<figure>
  <img src="/media/diagrams/macos-mission-control-spaces.svg" alt="Diagram of Mission Control. A bar labelled Spaces bar holds two desktop thumbnails and a plus control." width="640" height="400" loading="lazy" className="!my-0" />
  <figcaption>Diagram of Mission Control. New desktops are added from the Spaces bar.</figcaption>
</figure>

## Stage Manager, for one group in front

Stage Manager keeps the current app, or a group you dragged together, in the centre. Other apps sit as thumbnails on the left. Turn it on from Control Center, or in System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Desktop & Stage Manager.

Use it if you switch by app and you do not need to see two documents at once. Turn it off before you use a window manager. They both try to place the same windows. More is in [Stage Manager](/guides/stage-manager).

<figure>
  <img src="/media/diagrams/macos-stage-manager.svg" alt="Diagram of Stage Manager: one large window in the centre and three smaller windows along the left edge." width="640" height="400" loading="lazy" className="!my-0" />
  <figcaption>Diagram of Stage Manager. The current window stays in the centre. Recent apps show on the left when Show recent apps in Stage Manager is on.</figcaption>
</figure>

## Two windows side by side

On macOS 15 or later, click a window and press Fn-Control-Shift-Left Arrow, or drag it to the left or right edge. The Dock stays. That is desktop tiling, not full screen.

Split View, from the green button, is two apps in their own full-screen Space. Use it when everything else is a distraction.

Steps are in [how to split screen on a Mac](/guides/split-screen-mac). The keys, and what to do on macOS 14, are in [split screen Mac shortcut](/guides/split-screen-mac-shortcut). Four corners are [4 way split screen on Mac](/guides/4-way-split-screen-mac).

On macOS 14, or if you want thirds, [Rectangle](https://rectangleapp.com/) snaps by keyboard for free. Turn off Apple's edge drag or Rectangle's. Not both.

## Many windows that stay readable

A tiler shrinks every window so they all fit. A scrolling strip does not. Each window keeps its width, in a row past the edge of the screen. You scroll to the next one.

[Ribbon](https://meetribbon.app) does this inside the Spaces you already made. It needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later. Option and a two-finger scroll moves the strip. Control-Option-R cycles the focused window through a quarter, a third, a half, two thirds, three quarters and full width. The price is $17 for one Mac, $39 for three and $59 for five.

![A Ribbon strip with several apps at full height. The next window is only partly on screen.](/media/screenshots/02-strip.jpg)

If you have a large monitor and you want every window visible, use a tiler instead. [Mac tiling window managers](/guides/mac-tiling-window-manager) is that list. What the words mean is [what a window manager is](/guides/what-is-window-manager-on-mac).


## FAQs

### What is the simplest way to organize Mac windows?

One Space per project, then one rule inside the Space. Two windows: built-in tiling. Lots of windows that must stay readable: a scrolling strip. One app at a time: Stage Manager.

### Should I use Spaces or Stage Manager?

Spaces when several projects are mixed together. Stage Manager when you want one group in front and the rest as thumbnails. They are not the same fix.

### Why do my windows jump after I arrange them?

Stage Manager, or a second window manager, is still moving them. Turn Stage Manager off and quit every window tool except the one you meant to keep.

### How do I stop windows getting narrower?

Stop using a layout that fits every window on screen. A scrolling strip adds a column instead of shrinking the ones you already sized.