I loved using the “tile” function in Mac OS 9 that allowed me to have new windows open so that the upper corner of the previous window remained visible. Now that I have a much larger screen on my iMac I find myself continually having to deal with hidden windows that get covered over by new windows that I open! Yes, I know about the F9 key and also about how Spaces shows multiple “desktops,” but I want to find an app that will allow me to get that old tiling behavior back.

Well, it depends on what you mean by “tiling.” Those other operating systems refer to tiling as resizing windows to fill the screen in a side-by-side view or other orderly grid, like tiles on a wall or floor. You might be talking about multiple windows in one application opening in an orderly fashion so all their title bars are visible. We found several apps that provide tiling tricks--all require Leopard or Snow Leopard.

WindowFlow Pro lets you choose open windows to snap into a tight layout.

Cinch and SizeUp from Irradiated Software (irradiatedsoftware.com) might do the trick. Cinch ($7) lets you manage windows with your mouse--nudge one to the left of the screen and one to the right, and they’re automatically resized to take up half the screen each. SizeUp ($13) uses keyboard shortcuts, letting you resize windows for tiling, send windows to another display or another Space, and more. WindowFlow Pro ($15, windowflow.com) has tiling options and an easy-to-use window switcher. Everything’s done with keyboard shortcuts, so it feels snappy and efficient, but it’s for Intel Macs only. You might enjoy it more than Exposé and Spaces, although those built-in options can certainly keep your windows organized and easy to find if you take enough time to get used to them.