Like a lot of people, I use a MacBook Pro as my main computer. The 15-inch screen hits a sweet spot in terms of size and functionality. It’s big enough to be useful on the go, but not so big that carrying it around becomes a burden. But when I’m at my desk, I need the extra space a Cinema Display provides. It’s a great setup, but because of the different screen sizes, I’m constantly juggling windows around as I switch between my external monitor and my MacBook Pro’s display. Stay is a simple but powerful utility that solves that problem--and even if your setup only includes a single display, Stay’s window-wrangling powers are impressive.
Stay keeps your windows in check, even with multiple external monitors.
The interface amounts to little more than a menu bar icon that brings up a simple menu. Using Stay is as simple as arranging your windows to your liking, then heading to the Stay menu and choosing Store Windows for All Applications. Stay allows you to store window configurations for each of your monitor setups, and you can pop everything back into place via the Restore Windows command or a customizable hotkey. Stay can also remember window positions for a specific application only. Stay works great if you switch between a few different display configurations, but even if you work on a Mac with a built-in display, Stay quickly snaps all your always-running app windows into position. There’s even a free 30-day trial, so you can get a feel for the utility before shelling out the cash.
Unfortunately, Stay does have a few shortcomings. For one, it doesn’t work with every application--Adobe products are notoriously finicky when it comes to Stay and other window-management utilities. And it won’t open applications that aren’t already open. Stay will size and position most windows flawlessly every time, but it can’t stack them in your preferred order (so that Safari is always on top, for example).
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If you have a particular set of applications always open, Stay can clean up your windows at a moment’s notice, making it valuable to anyone who likes things just so.
Stay
COMPANY: Cordless Dog
CONTACT: www.cordlessdog.com
PRICE: $15
REQUIREMENTS: Mac OS 10.6 or later
Simple to use. Perfect for organizing always-running apps.
Remembers window sizes and positions, but not stacking order.
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