I use 2 monitors on my Mac mini M1 (currently on macOS Sequoia, but saw the same behavior I outline below with prior versions). I often run into this scenario:
running just a single app, expanded to fill most of monitor 2
open just about any other random app (because I need to access it while still working with the 1st app), and it almost always opens on top of the window in monitor 2, even though monitor 1 was fully available, with nothing currently open within it
this forces me to take the extra step of moving the new app over to monitor 1 so I can still see and work with the original app on monitor 2
Finally, the above references to monitors 2 and 1 were just for the sake of example; sometimes the initial app is on 1 and I want the new one to open on 2.
Iâd love it if macOS were smart enough to âread my mindâ (just kidding, sort of) open the new app on whichever monitor has the most unused space. Iâve found that I can sometimes get the desired behavior if I first click my mouse on the wallpaper of monitor 1 before clicking the icon to launch the 2nd app â but not always. And many times I forget to do this.
This happens enough that it really annoys me and my workflow. So might anyone know of a way to make macOS consistently put the new app where I want it?
If you always open an app on a particular monitor (or virtual desktop), you can lock that behavior by clicking on the app icon in the Dock and selecting the Options item.
Assuming the app is not locked to a desktop, clicking on the particular monitor before opening the app makes that monitor the primary monitor and forces the app (which has no preferred opening location) to open there.
You do not need to drag a window to move it to another monitor. You can move any window from one monitor to another by clicking and holding the green button in the upper left corner of the window and selecting the monitor to move to.
Thanks @aforkosh. On your first suggestion, this is what I see when I open the Messages app on my desired monitor and then click its Dock icon and select Options. So I donât see how to âlock this behaviorââŚ
This may be the reason weâre seeing different results. A System Setting under Mission Control controls whether different displays are considered different spaces. In Sequoia (and perhaps Sonoma), the Mission Control settings are at the end of the Desktop & Dock settings. In earlier operating systems, Mission Control was its own major grouping. In any case, âDisplays have separate spacesâ should be on. Note that youâll need to log out and log back in after changing it.
What version of Mac OS. Definitely disappeared in Sonoma, possibly Ventura. I am on Sequoia and I donât have the choice anymore. I used to make use of it.
