TipBITS: How to Ensure Mac Apps Open on the Correct Screen

[tidbits7 (Lewis Eisen)]

That control doesn’t seem to apply to everything. I have always kept that option off, and most things restore properly. FaceTime is an exception, repeatedly defaulting to the main screen instead of the one it should sit on.

[johnn1jm]

Turning off that option screws up Safari for me. Safari will open in last open tabs instead of new window.

[Simon]

What does Safari > Settings > General > New windows open with… say?

[ace (Adam Engst)]

@ruebeckc

This got me thinking that maybe there’s a similar setting in MS Word’s preferences, since it never re-opens windows that were open at quit, but all my other applications do.

I think this is just due to Word (and Excel, and I presume PowerPoint) being totally weird and non-standard. What I think is happening is that Word opens its first window (the one to create new documents) on the screen where the menu bar is active. I can see some logic there, but it’s all too easy to have the menu bar active on a screen other than the one you’re looking at, so it just seems random.

And I don’t believe they offer any way of reopening documents that were open when you quit.

@tidbits7

FaceTime is an exception, repeatedly defaulting to the main screen instead of the one it should sit on.

I see this as well—FaceTime always seems to open in the middle of my primary screen. Apple should be ashamed.

@finspeed

1Password never remembers its proper location and always opens on my main screen

Hmm! I’m not seeing this with the current version of 1Password. On my Mac, with the Close Windows setting off, it remembers its screen and position properly.

@pierre.geoffrion

Now is there a way to get the «app menu bar» on the same screen as it’s window?

In System Settings > Desktop & Dock, under Mission Control, see what “Displays have separate Spaces” is set to. For me it’s on, so each display has its own menu bar. If it’s off, you’ll have only one menu bar, but also only one Space.

[Stephen1 (Stephen@RadicalLiberation.com)]

Adam, has anyone ever covered Stay on TidBITs? (I tried searching but “stay” is a pretty common term.)

I love it for putting windows back where I want them to be after a reboot or app restart.

It’s been… Checks archive… 30 years(!) since I’ve written for TidBITS but I’d be happy to write this up.

Stephen

Cordless Dog

[ace (Adam Engst)]

I wasn’t aware of Stay, but there are a variety of such utilities, mostly aimed at laptop users who connect and disconnect from large displays regularly. Stay looks particularly focused. And it’s nice that it’s free, since the annoyance is often small enough that it can feel hard to justify buying a fix.

[pierre.geoffrion]

Adam, thanks a million! I never understood or paid attention to «spaces»: but now I’ve got my 3 menu bars back and it sleeps properly too.

In case no one told you today: you’re a genius!! And a helpful one at that!