Split your Monitor into Sections with Acer GridVista
I recently came across GridVista while looking for a tool that would help me manage my open windows better. I cannot afford multiple monitors and find that I often need to have two windows open at the same time so that I can read one, while I write in another. You can split your monitor into two (half size), three (one half, two quarter) or four (all quarter) sections. You can then "maximise" your windows into any of the sections so that no screen real estate is wasted by simply dragging the window into one of the sectors. Don't worry, you can still maximise your windows to full screen and you can select which windows should not adhere to the space constraints set by GridVista, which windows should run on top of the others and even the transparency of the windows.
I have not tried this, but it does appear that you can use it across multiple monitors, configuring each one separately.
I have been using it in Windows XP without problems and Joshua at gHacks tested GridVista after I informed him about it and reports that it works well in Vista. It would be ideal for people that have large monitors (such as 22" and larger), although I quite like it for my 17" LCD.
If this sounds like a great idea, download it here.
UPDATE: A reader at gHacks called Mike suggested WinSplit Revolution. I am not sure which is better, but it also looks promising and can be installed as a portable application.
Alternate download links:
Winsplit: http://www.filetransit.com/download.php?id=67619
GridVista: http://www.fileplaza.com/utilities/system_utilities/details/acer_gridvis...
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Personally I like maxto
Dexpot is also another alternativ. Although its not quite splitting the screen in half, it lets you run up to 20 different desktops simultaneously. I find it very handy in my work.
You can get your hands on it here: http://www.pcworld.dk/download/81/1644/hent
Try TileWindows (It's only 20kb):
Download: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Desktop-Enhancements/Other-Desktop-Enhancem...
Make 2 shortcuts:
"C:\Program Files\TileWindows\TileWindows.exe" -v
"C:\Program Files\TileWindows\TileWindows.exe" -h
and place them into quicklaunch.
You can split all windows vertically or horisontally with one mouseclick and it works.
I tried both GridVista and Winplit and found GridVista better. It also has a function Transparent that is useful. One problem is that the double I want is one on the top of the screen and the other on the bottom.
The other problem is I am finding some programs are not stable if the screen is split.
Still overall I like it. Thanks Frank
Check out MaxTo
http://www.maxto.net/You make your splits by inserting lines and dragging them to the desired positions. Can also save various profiles.
BE CAREFUL WHEN UNINSTALLING GRID VISTA. I accidentally installed to a high level folder and the GridVista uninstall deleted the entire folder.
I don't get it. If I needed to "have two windows open at the same time so that I can read one, while I write in another" and I couldn't be bothered to arrange them manually, I'd just use a utility like Winroll that can make one window always-on-top.
But maybe that's just me.
Winsplit Revolution worked great for a day or two, then mysteriously stopped functioning. Ctrl+Alt+3 minimised the current window to task bar(?), none of the other Numpad functions worked at all. Editing the Hotkeys did nothing.
Irks me, 'cause was starting to like it!
http://jgpaiva.donationcoders.com/gridmove.html
Free/OSS.
Customizable.
Cool UI.
Resource Friendly
The best!
It seems that there is a virus going round called WINSPLIT-REVOLUTION-V8.06.EXE so scan the executible before running it.
The unoffical Acer blog also mentions Ultramon, GridMove, and these alternatives.
1) Apparently the split-revolution.com website is down.
2) How does one move the little 9-square transparent box with the arrows? Answer: modify the save.dat file manually - 4th line in file conrols x and y position, apparently.
3) It says a v8.06 version is available, but the link does not respond.
New version: 8.06
Link: http://winsplit-revolution.com/Soft/WinSplit-Revolution-v8.06.exe
Features:
- New "Drag'n'go" feature added
- Possibility to modify the default layout
- Multi-monitor enhanced
- Installer improved
- Portable setup allowed
- Translation system review
- Options dialog has been changed for more effectiveness
- Several bugs fixed
Now, why would I do this instead of manually sizing the windows I want sized to the exact size I want, then going from there? So this just helps me to resize in one fell swoop. But what if I need a window slightly bigger than 1/4 screen or 1/2 screen? I have to resize manually anyway. So why add something more that takes up resources?
It IS handy that if you keep clicking on a particular arrow in the 9-square box that the current window does resize in 3 various sizes. That is useful when you need extra space or less space for your window.
You can define the exact sizes you wish to use. Furthermore, if you want to have two windows adjacent to each other, Ctrl + Alt + f places the last two used windows together, with a slider that allows you to adjust the point where the two meet.
I have a Vista laptop and while WinSplit seems to work fine with Windows applications, it doesn't seem to work with other browsers, e.g. Google Chrome or Second Life, which I believe runs on Mozilla
See this thread for more : http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/drag-click-snap-windows-and-task...
WinSplit Revolution is brilliant and really useful. Thanks for the suggestion.
I'd have to say that WinSplit is much more flexible than GridVista. It used less system resources on my machine, also.
Gizmo,
You need a new spell checker - separately, not seperately. But great tips and in Windows Secrets too.
That's my fault. Sorry.
the gridvista download doesn't seem to work
I just added to the article, alternative download links for both products.
Gizmo
I have to agree Winsplit is an excellent software. Thumbs up here for it.
Tony
Haven't tried GridVista - But can confirm that WinSplit is simple to use and reliable.
WinSplit is very impressive. Certainly far more customizable.
gridvista is more limited than winsplit.
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