If you’re using dual monitors and have problems with windows being off-screen all the time, here’s how to move a window stuck off-screen in OS X.
No doubt you’ve run into this issue at some point, where you have dual monitors or perhaps an external monitor connected to your MacBook. At this point, you disconnect the monitor, but the windows displayed on that monitor still remain there and you cannot move windows from the main desktop.
This seems to be a major bug in OS X, where the OS is confused about where to place the window, or when you disconnect an external monitor, the window you’re viewing still thinks the monitor is plugged in or something. .
This is really weird but also extremely frustrating to say the least. However, there are simple fixes you can take advantage of to get your windows back. It literally takes less than a minute and you don’t have to bother with clicking and dragging to bring the window back, which usually doesn’t work.
How to Move Stuck Windows from Screen?
Perhaps the easiest way to fix this annoyance is to change the resolution of your desktop. This will essentially collect all your windows and resize them when the resolution is changed, making it a great quick fix.
To do this, start by entering it and then click .
Most likely this is selected, but you will want to pick and choose any resolution from the list.
After choosing a resolution, your screen will automatically change to the selected resolution and all off-screen windows should now be on your desktop. From there, change the resolution as before.
This is probably the easiest solution if it happens to you, but you can also go for rearranging any window, but this only works when you have two or more monitors/displays.
For an easier fix, you can try to see if an edge of the window is visible and from there hold Option/Alt and drag the edge of the window to resize the window. From there, you should be able to resize the window enough to take control and bring it all back into view.
You can also get third-party software that manages and resizes windows for you. Some examples that come to mind are: expand and showsecondly, it allows you to quickly move windows around using keystrokes, which can help you quickly and easily when this type of problem arises.
In the end, though, going into System Preferences and changing the resolution is probably the easiest solution to try, as it requires no other software and works great every time.
I hope Apple does something about this issue in a future update. It doesn’t seem to be fixed in OS X El Capitan, but maybe they’ll do something about it in a later update. OS X El Capitan will be released at some point in the fall, although an exact release date is currently unknown.
However, users can try the public beta if they want, but just know that it is beta software, so you are likely to encounter some bugs and other issues, so we do not recommend installing it on your host computer. in its final version this year.