I believe that this might be a dead issue, but, is there a method by which the cursor can automatically 'snap' to the default button? Naturally, this would save time, and even a little aggravation. These used to be such a gadget as lazy mouse, but that seems to have faded into the night. Any working suggestions appreciated.
- I recently upgraded from Office 2007 to Office 2016 on my Windows 7 desktop computer. Prior to the upgrade, cursor snap to worked OK on most applications. After the upgrade, cursor snap to does not work with Office 2016 but continues to function.
- I've discovered another utility (released via the Mac App Store just today!) that seems to provide the exact functionality as Windows Snap. It's called Moom ($5), and it adds an iOS-style popover to the green Maximize button in Mac windows. The popover has buttons that let you do the following.
One of the most missed features on Mac is the window snapping where you can just drag a window to the edge of the screen, causing the window to 'snap' into place. Until Apple makes up their mind, we'd have to rely on third-party solutions. Let's see how to snap windows on macOS, just like we do on Windows.
1. Native Solution
macOS does have a native option to snap your windows to either the left or right half of the screen. It is built-in but you would have to manually enable it from the Mission Control Settings. Navigate to Settings> Mission Control> check 'Display have separate spaces'. Once done, simply click the green expand button on the top left corner of any active window to select the snapping location. This method is still less intuitive and you can't use keyboard shortcuts or drag the windows to magnetically snap it to the side.
2. Rectangle
Rectangle is a free and open-source app that allows you to quickly snap your active windows on macOS. Unlike the native solution, Rectangle lets you snap windows by using a keyboard shortcut. It has presets such as snapping to either side, top and bottom halves, corners, thirds, etc. There are more than 20 different positions and sizes that you can implement on a window. The app runs from the Menubar and detects keyboard shortcuts flawlessly.
However, this app doesn't give you the functionality of snapping windows by dragging the window using the cursor to the side.
Install Rectangle (free)
3. Hookshot
Hookshot is another app by the same dev as Rectangle and it aims to offer more functionality. Apart from all the keyboard shortcuts, Hookshot also lets you snap windows by simply dragging the window. Simply press the key combination to activate the snap mechanism and then simply the cursor to select an appropriate size and position for the window. For instance, press the ctrl+cmd key to activate and then move the cursor to the left of the screen to set the window to display on the left half.
Hookshot is a paid app but you can try it for 10 days for free and make up your mind for the final purchase.
Install Hookshot (free, $7.99)
Snap To Cursor For Mac Shortcut
4. Magnet
While there aren't many different ways to snap windows, Magnet does have some distinguishing features from the rest of the apps. For starters, you can activate the snapping mechanism by dragging the window with the cursor and position the windows into halves, quarters, and even sixths. Magnet also supports multiple displays, even in vertical alignments, and makes organizing windows really easy. Other than that, you also get keyboard shortcuts to assign any window a position on the screen.
Magnet is available on the App Store for $2.99.
Mac Custom Cursor
Install Magnet ($2.99)
5. Better Snap Tool
Better Snap Tool is a customizable app for window management on your mac computer. It has the most features of any app on the list that allows you to set custom modifiers for window snapping. The key feature is the customizable window size, other apps only give you halves, thirds, and quarters but with Better Snap Tool you can create a truly custom size and position for your windows.
Better Snap Tool is paid and available on the App Store for $2.99.
Install Better Snap Tool ($2.99)
Final Words
Snap To Cursor For Mac Os
These were a few of the apps that allow you to customize your windows layout and manage it more effectively. Rectangle is the only free app that lets you snap windows and I would recommend it to most people. However, if you have specific requirements then Hookshot, Magnet, and Better Snap Tool are also decent alternatives. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below or reach out to me on Twitter.
Read: 10 Best Menu Bar Apps for macOS That You Should be Using (2020)
