How to resize a window

Updated: 12/05/2021 by Estimator Hope

Resizing a window tin be helpful in many situations. For example, you can resize a DOS control window or resize two program windows to fit both windows on the aforementioned screen. The following sections show you how to resize a window in Windows and macOS.

Note

A window that is maximized cannot be resized. Furthermore, certain types of windows cannot be resized at all.

Bones resize in Windows

Every bit you can encounter in the image below, in that location are two buttons for resizing a window automatically.

  • Minimize - Clicking this push, which looks like a nuance, collapses the window to the Taskbar.
  • Maximize / Resize - Clicking this push button, which looks like a box or two boxes, toggles the window between full and nearly full (not maximized) screen.

Windows window resize

Custom resize in Windows

When the upper-right section of the window looks like Resize panel in Windows., your window is now in "resize manner," meaning you tin can use the mouse cursor to make the window whatsoever size you want. To practise and so, movement the cursor to whatsoever border or corner of the window until a double-headed arrow appears. When this arrow appears, click-and-drag to make the window larger or smaller. If this double-headed arrow does not announced, the window cannot be resized.

The animation below shows a double-headed arrow on the bottom, left, and corner of a window and how it resizes a window. To brand the window horizontally bigger, move the cursor to the left or correct edge of the window until it changes to the double-headed arrow. To make the window vertically bigger, do the same thing at the top or bottom of the window. To resize horizontally and vertically at the same time, employ one of the corners of the window.

Resizing a window

How to resize a window using the Windows key and keyboard

If you are running Microsoft Windows seven, Windows 8, Windows ten, or Windows 11, yous can use Windows fundamental keyboard shortcuts to resize and arrange windows on your estimator. For example, pressing the Windows key and left pointer fundamental resizes the window to fit the left half of the screen. Pressing the Windows key and the right arrow central resizes the window to fit the right one-half of the screen.

A window tin be resized using a series of keyboard shortcuts. Below are the steps for resizing a window just using the keyboard.

  1. Press Alt+Spacebar to open the window'southward menu.
  2. If the window is maximized, arrow downwards to Restore and press Enter.
  3. Press Alt+Spacebar again to open the window menu, pointer down to Size, and press Enter.
  4. Press the upward or downwardly arrow key if you lot want to resize the window vertically or the left or right arrow key if you want to resize horizontally.
  5. Once an arrow fundamental is pressed, you tin can press the aforementioned or opposite arrow key to go on resizing the window.

How to resize a game window

Playing a computer game most likely defaults to a fullscreen mode that prevents the game from resizing. To resize a game window, the game must kickoff exist capable of playing in a windowed manner. If bachelor, the setting is establish in the game's video settings and may be labeled as borderless fullscreen, window way, or a checkbox. Once in a window way, it may exist possible to resize the window using whatever method mentioned on this folio. However, keep in mind that some games just take a window mode for performance reasons and may still not back up the ability to exist resized.

How to resize a window on a Mac

Buttons used to close, minimize, and maximize a window in macOS.

A Mac window can be resized using the mouse and the buttons in the upper-left corner of the desktop.

  • Minimize - Clicking this push button (yellow circle), which looks like a dash, collapses the window to the Dock.
  • Maximize / Resize - Clicking this push button (green circumvolve), which looks like a box or ii boxes, toggles the window between full and most full (not maximized) screens.
  • Custom size - First, make sure the window is not maximized. Then, hover your mouse cursor over the corner, bottom, or top of the window. Click-and-elevate to resize the window.