User Guide

Last updated: 3 October 2026

Contents

  1. Getting Started
  2. The Tray Menu
  3. Saving & Restoring Positions
  4. Profiles
  5. Snap Layouts
  6. Auto Save & Auto-Restore
  7. Monitor Profiles
  8. Exclude List
  9. Snap Exclude
  10. Dark Mode
  11. Settings Window
  12. Import & Export
  13. Start with Windows
  14. Checking for Updates
  15. Reporting Issues & the Debug Log
  16. Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

1. Getting Started

Installation

PositionPro is available exclusively from the Microsoft Store. Search for "PositionPro" in the Store or visit the PositionPro store page, then click Free trial to try it for 7 days, or the button showing the price to buy it. Once installed, launch it from the Start menu.

First Launch

On first launch, PositionPro shows a licence screen with links to the End-User Licence Agreement and the Privacy Policy. Read the agreement, then click I Agree to continue. You need an internet connection to open the links: until you're connected, I Agree stays greyed out and a note asks you to connect, and it becomes available as soon as you are. If you click Decline, PositionPro closes without starting.

Once running, PositionPro sits quietly in your system tray (the small icons near the clock at the bottom-right of your screen). Look for the pink square icon with four white arrows pointing out to the corners.

A notification will appear confirming PositionPro is running.

On a new install, a Welcome to PositionPro window also asks whether to save your current window layout to the Default profile now. Choose Save Layout, or Not now to do it later from the tray menu.

From this point on, PositionPro runs in the background, noting which applications are open, where they are on screen, and how big they are. It does all of this silently — you only need to interact with it when you want to save or change something.

Tip: If you can't see the tray icon, click the small upward arrow (^) in the taskbar to reveal hidden tray icons. You can drag the PositionPro icon out so it's always visible.

Free Trial

PositionPro comes with a 7-day free trial from the Microsoft Store. When the trial ends, a Free Trial Ended window appears and PositionPro is locked until you buy it: the tray menu shows only Buy PositionPro to unlock and Exit. In the Free Trial Ended window, click Buy PositionPro to buy it through Microsoft's purchase window (or the Store page, if that window can't open), and PositionPro unlocks as soon as the purchase goes through. Clicking Close quits PositionPro.

2. The Tray Menu

Right-click the PositionPro tray icon to open the main menu. This is your control centre for everything PositionPro does. The menu items appear in this order:

3. Saving & Restoring Positions

This is what PositionPro is all about. Once your windows are arranged the way you like them, you can save those positions so they can be restored at any time.

Saving

There are two ways to save:

  1. Right-click the tray icon and choose Save All Positions.
  2. Press Ctrl + Alt + S from anywhere.

PositionPro records the position, size, maximised state and front-to-back order of every visible application window. A notification tells you how many windows were saved. Apps in the profile that are no longer running are removed from it when you save, and the notification says so.

Leaving Windows Out of a Layout

If you minimise a window before you save, PositionPro records it as minimised in that layout. When you load the profile later, that window stays out of the way instead of being pulled back onto the screen. The window is still part of the profile and its position is kept — un-minimise it, save again, and it returns to the layout as normal.

This is the simplest way to build a layout containing only the applications you want: arrange the windows you want on screen, minimise the ones you don't, then save. The notification tells you how many were recorded as minimised.

Tip: The window order and the minimised state are recorded when you save. Layouts you saved with an older version will keep working exactly as before, but you'll need to save them again before either takes effect.

Restoring

When you want your windows back in their saved positions:

  1. Right-click the tray icon and choose Restore All Positions.
  2. Press Ctrl + Alt + R from anywhere.

Each open window that has a saved position will move back to where it was. If a window was saved as maximised, it'll be maximised again. A window that was minimised when you saved is brought back up and put in place too; to keep those windows minimised, switch to the profile instead (see Switching Profiles).

Automatic Restore

When Auto-Restore New Windows is enabled (from the tray menu), PositionPro will automatically move a window back to its saved position within a few seconds of it opening — without you having to do anything. This is on by default. You can toggle it off from the tray menu if you'd prefer windows to open wherever the app puts them.

Note: Only windows larger than 400×300 pixels are managed. Small utility windows, tooltips, and system dialogs are ignored.

4. Profiles

Profiles let you keep multiple window layouts and switch between them. For example, you might have one layout for general work, another for video editing, and a third for when you're working on a laptop without an external monitor.

The Default Profile

PositionPro starts with a single profile called Default. This is always there and can't be deleted or renamed. All your saved positions go into whichever profile is currently active.

Creating a New Profile

  1. Right-click the tray icon and go to Profiles.
  2. Click New Profile...
  3. Enter a name (e.g. "Dual Monitor", "Laptop", "Editing").
  4. Click OK.

The new profile becomes active straight away, and your current window positions are saved into it.

Switching Profiles

Open the Profiles menu and click the name of the profile you want. PositionPro will:

  1. Switch to that profile.
  2. Restore all windows that are already open to their saved positions.
  3. Bring that profile's windows to the front, in the front-to-back order they were in when you saved the layout.
  4. Leave minimised any window that was minimised when the layout was saved.
  5. Launch any applications that are in the profile but not currently running (apart from any that were minimised when you saved), then position them.

A tick mark shows which profile is currently active, and a profile assigned to your current monitor setup is marked ■. Your keyboard focus doesn't move — whatever you were typing into stays active, even though the profile's windows are now drawn in front of it.

Getting a Clean Switch Between Layouts

If two profiles contain different applications, switching between them can leave both sets of windows on screen at once. To avoid that, right-click the tray icon and tick Clean Desktop on Profile Switch.

With it on, loading a profile minimises windows that belong to your other profiles but aren't part of the one you're loading. An application that appears in both profiles stays where it is and is simply repositioned. Anything you've never saved into a profile — your browser, a video call, Task Manager — is never touched.

It's off by default, and only applies when you load a profile yourself from the menu or with a keyboard shortcut. An automatic switch caused by connecting or disconnecting a monitor won't minimise anything.

Profile Keyboard Shortcuts

You can assign a keyboard shortcut to any profile so you can switch instantly:

  1. Go to Profiles → Assign Shortcuts.
  2. Pick the profile you want to assign.
  3. Choose a number from 1 to 9.

Now pressing Ctrl + Alt + 1 (or whichever number you chose) will switch to that profile instantly. The shortcut is shown next to the profile name in the menu.

Tip: Each number can only be assigned to one profile at a time. Assigning a number that's already in use will move it to the new profile.

Deleting a Profile

  1. Go to Profiles → Delete Profile...
  2. Select the profile from the list.
  3. Confirm the deletion.

If you delete the profile you're currently using, PositionPro switches back to Default. The Default profile cannot be deleted.

Renaming a Profile

Go to Profiles → Rename Profile..., pick the profile you want to rename, then enter the new name. The Default profile can't be renamed.

5. Snap Layouts

Snap Layouts give you a quick way to tile your open windows into a neat arrangement on one monitor: the one your mouse pointer is on when you choose the layout, which is normally your main display, where the tray icon is. Rather than dragging and resizing everything by hand, pick a layout and PositionPro does the rest.

Choosing a Layout

Right-click the tray icon, go to Snap Layouts, and pick one:

LayoutWhat it does
Two Windows — Left/RightSplits the screen in half vertically. One window on the left, one on the right.
Two Windows — Top/BottomSplits the screen in half horizontally. One window on top, one on the bottom.
Three ColumnsDivides the screen into three equal columns, each taking up a third of the width.
Four QuadrantsDivides the screen into four equal quarters — a 2×2 grid.

PositionPro fills the layout slots with your currently open windows, starting with the one you're using (the foreground window). Each window goes into the free slot nearest to where it already is, so windows that are already roughly in place stay there instead of swapping round.

Active Layout Indicator

When a snap layout is active, a tick mark appears next to it in the menu so you can see at a glance which layout you're using. While a snap layout is active, no profile will show a tick — they're separate modes.

Auto-filling New Windows

While a snap layout is active, any new window you open (or un-minimise) will automatically fill the next empty slot in the layout. So if you have a "Two Windows" layout with one slot free, opening a new app will drop it straight into the empty half.

Slot Memory

PositionPro remembers which application was in which slot. If you close a window and reopen the same application, it will return to the slot it was previously in rather than always going to the first available slot.

Swapping Windows

Select Swap Snap Windows from the Snap Layouts menu to reverse the order of all snapped windows. In a left/right layout, the left and right windows swap places.

Locking Windows to Slots

If you want a particular window to stay put in a specific slot while everything else cycles through the remaining slots, you can lock it. For example, keep Chrome locked to the right side of a Left/Right layout so that every new app you open goes to the left.

  1. Activate a snap layout and open the Snap Layouts menu.
  2. Hover over Lock Window to Slot to open the submenu.
  3. Pick the window you want to lock from the list of currently visible windows.
  4. Choose the slot you want to lock it to (e.g. Left, Right, Top, Bottom, the middle column of Three Columns, or one of the quadrants).

A tick appears next to the locked slot so you can see what's pinned where. While a slot is locked, every new window you open or bring up from the taskbar is directed to one of the unlocked slots instead.

You can lock multiple slots at the same time — for example, locking Chrome to the left and VS Code to the top-right in a Four Quadrants layout. An Unlock <slot> (<app>) entry appears in the Snap Layouts menu for each slot you've locked. Click it to release that slot.

Tip: Locking is especially useful with the Two Windows layout. Keep your browser on one side and let everything else cycle through the other side without ever covering it.

Clearing the Layout

Click Clear Snap Layout to stop the snap. Windows stay where they are, but new windows will no longer auto-snap into slots. Clearing a snap also releases any locked slots. When you clear a snap, your profile's tick mark returns.

Note: Snap layouts and profiles are separate modes. Activating a snap layout deactivates the profile indicator, and switching to a profile clears any active snap. This avoids confusion about which arrangement is controlling your windows.

Turning Snapping Off

Clear Snap Layout stops the current snap, but if you've set snap layouts to persist across restarts (see below) the layout returns the next time PositionPro starts. To turn snapping off properly, open Snap Layouts and tick Disable Snapping.

While it's ticked, new windows won't be auto-snapped and no layout is restored at startup — but your saved layout, including any locked slots, is kept. Untick it and your layout comes straight back. Choosing any layout from the menu also switches snapping back on.

Tip: Use this if you want to try profiles without snap layouts rearranging your windows underneath you. Previously the only way to stop the startup layout was to remove PositionPro from Windows startup altogether.

Persisting Snap Layouts Across Restarts

By default, snap layouts are session-only and are cleared when PositionPro closes. However, if you prefer to use snap layouts rather than profiles, you can make them persist across restarts.

Right-click the tray icon and tick Start with Windows (Snap Layout). When ticked, PositionPro saves your active snap layout and any locked slots when it exits, and restores them automatically on next launch. Any windows that are open at startup will be arranged into the saved layout.

Note: You cannot have both startup modes active at the same time. Enabling one automatically disables the other, ensuring your profiles and snap layouts never conflict.

6. Auto Save & Auto-Restore

These two toggles in the tray menu let PositionPro manage your window positions hands-free.

Auto Save to Profile

When ticked, PositionPro saves a window's position every time that window closes. This means the active profile is constantly kept up to date without you having to remember to save manually.

This is handy if you tend to close and reopen the same apps throughout the day. The next time you open them, they'll go right back where they were.

This is off by default, so until you turn it on, positions are only saved when you choose Save All Positions or press Ctrl + Alt + S.

Auto-Restore New Windows

When ticked, any window you open will automatically be moved to its saved position within a few seconds. You don't need to press anything — PositionPro detects the new window and positions it for you.

This is on by default. Turn it off if you'd rather windows open in their default positions and only restore when you manually choose Restore All Positions.

Both settings are remembered between sessions. Toggle either one on or off from the tray menu at any time.

7. Monitor Profiles

If you use a laptop that you dock and undock, or if you switch between different monitor setups, this feature is for you. You can assign a profile to a specific monitor configuration, and PositionPro will switch to it automatically whenever it detects that setup.

How to Set It Up

  1. Connect the monitors you want to associate with a profile (e.g. plug in your docking station).
  2. Open Settings and go to the Monitor Profiles tab.
  3. You'll see your current monitor count and a signature identifying the setup.
  4. Select the profile you want from the dropdown.
  5. Click Assign to Current Monitors.

From now on, whenever PositionPro detects that monitor configuration, it will automatically switch to the assigned profile and restore your windows.

You can also do this from the tray menu: go to Profiles → Assign to Monitors and pick the profile. Clear Assignment in the same submenu removes it.

Tip: You can assign different profiles to different setups. For instance, "Laptop" for when you're on the go, and "Desk" for when you're docked with two external monitors.
Note: PositionPro recognises a setup by its screens' sizes and positions, so two setups with identical screens arranged the same way count as one. If your current setup has a profile assigned, PositionPro starts in that profile instead of your startup profile or snap layout (see section 13).

8. Exclude List

Some applications you might not want PositionPro to manage. Perhaps a tool that moves itself, or something you always want to open fresh. The Exclude List lets you tell PositionPro to ignore specific apps.

Adding an App to the Exclude List

  1. Open Settings and go to the Exclude List tab.
  2. Click Add...
  3. You'll see a list of the applications that are open now. Pick the one you want to exclude.
  4. If the app you want isn't in the list, open it first. (When there are no applications to list, PositionPro asks you to type a process name instead.)

Removing an App from the Exclude List

  1. In the Exclude List tab, select the app from the list.
  2. Click Remove.

Excluded apps are removed from all profiles and will not be saved or restored until you remove them from the exclude list.

Note: Windows Explorer is excluded by default and cannot be removed from the exclude list. Explorer windows (File Explorer, folder windows) are managed by Windows itself. The same goes for ApplicationFrameHost, which runs built-in Windows apps such as Settings and Calculator.

9. Snap Exclude

The Snap Exclude list is separate from the main Exclude List and applies only to snap layouts. Apps on this list are handled normally by profiles and auto-save, but are skipped when PositionPro is arranging windows into a snap layout. This is useful for apps you never want to tile — for example, a music player or a small chat window that should always float freely.

Adding an App to the Snap Exclude list

  1. Open Settings and go to the Snap Exclude tab.
  2. Click Add...
  3. Pick an app from the list of applications that are open now. If the app you want isn't listed, open it first. (When there are no applications to list, PositionPro asks you to type a process name instead.)

Removing an App

  1. In the Snap Exclude tab, select the app from the list.
  2. Click Remove.
Note: A small number of system apps are excluded from snap layouts by default and shown in grey with "(system)" next to their name. These cannot be removed because they don't respond well to being forcibly resized.

10. Dark Mode

PositionPro's tray menu supports both a light and a dark theme. Dark mode is the default.

To switch theme, right-click the tray icon and choose Switch to Light Mode or Switch to Dark Mode. The label always describes the mode you'll switch to, so if you're currently in dark mode the menu item reads "Switch to Light Mode", and vice versa. Your choice is remembered between sessions.

Note: The Settings window always uses a light theme, regardless of your tray-menu preference.

11. Settings Window

Open Settings by right-clicking the tray icon and choosing Settings..., or by double-clicking the tray icon. The window has five tabs:

Saved Positions

Shows all the window positions stored in each profile. Use the dropdown at the top to switch between profiles. Each entry shows its order in the stack, the application name, its saved position and size, whether it was maximised, and when it was last seen.

The list is ordered front to back, matching the order the windows will be arranged in when you load the profile — so the entry numbered 1 is the window that ends up in front. An entry showing a dash instead of a number has no order recorded yet, which happens with layouts saved before this feature existed. Save the layout again to record it.

To remove an individual entry, select it and click Remove from Profile.

Exclude List

Manage which applications PositionPro should ignore entirely. See section 8 above for details.

Snap Exclude

Manage which applications are skipped when a snap layout is active. See section 9 above for details.

Monitor Profiles

Assign profiles to monitor configurations for automatic switching. See section 7 above for details.

About

Shows the current version, a link to leave a review, a link to PositionPro on the Microsoft Store, and links to the End-User Licence Agreement and Privacy Policy.

12. Import & Export

You can back up all your PositionPro settings — including every profile, saved position, excluded apps, monitor assignments, shortcuts and your saved snap layout — into a single file.

Importing

  1. Right-click the tray icon and choose Import Settings...
  2. Select a .ppro file.
  3. Confirm the import. This replaces all current settings and profiles.

If the file includes a snap layout, it is switched on straight away, unless snapping was turned off in it or your current monitors have a profile assigned. If the file isn't a PositionPro settings file, PositionPro tells you the import failed.

Exporting

  1. Right-click the tray icon and choose Export Settings...
  2. Pick a location and filename. The default filename includes a timestamp for easy identification. The file will have a .ppro extension.
  3. Click Save.
Tip: Export a backup before importing, just in case you want to go back.

13. Start with Windows

PositionPro offers two ways to launch at startup, depending on how you prefer to work:

Only one mode can be active at a time. Ticking one automatically unticks the other. Clicking the currently active option disables startup entirely.

If your current monitor setup has a profile assigned to it (see section 7), PositionPro starts in that profile instead of your startup profile or snap layout, opening its saved applications and putting them back in their saved positions.

Choosing a Startup Profile

To set which profile loads at startup, go to Profiles → Startup Profile and pick from the list. Selecting a profile here will also automatically enable Start with Windows (Profile) if it isn't already on. Choose None to clear the startup profile; if Start with Windows (Profile) is on, this also turns it off.

14. Checking for Updates

PositionPro is distributed exclusively through the Microsoft Store. The app itself makes no network connections and does not check for updates on its own. To manually check for an update, right-click the tray icon and choose Check for Updates (Microsoft Store). This will open the Microsoft Store downloads and updates page where you can see if a newer version is available.

15. Reporting Issues & the Debug Log

PositionPro keeps a small diagnostic log (crash.log) inside its config folder. The log only grows if something goes wrong — an unexpected exception, a failure to save or restore a window, and so on. If you're using the app without any trouble, there will be nothing to report.

Sending a log to support

  1. Right-click the tray icon and choose Send Debug Log.
  2. If no issues have been logged, you'll see a friendly message saying so — nothing else to do.
  3. If a log exists, File Explorer opens with crash.log selected inside PositionPro's config folder. You can then email it to support along with a description of what you were doing.

The log is plain text, stays on your device, and is never transmitted anywhere automatically — attaching it to a support email is entirely your choice.

16. Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

ShortcutAction
Ctrl + Alt + SSave all current window positions to the active profile
Ctrl + Alt + RRestore all windows to their saved positions
Ctrl + Alt + 1 to 9Switch to the profile assigned to that number (both number row and numpad work)

Profile shortcuts are assigned through Profiles → Assign Shortcuts in the tray menu.

Non-US keyboards: Windows treats AltGr as Ctrl+Alt internally, so on AZERTY, QWERTZ and similar layouts these shortcuts can swallow keys you need for typing characters like { } [ ] | @ #. If that affects you, tick Disable Global Hotkeys (Ctrl+Alt) in the tray menu to release all of the shortcuts above. The toggle takes effect immediately, with no restart required.