FP-WindowManager

By default, Windows provides quite the variety of ways to tweak shortcuts, and hotkeys to make everything more accessible. On the other hand, specialized third-party alternatives want to extend these possibilities, which is also the case with FP-WindowManager. It helps to organize windows on the desktop through custom hotkeys.

One cool advantage is the lack of an installation process, making it possible to use directly from a thumb drive, and can launch it right after download. Another perk of portability is that system registries remain unchanged during use, so you don’t have to worry about affecting the stability of the target PC.

The application is good to go from launch, so a few seconds of looking over the hotkey configuration is enough to get you up and running. On the other hand, it can take little while to get used to notations used to represent keys, with symbols used for special keys, such as # for Win, or ! for Alt. Luckily, there’s a documentation file which is sure to clearly explain them.

Once you’re familiar with the notation system, you’re free to modify existing commands, in case default configuration lacks comfort. This is simply done through a selection, and writing down the new hotkey in a dedicated value field.

This includes a decent variety of comfortable functions, such as auto optimization of position and size of the active window, restoring to the default configuration, moving around the desktop in different directions, stacking all windows, adjusting size, and more.

The configuration window is also fitted with a tab containing general behavior settings. Although a little tricky to configure, options include size ratio when resizing a window, whether you prefer larger windows when automatically arranging, or setting up lists of windows to be included, or excluded from specific operations.

Taking everything into consideration, FP-WindowManager may feel a little rough around the edges at first, it’s worth the effort in the end. Notation system used, technique for hotkey assignment, and management of options are only minor inconveniences though, because there’s a lot to compensate.