Make Windows 7 remember window positions and size!

It does not work.

I don't think some peeps here know what the actual problem is as its the most basic function from all Windows now missing in Win7.

Its not getting 1 window to remember size and position, its the fact every other window after it will copy that size and position.

You cannot have say the Pictures Folder full edge to edge on your monitor and the Recycle Bin a smaller window in the middle of your monitor.

The only thing you can do is use the windowmanager software, it works for size and position but not sure about actual contents layout.

Windows 7 is full of mad issues (I'm too lazy to list them but they are all well known).

I have no clue how or why MS made it this way and this for me makes it totally unusable and I'm happy on Vista SP2.

Windows 7 is certainly not the "be all and end all" its made out to be, if you have good hardware and can run Vista SP2 IMO its better as of right now (hope Windows 7 gets fixed through MS and clever peep's fixes).

MrDeviance said:

I have never done a petition before and even though I could do it, from what I see there, you know how to make one look professional and serious.

That's a cop-out but I will start one when I get some free time.... past few days have been so busy I haven't had a chance to even check my damn email barely. Next 3 weeks look the same.

I am considering (when my life calms down) trying out some of the many 3rd party explorer alternatives I've heard of, and see if I prefer any of them, and then just ditch Win explorer altogether if I find one I like.

I just started using Windows 7 over the weekend (I'm a Mac guy) and I have to say that this is driving me INSANE. I've got quad monitors and a variety of different types of folders. Some contain large icons as a sort of makeshift launcher, or a means to preview media, others contain lists of hundreds (if not thousands) of files. To think that I'd want to view all of these folders the same exact way is pure madness.

Even worse, my applications don't remember their positions. I've got limited experience with Windows in general but on a Mac if you place an application's window in a certain place it stays there - even between reboots. This allows me to properly set up my workspace across all monitors.

On Windows 7, it's haphazard at best. Outlook might remember which monitor its on (maybe) but it certainly won't remember its position. Firefox is even worse - it randomly opens windows on any given monitor. And any app that serves up regular notification windows (such as Comodo Firewall) can't be moved at all. They always show up on the primary monitor - no matter where I put them.

And now I'm learning that these things aren't bugs, they're features? Ouch. I think my little Windows experiment is over...

If you decide to keep win 7 , the apps zmover and windowsmanager will set position and size but these apps are around $20 and we should not have to buy a separate app to do the job.

Windows Explorer is not Win 7's best attribute by any step of the imagination.

Nosmo said:

If you decide to keep win 7 , the apps zmover and windowsmanager will set position and size.

Thanks for the tip. I'm actually using windowsmanager and it works reasonably well except it tends to ignore the window's layout. This means I can't shuffle between the preview sidebar and the file explorer. It also doesn't seem to work with the Library at all so I've got to avoid that entirely. Either way, as you stated, it's absurd that Microsoft would even release Windows 7 with Explorer in such bad shape.

All that said, the biggest surprise for me was that most people I spoke with didn't think this forgetful folder feature was a problem. Up until I stumbled on these threads, the typical response was, "why would you want your windows all different sizes and different layouts?" Apparently plenty of Windows users pick one view and stick to it. /shrug

Do not think bad of Windows overall its only Win 7 thats a boob job.

helmutcheese said:

Do not think bad of Windows overall its only Win 7 thats a boob job.

I try to keep things in perspective. The Mac is an end to end experience - a marriage of hardware and software. It's highly refined because it's targeting the upper end of the market and design professionals (I fit into the latter category). In short it caters to people who care about things like form, polish and ambiance.

Conversely, Windows is entirely utilitarian. It caters to people who could care less about fluff. It's the proverbial Walmart to Apple's upscale boutique. And, in truth, this is a good thing because each fulfills a specific niche in the market.

The problem, as I see it, is that Windows 7, and Vista before it, are trying to bridge that gap. Suddenly MS is interested in interface design. And that's great except, for better or for worse, feedback is a big part of understanding the user experience. Therefore either beta testers complained about the forgetful folder feature and were ignored or Microsoft was really that inept to purposefully implement a design feature that any first year interface design student would cringe at.

Either way that's not exactly an ideal situation.

I partly agree, there is no excuse for the multiple major bugs/missing functions in Win 7.

Mac's on the other hand are not the be all and end all for design today, they may have been before the days of the Elsa Gloria Nvidia Quadro GPU's where a PC simply couldnt do it.

The world revolves around PC's and Windows and you can do far more with them.

Oh there's no doubt that fundamentally speaking, Macs have no advantage in design whatsoever. My $2400 Mac Pro is essentially on par with my $800 Dell Core 2 quad - and the Dell has better video card options! I was simply speaking in terms of environment, that's all. Design is a fickle thing and being surrounded by good designs tend to lend itself to producing good design.

In that case the Mac does have the advantage both in terms of hardware and software. Even if you don't like the Mac OS itself you have to admit that the average Windows app is nothing more than an array of menus, check boxes and OS default skins (or often far worse than that). This just isn't the case with the Mac OS. Many Mac apps are downright gorgeous in their own right.

So again it simply boils down to ambiance. And, if ambiance isn't important to you, then the Mac really has no advantages whatsoever.