Window Modes
Tabbed Layout Mode
Tabbed Layout Mode is the third Window Mode. You design a layout once — the panes the monitor should be split into — and then drop windows into those panes. Multiple windows in the same pane stack as tabs you click between, like browser tabs but for any app.
How it works
1. Set a monitor to Tabbed Layout Mode
Use the Snap Wheel → Window Modes submenu, or the BetterStage menu bar. Pick a built-in preset (Split View, Top / Bottom, Focus + Stack, Four Corners) or one of your own from the layout editor. See Layout Presets for managing presets.
2. Drop windows into panes
Drag any window into a pane to assign it. Drop a second window into the same pane and the two stack as tabs. The pane's tab strip shows every window assigned to it — click a tab to bring that window to the front.
3. Empty panes stay reserved
Panes you haven't filled yet show as dashed skeletons. They keep their position and size so the layout doesn't collapse before you drop a window in.
Activating a layout
When you switch a monitor into Tabbed Layout Mode, BetterStage restores every window assigned to the layout into its pane. On large layouts this happens asynchronously so the UI stays responsive — a brief restore indicator appears while windows settle into place.
Switching a monitor away from Tabbed Layout Mode releases its windows back to free-floating, but keeps the layout itself saved so you can come back to it later.
Moving windows with tab drags
Drag a tab onto another pane to move that window between panes. The source pane keeps its remaining tabs; the destination pane gains the tab you dropped.
Tab drags reach beyond the layout, too. Drop a tab onto a Bento Box or macOS Native monitor to move the window there, or drag it up to the Stages Bar to send that window to another stage.
Zooming a pane
Need one pane full-size for a moment? Zoom Pane expands the focused pane to fill the whole monitor and tucks the others away. It's fully reversible — Restore Panes brings the layout right back, every window in the pane it came from.
Zoom a pane three ways: from the pane's actions menu, from the Snap Wheel's adaptive Full slice (it reads Zoom Pane in this mode), or with the Maximize shortcut (default Ctrl+Opt+Return). While a pane is zoomed, that slice and the menu both flip to Restore Panes, and a one-time hint shows you how to bring the panes back.
Editing a layout
Open Settings > Window Modes to edit panes: drag handles to resize, drop on a pane edge to split it into a new pane, or click a pane to select it and remove it. Live previews appear as you drag, with each pane's windows shown as tab chips.
Apps that should float
Add small dialogs, color pickers, and browser session-restore prompts to Settings > Exclude Apps > Float in Window Modes so they float above your tabbed layout instead of being assigned to a pane.
Next
Layout Presets