BETTERSTAGE

Window Modes

Tabbed Layout Mode

Pro Feature

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.

EditorXcodeTerminal
EditorXcodeTerminal
Browser
Empty pane
Each pane holds multiple windows you switch between with tabs

How it works

  1. 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. 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. 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 between panes

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.

EditorXcodeTerminal
Browser
Empty pane
Xcode
Xcode
Tabs in one pane — click to switchDrag a tab onto another paneThe window moves with the tab

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