TR Dojo: Disable Snap in Windows 7

Software upgrades usually bring in a new round of bells and whistles for users, but of course, one person's awesome new feature is another person's really annoying problem. The new Snap feature in Windows 7 is a good example. You either love it or hate it.

Well, I'm Bill Detwiler, and during this episode of TR Dojo, I'll show all you Snap haters out there an easy way to disable it.

Before I tell you how to get rid of Snap, let me show you how it's supposed to work.

Basically, Snap is a completely new way of managing open windows. This feature allows you to arrange open windows, including maximizing and resizing, just by dragging and dropping a window to different edges of the screen. When a window is dragged to the correct position, a ripple effect will emanate from the cursor and you'll see an animated outline of the window instantly appear in its new position. As soon as you release the mouse button, the window will snap to that position.

For example, you can maximize a window in Windows 7 by clicking and dragging its title bar to the top of the screen.

To restore a maximized window, just click and drag the title bar toward the middle of the screen.

To position a window on half of the screen, just click and drag the title bar toward the left or right side of the screen. The further to the right or left side of the title bar that you click and drag, the quicker the snap occurs.

To stretch a window that is in the middle of the screen so that it spans from the top to the bottom, just click the bottom or top edge and drag toward the bottom or top of the screen.

As I said before, Snap is one of those Windows features that you either love or hate, and if you're one of the latter, you probably just want to get rid of it. Luckily, disabling Snap is pretty easy.

Begin by clicking the Start button and typing Snap in the Start Search box.

When you do, you'll see a result titled Turn Off Automatic Window Arrangement. When you select that result, you'll see the Make the Mouse Easier To Use panel in the Ease Of Access tool and can select the Prevent Windows From Being Automatically Arranged When Moved To The Edge Of The Screen check box.

Click OK in that box and that's it, no more annoying Snap.

For more Windows tips and tricks, including a few reasons why now might be a good time to upgrade to a newer Windows version, check out TechRepublic's Windows blog or subscribe to our Windows newsletter. I'll link to both from the TR Dojo blog.

And as always, for more teachings on your path to becoming an IT Ninja, visit trdojo.techrepublic.com, or you can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/billdetwiler.

Thanks for visiting the TR Dojo.