[macnn]milhous

Q: 10.11.4 Window position off-screen after wake from sleep + external display

Does anyone else have issues with windows being positioned off-screen when waking their MacBook Pros from sleep or when using an external display?

 

I have a 15" rMBP and routinely connect it with lid closed to a Dell P2715Q 4K display. Whenever I wake it from sleep, many of my windows are off-center and have to drag the windows from the right-most edge back to the center.

 

I can't say for sure if this is application-specific or for all windows, but Mail.app and Messages definitely do this.

 

I'll do more testing later, and post any updates. Thanks!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4), MacBookPro11,2

Posted on May 3, 2016 1:05 PM

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Q: 10.11.4 Window position off-screen after wake from sleep + external display

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  • by [macnn]milhous,

    [macnn]milhous [macnn]milhous Jul 4, 2016 7:47 PM in response to [macnn]milhous
    Level 1 (7 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 4, 2016 7:47 PM in response to [macnn]milhous

    And of course, I can't reproduce the issue now after sleeping, undocking, and re-docking the MBP, but will try to collect more data. And I'm running 10.11.5 now.

  • by kxwblb,

    kxwblb kxwblb Jul 5, 2016 4:49 AM in response to Jeff Personal
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Jul 5, 2016 4:49 AM in response to Jeff Personal

    Seems to have worked for me. Thanks for the post!

  • by cjw296,

    cjw296 cjw296 Aug 9, 2016 3:51 AM in response to [macnn]milhous
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 9, 2016 3:51 AM in response to [macnn]milhous

    I'm experiencing this too! No mirroring, I'm on a Mac Pro with three P2415Q displays attached.

    I notice it when OS X puts the displays to sleep. On waking, a selection of background windows (Chrome, iCal, etc) are moved so only 1cm/0.5" is visible and have to be dragged back to the centre.

     

    Started with El Capitan.

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Aug 9, 2016 12:14 PM in response to cjw296
    Level 9 (73,166 points)
    Applications
    Aug 9, 2016 12:14 PM in response to cjw296

    Hi,

     

    Did you read this post ?

    Re: 10.11.4 Window position off-screen after wake from sleep + external display

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    8:14 pm      Tuesday; August 9, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)
  • by cjw296,

    cjw296 cjw296 Aug 9, 2016 1:49 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 9, 2016 1:49 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    What post are you referring to?

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Aug 10, 2016 12:07 PM in response to cjw296
    Level 9 (73,166 points)
    Applications
    Aug 10, 2016 12:07 PM in response to cjw296

    Humm,

     

    It was linking to this one when I posted

     

    This problem existed for me with Yosemite but only happened occasionally, but now on El Capitan it happens almost every time I wake the computer from sleep.  I've been trying to debug this issue (on and off) for months (years?).  None of the proposed solutions on this thread or any other thread made any difference at all. But just last week I discovered a partial solution!  Sorry for the longish explanation, I wanted to try and be as clear as possible.

     

    My scenario (similar to OP):

    • At work - MBP Retina connected to external LG IPS by thunderbolt, no mirroring and extended desktop, laptop set as primary display
    • At home - Connected to external Dell 4K by thunderbolt, laptop in clamshell mode (ie laptop closed)

     

    At work, no issues, ever - windows always left where I had them originally, and no difference whether it was screen saver/sleep/suspend.  So let's assume "work mode" is fine.  At home, however, if the computer went to screen saver or sleep mode, I'd wake it up to discover any number of random windows off the desktop/off screen, with only 1/4" visible.  Windows would move off both left and right sides too, without any indicator or pattern as to which would be preferred.

     

    But I realised last week that OS X remembers not just screen settings, but it also seems to remember desktop settings for different external screens (and, for me, different model/brand screens - I assume this is a feature, I've not checked/confirmed).

     

    So, on that theory, I decided to see if I could set up the home situation with both screens active initially, to try and induce different behaviour after screen saver/sleep.  At work, mirroring is off.  You can't change mirroring when in clamshell mode, so for this test at home I had both screens initially on.  The first important step was to make the external Dell the primary monitor by moving the dock over.  Second step was to turn on mirroring.  Then close the laptop lid and go into clamshell mode.

     

    End result - for over a week, not a single window has moved off screen coming out of screen saver or sleep.  The problem is not completely solved - some windows still move occasionally, but they do so WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES of the external Dell monitor so they are much easier to reposition.  Changing these settings for the Dell (at home) has not had any impact at all on the work (non-mirrored) settings for the LG IPS.

     

    Side note, changing the settings in order seems to be important - when I tried setting mirror mode first but didn't change the primary monitor (which you can't do once mirroring is turned on), then the random off screen window issue would still continue.

     

    Conclusion - something about mirroring isn't handling clamshell mode correctly, and partially ignoring primary monitor settings in some way.  It seems to be a sequence/order issue.  The partial solution is more than enough for me - dragging 10+ windows using only 1/4" of title bar to grab was seriously annoying every time I woke the machine up.  Now I only have to reposition perhaps one or two windows that have moved a little, but no part of any window now moves off screen at all.  It's like the sequence I configured the settings in was important for setting the display boundaries, and now OS X knows how to honour them.

     

    Again, sorry for the long reply, I hope this helps someone.

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    8:07 pm      Wednesday; August 10, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)
  • by cjw296,

    cjw296 cjw296 Aug 11, 2016 8:34 AM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 11, 2016 8:34 AM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    Yep, read that, but can't really see any advice I can follow:

    • I have three Dell 4Ks attached to my Mac Pro (nb: NOT MacBookPro), so I don't want any mirroring and have never had it turned on.
    • The problem happens when the monitors sleep, the machine never sleeps, and I don't move it anywhere.

    But, the problem sounds identical, so interested in ways to stop it happening.

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Aug 11, 2016 12:27 PM in response to cjw296
    Level 9 (73,166 points)
    Applications
    Aug 11, 2016 12:27 PM in response to cjw296

    Hi,

     

    My understanding of the post is that it is about which screens are set up in which order.

     

    I went on to say in my answer post that something similar used to happen in iChat particularly with Blue Tooth and other external headsets.

     

    In the case of iChat you had to go to System Preferences > Sound > Input to set the Mic  before setting the Mic in the iChat Preferences.

     

    IT seems that for the various screens it makes a difference as to which screen is set to be the master if and when they are actually used as two side by side displays.  (i.e. one has the Dock and Menu bar and the other does not).

     

    So in the Arrangement tab the Dock and Menu Bar can be "given" to a specific display.

    Screen Shot 2016-08-11 at 20.24.08.png

     

    In this Pic Mirroring is On which puts the Menu Bar on Both.

    Turning Off Mirroring moves the Menu Bar indicator to just one display.

     

    The Poster does say it only seems to be a partial fix for them.

     

     

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    8:27 pm      Thursday; August 11, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)
  • by cjw296,

    cjw296 cjw296 Aug 14, 2016 4:31 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 14, 2016 4:31 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    I'm afraid I don't think bluetooth or any audio have much to do with this problem, which appears to be about window placement in all apps on "external displays" are those displays wake from sleep. It appears to be something that started in El Capitan.

     

    Mirroring, as the name suggests, means the screens mirror each other and so have the same content: this is absolutely not what I want: I have three separate screens because I want to see three separate screens worth of stuff!

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Aug 15, 2016 12:03 PM in response to cjw296
    Level 9 (73,166 points)
    Applications
    Aug 15, 2016 12:03 PM in response to cjw296

    Hi,

     

    You seem to be missing the point of my example.

     

    My example of the Audio and Mic set up in iChat  was to illustrate that sometime it is crucial which order you do things.


    From the Quote post:-

     

    My scenario (similar to OP):

    • At work - MBP Retina connected to external LG IPS by thunderbolt, no mirroring and extended desktop, laptop set as primary display

     

    I.e. laptop is running internal and external display and has not problems even when waking from sleep.

     

    Then:-

    At home - Connected to external Dell 4K by thunderbolt, laptop in clamshell mode (ie laptop closed)

     

    There are two displays but the laptop is only really running one - the external when the computer is awake.

     

    There is no info at this point about which order the screens/Displays are set up in Displays (System Preferences).

    The presumption would be that the external display is only mirroring the internal (if it were On)

     

    There is no info about the external's resolution and how close this is to the closed Clamshell Internal display.

     


    SO the person did this:-

    At work, mirroring is off.  You can't change mirroring when in clamshell mode, so for this test at home I had both screens initially on.  The first important step was to make the external Dell the primary monitor by moving the dock over.

    Then:-

    Second step was to turn on mirroring.


    So the External Display is now lead monitor

    It is now set to Mirroring which the extra info indicates was not On in the first place.

     

    The Result

     

    End result - for over a week, not a single window has moved off screen coming out of screen saver or sleep.

     

    They go on to say:-

     

    Side note, changing the settings in order seems to be important - when I tried setting mirror mode first but didn't change the primary monitor (which you can't do once mirroring is turned on)

     

    If my use of a similar instance in another app was confusing I apologise.

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    8:03 pm      Monday; August 15, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)
  • by cjw296,

    cjw296 cjw296 Aug 15, 2016 11:37 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Aug 15, 2016 11:37 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    Right, so now I'll repeat, since you appear to be missing the point of what I'm saying:

     

    • I have a Mac Pro (you know: small black dustbin things)
    • I have three monitors, it is a static configuration, I don't change anything, so there's nothing to "re-order".
    • I have never (and can never reasonably) use(d) mirroring.

     

    BUT the movement of windows to the edge of the screen during monitor sleep sounds identical to that of the OP. Sadly, you've bashed away at this thread offering no real help enough that it's not going to make sense to anyone else who might have similar problems, so I'll go back to waiting for help here:

     

    Windows jump off screen with external monitor

     

    Please resist the urge to "help" more unless you have any insight or resolution for this problem, that appears to result from an upgrade to El Capitan.

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Aug 16, 2016 1:49 PM in response to cjw296
    Level 9 (73,166 points)
    Applications
    Aug 16, 2016 1:49 PM in response to cjw296

    Hi,

     

    Likewise I see no response that says you have even looked at the settings and tried anything.

     

    Bye.

     

    One last effort.

    My Triumph motorbike has to be in Neutral AND I have to pull the Clutch in before it will engage the Starter Motor.

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    9:49 pm      Tuesday; August 16, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)
  • by stop.motion,

    stop.motion stop.motion Aug 17, 2016 10:40 AM in response to [macnn]milhous
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Aug 17, 2016 10:40 AM in response to [macnn]milhous

    I had the same issue, i think the same monitor. With the laptop plugged in, I opened it, then in display settings made sure they both had the same scale, and checked mirror. then closed the laptop. I have only done 2 sleep/wake tests, but so far, so good...

  • by Yop44,

    Yop44 Yop44 Sep 20, 2016 5:45 AM in response to [macnn]milhous
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 20, 2016 5:45 AM in response to [macnn]milhous

    Hi,

     

    I experience the same problem, also with a rMBP 15'' and a P2715Q display.

     

    Does anyone found a solution?

     

    Regards

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