Window gets stuck off-screen without external monitor connected

When I'm at home, I plug in my MacBook into an external monitor and use dual-screen mode. But when I unplug the monitor, occasionally a window will appear off the visible screen (usually a dialog window within some app). It appears the application remembered the window's location and still displays it there even though it's not visible.

I can see the hidden window using Expose/Spaces, and move it around to different spaces, but whenever I try to bring the focus to it, the window hops back to it's off-screen position. Is there any way to rescue the window back to the visible display? The only way I know of is to plug in the external monitor, which isn't exactly possible when I'm on the road.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Jan 14, 2008 9:40 AM

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6 replies

Jan 14, 2008 10:17 AM in response to JonBruc

Thanks, but the stuck window still jumps off-screen with different display settings. Also, the "Mirror Display" option isn't available when an external monitor is not connected.

This might be considered a bug in the App I was using at the time ( http://freemat.sourceforge.net/), but seems like OS X should provide a "rescue" functionality.

Exact steps to reproduce:
1. Start up FreeMat with both monitors
2. Open the "Path Tool" window in FreeMat. Drag window to secondary monitor.
3. Close Window, quit FreeMat.
4. Unplug secondary monitor. Take laptop to coffee shop where external monitors are a bit hard to find 🙂
5. Open FreeMat, and the Path Tool. Path Tool window is stuck off-screen as if it were on secondary monitor that isn't there.

At that point, the only options I know of are to go home, find another monitor somewhere, or attempt to navigate the window blindly by keyboard.

Feb 16, 2008 1:50 PM in response to David Wilkie

I hate the "me too" posts, but I can not resist in this case:
Me Too.

I just got off an 1 hour 20 minute call with apple support about a similar issue: Word window title bar is under the menu bar and can be accessed to move the window. Two experts were consulted. To apples credit the consultants were sympathetic, but they did not have a solution.

I also have a problem when the right hand corner is off the screen so the window can not be resized. I can not move the window to expose the right hand corner because it is too big.

APPLE PLEASE LISTEN: Give us:
1) a way to move the window without grabbing the title bar.
2) a way to resize the window without grabbing the lower right corner.
and while you are at it:
3) Please let us resize windows in one direction only.

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Window gets stuck off-screen without external monitor connected

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