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CamberleyDaz Author

Level 1

0 points

Mavericks resizes application windows and moves them around

This problem has started since I installed Mavericks. Typically I have Firefox and Outlook loaded most of the time, occasionally other applications such as Spotify. My wife also has an account on the iMac, so she logs in, leaving me logged in. When I switch back to my account, the applications have resized themselves to odd small sizes, and Outlook is sometimes half-way off-screen and can't be moved (if I drag it back on-screen it just snaps back to the off-screen position).

I have found a way to prevent this, and this is to ensure my wife minimises the applications first. Strangely none of her applications (Firefox, Thunderbird, iTunes) move or resize.

Certainly a bug that's arrived with Mavericks, so Apple if you're reading this please fix it.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Nov 2, 2013 3:25 AM

156 replies

Argasa

Level 1

9 points

Dec 5, 2013 8:46 PM in response to CamberleyDaz

Same here. It's driving me crazy. I think it happens mostly or exclusively if the computer has gone to sleep. I only have one monitor. I wake up the computer and frequently app windows are somewhere on a ghost monitor and I cannot retrieve them. The only way to do so is to close the app. If, for example, a Word doc needs to be saved, the app window miraculously appears with the prompt, but even if I click "cancel" the document window disappears again. New document windows appear off screen as well. I get this frequently Word, Mail, Safari and, I think, less frequently with other apps.

Dec 5, 2013 8:59 PM in response to CamberleyDaz

Report it via Apple Care..... The more reports, the quicker the fix!

Oh, to workaround change refresh rate...

Argasa

Level 1

9 points

Dec 5, 2013 9:06 PM in response to UtterChaos

Refresh rate doesn't do it if only because if I change the refresh rate from 60 to 50 Hertz, I get the jitters.

Dec 5, 2013 11:22 PM in response to Argasa

Just a temp fix for each time it goes wrong. Switch to 50 then back and it should release the apps to move back and resize.

Not a good fix, I know, but IMO better than quitting apps.

Do report it though... It'll take more them just me to get a patch!

Dec 6, 2013 11:25 AM in response to CamberleyDaz

I managed to fix this on my Mini. Well... if you can call it a fix. The problem has something to do with one or more of the system sleep/idle functions from what I can tell, most likely for the display. Since in my case I don't want anything to sleep ever (htpc/server is always on), I installed Caffeine and turned it on. Now any windows that I leave open are always right where I left them!

By rights, changing the sleep settings of the display in preferences should of been all that was needed, but that wasn't the case for me. I'm not exactly sure what's going on when the system decides to move things around, but I think it has something to do with the display not showing as connected (since it's a TV and not on all the time) and after a time forgets the connection or something. I dunno. Definitely one of the stranger happenings.

mjh808

Level 1

0 points

Dec 7, 2013 3:20 AM in response to CamberleyDaz

this may not apply to anyone else but after switching from my HDCP stripping multi input DVI switch (using HDMI -> DVI -> HDMI cables) to a pure HDMI switch, this problem has gone away for me.

xaruqui

Level 1

4 points

Dec 8, 2013 9:48 AM in response to CamberleyDaz

Same on my early 2009 iMac!!

Dec 9, 2013 7:45 AM in response to CamberleyDaz

Apple support case number 525850045 - opened 9th Nov 2013.

Only had iMac since 24th Oct and did this from scratch.

Clearing Saved Application States / clearing application caches didn't resolve issue

Bug 15451533 opened 12th November. Heard nothing back.

Had another call wth support wh got me to reboot holding alt-cmd-P to reset the PRAM. Didn't work.

Re-installed Mavericks - didn't work.

Tried turning off parental settings - didn't work.

My workaround is to alt-cmd-D to hide the dock and do it again to unhide it. This unlocks the collapsed windows. Takes a minute to re-size your windows though....

JosefKx

Level 1

8 points

Dec 10, 2013 8:32 AM in response to CamberleyDaz

just to add my case: same here.

This is so pervasive and annoying that I not only wonder how that could make it into a final build - but also why it hasn't quietly been fixed meanwhile...

Dec 11, 2013 7:09 PM in response to contact.martin.wood

contact.martin.wood wrote:

My workaround is to alt-cmd-D to hide the dock and do it again to unhide it. This unlocks the collapsed windows. Takes a minute to re-size your windows though....

Thanks for the workaround; this works (around the issue) for me.

Hopefully Apple will address this soon because it's really annoying.

Dec 12, 2013 1:22 AM in response to Johnsyweb

contact.martin.wood wrote:

My workaround is to alt-cmd-D to hide the dock and do it again to unhide it. This unlocks the collapsed windows. Takes a minute to re-size your windows though....

This does not work for me................

Selsiusx

Level 1

4 points

Dec 12, 2013 7:16 AM in response to CamberleyDaz

I have the exact same issue.. waiting for a *real* fix! 😕

medawn

Level 1

0 points

Dec 13, 2013 4:46 AM in response to Johnsyweb

just confirming that the alt-cmd-D workaround does it for me, too. windows become unsnapped and i'm able to resize them without killing the apps. still a fix would be better....

mibinmkl

Level 1

0 points

Dec 14, 2013 11:27 AM in response to CamberleyDaz

I also have this problem since installing Mavericks on a 2009 imac. Then did a disk reformat and clean install because I also experienced extreme slow downs (may have been partly related to Sophos). Speed and general responsiveness are now very much improved, but I still suffer the random window resizing issue. Have yet to find an alternative to restarting the application affected. I hope we see an update that addressed this issue soon.

Dec 14, 2013 6:08 PM in response to CamberleyDaz

I have the same problem here on a new iMac.

Since I moved my Dock from Bottom to Left, I don't think I've seen this issue return. Annoying, but not a horrible workaround...

Mavericks resizes application windows and moves them around