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Windows 10 Snap Assist: How to Turn Windows Snap Assist On or Off

We show you how to enable and disable Windows 10 Snap Assist, as well as how to adjust other Windows snap settings to suit your preferences.

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Snap Assist is a useful productivity enhancer for most people. Rather than fiddling around to get windows the exact right size, it lets you drag one to the side or corner of your screen and automatically snaps windows to half or quarter of your screen. If an application is already open on part of the screen, additional Windows snap features fill the remaining space instead.

Problems with Snap Assist

Unfortunately, the feature, previously known as Aero Snap, just gets in the way for some people. Users find that they accidentally activate Snap Assist when moving between monitors. Others find that the Windows snap tool simply isn't useful for them when they have third-party software like PowerToys for window management.

As a result, we're going to show you how to turn Windows snap on or off at will to suit your preferences. You can use the settings app, legacy control panel, or Regedit to do so, depending on what you're most comfortable with. We'll also show how to adjust three individual settings – automatic sizing to fill space, suggestions of what to snap next to a window, and automatic resizing of an adjacent window once snapped.

How to Turn Windows 10 Snap Assist On of Off via Settings

The simplest way to turn Windows snap on or off is via the Settings app's multitasking menu.

  1. Open settings


    Press “Start” and click the settings cog in the bottom left, above the power button.

    Windows10 - Open Settings

  2. Click on System settings


    Windows10 - Settings - Open System

  3. Turn specific Windows 10 Snap settings on or off


    In the left sidebar, click “Multitasking”. Under “Work with multiple windows > Snap windows”, you can untick the individual elements of snap assist to remove or enable the ones you use or don't use.

    Windows10 - Settings - System - Multitasking - Snap Windows On

  4. Turn Windows 10 Snap windows on or off as a whole


    If you'd rather just remove or enable the feature entirely, you can flip the “Snap windows” toggle to on or off. The Windows snap tool will stop working on your PC immediately with no need for a restart.

    Windows10 - Settings - System - Multitasking - Snap Windows Off

How to Turn Snap Assist On or Off with the Legacy Control Panel

Those used to Windows Aero snap from Windows 7 and under may be more familiar with the legacy Windows Control Panel. Due to 's slow progress porting every option to the new settings app, this is still in popular use.

  1. Open Control Panel


    Press “Start” and type “Control Panel”, clicking the first result under ‘Best match'.

    Windows 10 - Open Control Panel

  2. Change “View by:” to “Small icons”


    Windows 10 - Control Panel - Open Small Icons - Category

  3. Click “Ease of Access Center”


    Windows 10 - Control Panel - Open Ease Of Access Center

  4. Adjust mouse, keyboard, and ease of use settings


    Window snap settings can be found in three categories in the Control Panel, “Make the mouse easier to use”, “Make the keyboard easier to use”, and “Make it easier to focus on tasks”. Click one and adjust the Windows 10 window snap setting.

    Windows 10 - Control Panel - Ease Of Access Center

  5. Turn automatic window arrangement on or off via mouse settings


    In the settings for “Make the mouse easier to use”, tick or untick “Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen” under “Make it easier to manage windows”.

    Windows 10 - Ease Of Access Center - Make the Mouse Easier to Use - Easier to Manage Windows - Prevent Windows from being Auto

  6. Turn automatic window arrangement on or off via keyboard settings


    In the settings for “Make the keyboard easier to use”, tick or untick “Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen” under “Make it easier to manage windows”.

    Windows 10 - Ease Of Access Center - Make the keyboard Easier to Use - Easier to Manage Windows - Prevent Windows from Being Auto

  7. Turn automatic window arrangement on or off via focus settings


    In the settings for “Make it easier to focus on tasks”, tick or untick “Prevent windows from being automatically arranged when moved to the edge of the screen” under “Make it easier to manage windows”.

    Windows 10 - Ease Of Acess Center - Make it Easier to Focus on Tasks - Easier to Manage Windows - Prevent Windows from Being Auto

How to Adjust Snap Windows Settings via the Registry Editor

At times, Windows 10 settings reset after a feature update. To avoid this, you can modify the registry instead. Via this method, you can adjust snap fill, snap assist, and snap auto-resize.

  1. Open regedit


    Press “Start” and type “regedit”, then click “Registry Editor”.

    Windows 10 - Open Registry Editor

  2. Turn Snap windows as a whole on or off via the registry


    Navigate to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop and scroll until you find “WindowArrangementActive”. Double-click it.

    Windows 10 - Registry Editor - Copy the Hkey - Open WindowArrangementActive DWORD

  3. Turn WindowArrangementActive on or off


    To turn off Aero Assist in Windows 10, set the value data to “0” to turn it on, set it to “1”. Press “OK”.

    Windows 10 - Registry Editor - Copy the Hkey - WindowArrangementActive DWORD - Value data 1

  4. Adjust individual Windows snap settings via DWORD


    Alternatively, you can turn specific aspects of Snap assist on or off. Go to Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, right-click any empty space in the main pane, and choose “New > DWORD (32-bit) Value”.

    Windows 10 - Registry Editor - Copy the Hkey - New DWORD

  5. Turn JointResize on or off via the Registry


    Name the DWORD “JoinResize” to turn Snap assist's auto-resizing feature on or off. Double-click the new DWORD to open the editing interface, changing the value data to “0” to turn it off, and “1” to turn it on.

    Windows 10 - Registry Editor - Copy the Hkey - Open JointResize DWORD - Value Data 1

  6. Turn Snap fill on or off via the Registry


    Name the DWORD “SnapFill” to turn Window snap's empty space fill feature on or off. Double-click the new DWORD to open the editing interface, changing the value data to “0” to turn it off, and “1” to turn it on.

    Windows 10 - Registry Editor - Copy the Hkey - Open SnapFill DWORD - Value Data 1

  7. Turn Snap Assist on or off via the Registry


    Name the DWORD “SnapAssist”. Double-click the new DWORD to open the editing interface, changing the value data to “0” to turn it off, and “1” to turn it on.

    Windows 10 - Registry Editor - Copy the Hkey - Open SnapAssist DWORD - Value Data 1

Last Updated on August 14, 2020 7:50 pm CEST by Markus Kasanmascheff

Ryan Maskell
Ryan Maskellhttps://ryanmaskell.co.uk
Ryan has had a passion for gaming and technology since early childhood. Fusing the skills from his Creative Writing and Publishing degree with profound technical knowledge, he enjoys covering news about Microsoft. As an avid writer, he is also working on his debut novel.
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