QuickLayout User Guide
QuickLayout restores workspaces without owning document content: preview every window change, save an undo point, apply, and verify the result.
Getting Started
- On the Mac App Store build, install the bundled QuickLayout Window Bridge Shortcut when prompted. On the direct macOS build, grant Accessibility.
- Choose Save Current and select the apps and windows that belong together.
- Preview every proposed move, resize, launch, and skip.
- Apply the layout; QuickLayout records an undo point first.
- Use Undo if the verified result is not what you expected.
- To use iPhone or iPad as a remote, enable Mobile remote on the Mac and approve the six-digit pairing code on both devices.
Tip: Complete one successful manual Apply before enabling automatic Apply for that layout and display profile.
Interface Overview
| Area | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Layout collection | Saved layouts, search, compatibility, favorites, display profile, Apply, and status. |
| Capture and Editor | Included windows, names, schematic displays, target frames, and layout options. |
| Preview | Before/after plans, moves, resizes, launches, skips, capability, and confirmation. |
| Menu Bar | Compact access to layouts, chooser, Gather, Grid, Undo, automation, Settings, and Quit. |
| Settings and History | Hotkeys, automation, appearance, privacy, updates, transactions, import, export, and recovery. |
Save → Preview → Apply → Undo
QuickLayout never closes or quits applications and never captures window contents. The Mac App Store build uses the bundled Apple Shortcut for supported window changes; the signed direct build uses Accessibility.
- Save Current: Capture selected app windows as private schematic layouts without taking screenshots.
- Preview before Apply: Inspect moves, resizes, launches, skips, display changes, and unsupported windows.
- Transactional Undo: Save the affected window state before every arrangement and restore only what QuickLayout changed.
- Menu Bar and shortcuts: Reach Save, Layout Chooser, favorites, recent layouts, Gather, Grid, Undo, automation, and Settings.
- Gather and Grid: Recover off-screen windows or place the frontmost window into a chosen display region.
- Secure LAN remote: Pair iPhone or iPad, search layouts, Apply, refresh, and Undo while the Mac remains in control.
- Capability honesty: Show Shortcut, Automation, Accessibility, full-screen, Spaces, Stage Manager, tabs, and per-window limitations explicitly.
Platform note: Store and direct macOS builds use different approved control backends. Do not grant Accessibility to the Mac App Store build; install its bundled Shortcut and allow the requested Automation access instead.
Settings
Open Settings to review the following app-specific controls:
- Hotkeys, Menu Bar, chooser, Gather, Grid, and launch behavior
- Automation triggers, notification/confirmation policy, and display profiles
- Shortcut or Accessibility capability, privacy, retention, import/export, history, and recovery
- Appearance, distribution-appropriate updates, purchase restoration, diagnostics, and compatibility
Trial, Free, and Pro use the same functional feature set. Pro removes mobile ads and the daily desktop support reminder.
Keyboard Shortcuts
On Apple platforms, use Command where the app maps a displayed Ctrl shortcut to the platform primary modifier. The in-app shortcut page remains authoritative.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Cmd + Shift + L | Open QuickLayout |
| Control + Option + S | Save Current |
| Control + Option + L | Open Layout Chooser |
| Control + Option + Z | Undo |
| Control + Option + G | Gather Windows |
| Control + Option + Space | Open Grid |
Tips & Tricks
Complete one successful manual Apply before enabling automatic Apply for that layout and display profile.
Use Preview after connecting or disconnecting a display.
Use Gather before manually hunting for an off-screen window.
Keep important document-save workflows inside their original applications; QuickLayout manages frames, not content.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| The Shortcut is not ready | On the Mac App Store build, install or update QuickLayout Window Bridge, allow Automation when macOS asks, then choose Check again. |
| Accessibility is not ready | On the signed direct macOS build, open the requested Privacy & Security settings, grant access, return to QuickLayout, and run the live capability check. |
| The mobile remote cannot connect | Enable Mobile remote on the Mac, keep both devices on the same LAN, and approve the matching six-digit code. |
| A window is skipped | Review whether it is full-screen, non-resizable, on another Space, app-internal, or missing the required Accessibility action. |
| A display changed | Open Preview and map the layout to the current display profile before Apply. |
| A shortcut does not register | Check for a macOS conflict and assign another combination; QuickLayout never replaces a conflicting shortcut silently. |
Privacy
- QuickLayout reads window metadata and frames, not screenshots or document contents.
- Layouts use private schematic rectangles and app labels.
- The Store build uses the bundled Apple Shortcut; the direct build requests Accessibility only for window capture and arrangement.
- The mobile companion receives layout summaries, not document contents, window titles, or window coordinates.
- Paired LAN commands use an encrypted, authenticated session.
- Mobile Free may show advertising after the trial; Store and advertising services are described in the Privacy Policy.
Your responsibility: Use QuickLayout only on Macs and application windows you are authorized to control.