How can I make a desktop app open at a useful size and position each time?

First, check whether the app itself remembers its window placement. Put it in the size and position you want, close the app normally, and reopen it. Note whether it restores the size, location, and whether it was maximized or restored. If the result seems inconsistent, repeat the check without changing other settings.

Windows developer guidance recommends saving and restoring window size, location, monitor, and maximized or restored state when appropriate. That is guidance for app developers, not a setting that forces every app to remember its placement. The guidance also describes adjusting placement if a changed monitor setup makes the old location unusable. [S1]

Record what happened before trying workarounds. That helps distinguish placement restored by the app from a window arranged again for the current session.

Treat arranging and remembering as two separate things. In Windows 10 and 11, Snap can arrange and resize windows using screen edges, keyboard shortcuts, and layouts. Those controls place windows in the current workspace; the documented feature does not promise that the app will reopen in that arrangement. [S2]

On a Mac, many app windows can be moved by dragging the title bar, and macOS also provides window resizing and arranging options. Some windows cannot be moved. Apple’s guidance does not promise that an app will reopen at the same size and position, so test the individual app by closing and reopening it. [S3]

To compare, arrange the window with a system control, close and reopen the app, then check the placement. If it is not restored, the test has not shown that the app remembers that arrangement.

Keep a short note so you can spot a repeatable pattern. For example:

“App: [name]. Displays: [one / more than one]. Before closing: [size, position, maximized or restored]. After reopening: [size, position, state]. Result: [same / different].”

If you use more than one display, note which display the window was on and whether the display setup changed between closing and reopening. Windows developer guidance includes saving the monitor and adjusting placement if a changed setup makes the old location unusable. That is recommended app behavior, not a guarantee about the app you use. [S1]

You can inspect the app’s window or startup preferences if it has any, but do not assume such an option exists. If you change one, test again and note the result. If the window is off-screen or cannot be moved, record what happened rather than assuming an arranging command will make the placement persist.

Use this sequence:

1. Choose the useful size and position.
2. Record the display setup and whether the window is maximized or restored.
3. Close the app normally, then reopen it without rearranging the window first.
4. Compare the reopened window with your notes; repeat if the result is unclear.
5. Test Windows Snap or Mac arranging controls separately from the app’s own restore behavior.
6. If you change a relevant app preference, change one thing at a time and retest.

Copyable report: “App: [name]. System: [Windows or Mac version, if known]. Displays: [number and arrangement]. Starting window: [size/position/state]. After closing and reopening: [what changed]. Control or preference tested: [name, or none]. Repeated result: [same/different].”

This describes the behavior without implying that every app supports saved placement. The cited guidance covers app-development recommendations and ways to arrange windows; it does not establish that a particular app has a persistence option or will restore a chosen layout.