A different menu for every screen ratio
SpanWise groups screens by aspect ratio, not resolution. A 1920×1080 screen and a 4K screen are both 16:9 and therefore share one menu. Portrait, ultrawide and super-ultrawide displays can each have a different ordered set of layouts.
Start with screen ratios on the left
Section titled “Start with screen ratios on the left”Open Settings. SpanWise always shows five common ratios—16:9, 16:10, 21:9, 32:9 and 3:2—and automatically adds an uncommon connected ratio when needed. Each row shows how many matching displays are connected. Choose a ratio to see those displays by name and resolution.
Each standard ratio starts with useful choices for that shape. For example, 16:9 includes thirds and quarters, 21:9 includes centred ultrawide divisions, and 32:9 includes thirds, asymmetric three-column layouts and a full 6 × 2 grid. These are starting suggestions: you can remove them, add your own layouts and set a different order.
Use Add aspect ratio… to prepare a menu for a display that is not connected. Enter values such as 9:16 or 5:4; equivalent values are reduced automatically.
Resolution, Retina scale, vendor and cable arrangement do not create duplicate profiles. When the pointer is on a display, SpanWise selects the closest matching ratio profile for that display’s minimize-button menu.
Build the minimize-button menu
Section titled “Build the minimize-button menu”The rows under Minimize-button menu are exactly the choices that appear when you pause over the yellow button on any display with that ratio.
- Choose Add layout to include another preset.
- Choose Make default for Deal and keyboard control.
- Use the arrow buttons to set the exact menu order, or remove a non-default layout.
- Repeat only for the other ratios you use; matching screens already share the same choices.
This is why a 49-inch display can offer 5 × 2, 6 × 2 and 30 / 40 / 30 without cluttering the MacBook menu.
After choosing one of those cards at the minimize button, move the pointer across the screen overlay. The region under the pointer turns blue; click once to place the window. SpanWise does not need a separate palette button for every possible position, and ordinary window dragging never resizes anything.
Make layouts in one library
Section titled “Make layouts in one library”Open Layouts at the top of Settings. Create every custom layout there once. Enter relative values for its columns and rows: 30 / 40 / 30 makes a wider centre column, while 35 / 65 makes the bottom row taller than the top row. Drag the dividers directly in the large preview: vertical dividers change column widths, and each horizontal divider changes row heights only inside its own column. Exact values remain available below the preview, and Undo restores the previous edit.
Select a blue region in the large preview to split it again:
- Split side by side adds two columns inside the selected region;
- Split top and bottom adds two rows inside it;
- use the column and per-column row controls to make the regular grid asymmetric.
Built-in layouts are read-only, but Customize a copy turns one into an editable custom layout. Custom layouts can be renamed, reshaped or deleted. Deleting one also removes it from every ratio menu. Return to a ratio and choose Add layout to link a library layout to that menu.
Drag a divider, split a cell again, or type an exact ratio.
A practical ratio setup
Section titled “A practical ratio setup”| Ratio | Minimize-button menu | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 32:9 | 5 × 2, 30 / 40 / 30, Top 3 · Bottom 2 |
Terminals, mail, chat and monitoring |
| 16:9 | Thirds, Quarters, Golden | Browser, documents and preview |
| 9:16 | Stacked halves and thirds | Mail, chat and a long document |
| 16:10 or 3:2 | Halves, 60 / 40, Full |
Two focused windows without slivers |
Keep it the same on every Mac
Section titled “Keep it the same on every Mac”Leave Sync with iCloud enabled in General. Custom layouts, ratio profiles, every menu and its order, saved window sets, app rules, shortcuts and your valid registration are stored in your private iCloud key-value store. Another Mac on the same Apple Account receives those choices and applies them to its matching screen ratios.