Window Layout Snap Manager for Multitasking

Multitasking on a single screen usually means alt-tabbing between overlapping windows or manually resizing each one into place — a small but constant tax on focus, especially during coding, research or viva preparation. Operating systems ship basic snapping, but it is limited: no named multi-window presets, no per-application rules, no saved layouts for different tasks. This utility builds the missing layer. Dragging a window near an edge, corner or screen third lights up a snap zone; releasing drops the window into it with a smooth animation. Named presets (Coding, Research, Triple-column, Focus, Review) arrange every open window at once, auto-layout rules pin application types to zones automatically, and hotkeys drive everything without the mouse. Layouts can be saved and restored per task, so "exam prep" and "project demo" are each one keystroke away. The demo replicates the full experience in the browser: draggable windows, live zone highlighting, animated snapping and the preset/rule panels.

1. The utility hooks window-drag events from the OS window manager (or simulates the desktop in the demo build).
2. While dragging, the cursor position is tested against the snap-zone map — halves, thirds, quadrants and maximize strip.
3. The matching zone highlights; on release, the window's geometry is animated to the zone rectangle and tagged as snapped.
4. Presets are stored as zone assignments per window role; applying one iterates over open windows and snaps each to its zone.
5. Auto-layout rules match new windows by application name or window class and snap them per the rule table.
6. Saved layouts serialize window identifiers and zone assignments to disk and restore them on demand.
7. Hotkeys are registered globally so snapping works regardless of which application has focus.

Tech stack:

• Python 3 (desktop build)
• OS window-manager APIs (Win32 / X11)
• Global hotkey registration
• JSON layout serialization
• Single-file web demo (HTML/CSS/JS)
• Git

• [Drag-to-snap zones] Dragging a window near edges, corners or thirds highlights the target zone; release snaps the window into it with animation.
• [One-click layout presets] Coding, Research, Triple-column, Focus and Review presets arrange all open windows instantly — also bound to Win+1…5.
• [Auto-layout rules] Per-application rules (terminals to the bottom strip, browsers left, meeting windows top-right floating) apply automatically on launch.
• [Hotkey control] Full keyboard operation: snap halves/quarters, maximize, apply presets and save layouts without touching the mouse.
• [Saved layouts] Name and store window arrangements per task and restore them later, across sessions.
• [Live zone overlay] A toggleable overlay shows every snap zone and its label so the layout language is always discoverable.
• [Snap animation] Windows glide to their snapped position instead of jumping, with a brief "snapped" badge confirming the action.
• [Multi-window awareness] Presets reason about all open windows at once rather than one window at a time.

• Complete utility source code (Python)
• Design document (zone map, rule engine, hotkey table, layout format)
• Working web demo with draggable windows and live snapping
• Project report PDF (background, window-manager concepts, methodology)
• PPT presentation for final review
• Viva Q&A preparation document (window managers, event hooks, geometry, UX)

• The shipped desktop build targets Windows and X11 Linux; Wayland and macOS need platform-specific code listed as future scope.
• The browser demo simulates the desktop — real OS window hooks ship in the Python application.
• Snapping requires the OS to permit window repositioning; some fullscreen-exclusive apps opt out.
• Multi-monitor zone mapping is supported in design but tested on single-monitor setups in the base build.