Windows 10: Snap view gets smarter and Snap Assist really helps

Windows 10 Snap Assist

Although snapping apps in Windows has been around for years, users will really notice the new improvements Microsoft is including in Windows 10. For starters, because Universal apps now float freely on the desktop, you can more pleasantly snap these apps with traditional desktop applications.

Windows 10 now also lets you snap up to four apps making use of all corners, making the operating system more suitable to work with multiple applications.

Four apps snapped in Windows 10

Perhaps the most important change is the new Snap Assist, which as the name implies is a helper that will appear when you have multiple windows open and you start using snapping. While dragging a new window to either one of the corners of the screen, Snap Assist will be triggered suggesting what to snap next with a list of apps you can choose from.

Snap Assist, File Explorer and Universal apps

Snap view in Windows 10 also understands how to snap apps. Let me explain: Before you could only snap up to two apps, each one using half size of the screen. Now you can snap and resize an app using 75% of the screen and the following app you snap will automatically fill the remaining 25%.

Snapping different sizes of apps

Like in previous versions of Windows, you still can the use Windows 8 Key + Arrows to snap, but now you can use left and right, up and down arrows to snap in all corners. The only problem with the new Snap view in the Technical Preview is that it doesn’t always play well with Universal apps, as some of them won’t fit in one of the quadrant, like the Windows Store. I also notice that Snap Assist doesn’t triggered using the arrow keys, only when dragging apps to the corners. And Universal apps won’t snap while they are in Full screen mode.

How do you like the improvements on Snap view?

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.