Window layouts for Windows 10 & 11
Your windows, back where they belong.
DeskScene saves your open windows as scenes – position, size, monitor – and puts every one of them back with a click, a hotkey, or automatically when you dock your laptop.
Watch it put everything back.
DeskScene at a glance
- to put 10 windows back in place
- < 1.5 s
- memory while it waits in the tray
- 31 MB
- CPU when idle
- < 0.1 %
Measured on 21 October 2026 on a Windows 11 PC (x64), DeskScene 2.0 in the tray.
01 How it works
Three ways back.
- 01
Click
Pick a scene in the window or in the tray flyout. Every window jumps to its place, on every monitor.
- 02
Hotkey
Give each scene a global shortcut like Ctrl+Alt+1. Works from any app, even with DeskScene in the tray.
- 03
Automatically
Dock or undock and DeskScene loads the scene for that monitor setup – or the last snapshot of it.
02 Scenes
Every layout you use, one click away.
A scene is a saved arrangement: which apps, which monitor, which size, maximized or not. The gallery shows each one as a thumbnail of your real monitors, so you recognize “Deep Work” before you read its name.
- Filter by monitor setup, search by name or app
- Hotkey, last use and “loads when undocked” at a glance
- “Right now” shows your current layout – save it as a scene in one step
Editor
Drag windows on a map of your monitors.
The editor draws your monitors where they really are. Drag a window to move its saved position – even to another monitor – or pull its corner to resize it. It snaps to edges, halves and thirds; hold Shift to place it freely.
- “Update from now” takes the current positions of the open windows
- Saved for another setup? Loading places windows on the closest monitors
- Changes save themselves, Ctrl+Z takes them back
Auto-restore
Undock, dock – and everything is back.
When a monitor disappears, Windows piles its windows onto the screen that is left, and it never moves them back. DeskScene takes a snapshot every few minutes and before docking, sleep and lock. The moment monitors start changing, it freezes the snapshots, waits until the new setup is stable and then puts the windows back.
- Link a scene to a setup: “Laptop only” loads when you undock
- Without a linked scene, the last snapshot of that setup comes back
- The history shows everything DeskScene did on its own
Command line
From a Stream Deck, a script or the taskbar.
Every scene can be loaded from outside DeskScene. One click creates a desktop shortcut; pin it to the taskbar or point a Stream Deck button at it. Scripts and the Task Scheduler call DeskScene directly and get an exit code back.
deskscene --load "Deep Work"Also: --restore-last, --snapshot, --list, --focus / --no-focus
Commands and exit codes
Start apps
Opens what is missing – with the right arguments.
If an app of the scene is not running, DeskScene can start it and wait for its window before placing it. Give each app what it should open – a folder, a file, a URL – and, if it needs it, run it as administrator. Apps that are already open are moved, never started twice.
- Launch arguments and working directory per app
- “Run as administrator” per app (Windows asks every time)
- Up to 20 s for slow apps, all started in parallel
- Websites open as tabs in a new browser window
03 And also
The small things that add up.
- 01
Focus mode
After loading, every window that is not part of the scene is minimized. Undo brings exactly those windows back.
- 02
Lives in the tray
A left click shows all scenes and the switches for auto-restore and focus mode; a right click the classic menu with “Restore last layout”.
- 03
Tells your desks apart
Monitor setups are recognized by the EDID ids of their monitors – two desks with the same resolutions stay two setups.
- 04
A history of what it did
Every snapshot and every automatic load is listed, so you can see what DeskScene did on its own.
- 05
Desktop shortcuts
One click puts a shortcut for a scene on the desktop. Pin it to the taskbar or point a Stream Deck button at it.
- 06
Administrator apps
Windows of apps that run as administrator are detected and reported – with “Restart DeskScene as administrator and load”.
- 07
Websites as tabs
Websites of a scene open as tabs in a new browser window.
- 08
Undo in the editor
Changes save themselves, Ctrl+Z takes them back.
- 09
Brings DeskScene 1 along
On the first start your profiles, hotkeys and monitor profiles become scenes. The version 1 files are only read, never changed.
04 Compare
DeskScene, PowerToys Workspaces and DisplayFusion.
All three can put windows back. They differ in what starts the restore, what happens to apps that are already open, and what they cost.
| DeskScene 2 | PowerToys Workspaces | DisplayFusion Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saves the positions of a set of windows | Yes | Yes1 | Yes3 |
| Starts apps that are not running | Yes | Yes1 | No – window position profiles only move windows that are already open3 |
| Loading again while the apps are open | Moves the open windows, never starts a second instance | Moves them only with “Move existing windows” on; otherwise some apps open a new instance1 | Moves the open windows3 |
| Global hotkey per layout | Yes | No – one shortcut opens the editor1 | Yes3 |
| Desktop shortcut / command line | Both (deskscene --load) | Desktop shortcut1 | Command line tool4 |
| Restores after docking or undocking | Automatically (linked scene or last snapshot) | No – only when you launch a workspace2 | With monitor profiles and triggers5 |
| Launch arguments / run as administrator | Per app / per app | Per app / per app1 | – |
| Price | €9.99 once, 15-day trial | Free, open source (MIT)6 | Pro license from US$34, 30-day trial; window position profiles are Pro only7 |
As of 21 October 2026, according to the vendors’ documentation. Products change – the sources:
05 Local by design
Everything stays on your PC.
No cloud, no account
There is no server on the other end and nothing to sign in to.
No telemetry
DeskScene does not measure how you use it and has nothing to report back.
Scenes are JSON files
Readable, editable, easy to back up – in your own AppData folder.
Network only when you ask
The Microsoft Store license check, and the websites you add to a scene.
Where your data lives
- Scenes
%AppData%\DeskScene\v2\scenes\- Snapshots
%AppData%\DeskScene\v2\snapshots\- Settings, setups
%AppData%\DeskScene\v2\settings.json- Logs (7 days)
%LocalAppData%\DeskScene\logs\
The Store version keeps %AppData% inside its package folder (…\Packages\Deskscene.DeskScene_…\LocalCache\Roaming). Settings → “Open data folder” takes you there.
06 Guides
Window trouble on Windows, explained.
- Windows move to the wrong monitor after sleepWhy a sleeping screen scatters your layout, and the five fixes in order.
- How to save a window layout on Windows 11What Snap Groups and virtual desktops remember, and how to script the rest yourself.
- Getting your windows back after undocking a laptopThe dock-specific version: what breaks, and why re-docking is a race.
- Snap Layouts and FancyZones: what they rememberAn honest comparison of the free options before you pay for anything.
07 Price
Try it for 15 days. Then buy it once.
Sold by Microsoft through the Microsoft Store. After the trial your scenes stay visible and editable; loading them needs the full version.
€9.99
one-time · no subscription
- Every feature, from the first day of the trial
- All 2.x updates included
- 15-day free trial through the Microsoft Store
- No account at DeskScene – your Microsoft account is enough
08 FAQ
Before you decide.
Does DeskScene work with virtual desktops?
Not in version 2.0. DeskScene saves and moves the windows of the virtual desktop you are on; windows on other virtual desktops are left alone, and a scene does not remember which desktop a window belonged to.
Can it move windows of apps that run as administrator?
Not while DeskScene runs normally: Windows does not let a program move the windows of an app with higher rights (User Interface Privilege Isolation). DeskScene detects this and reports “Blocked: runs as administrator”. One click on “Restart DeskScene as administrator and load” restarts it with administrator rights and loads the scene.
I have two desks with the same monitors. Can DeskScene tell them apart?
Yes. DeskScene recognizes a monitor setup by the EDID ids of its monitors, not only by their number and resolution. Two desks with identical resolutions are two different setups, each with its own scene and its own snapshots.
What happens when I close the laptop lid?
With the lid closed, the laptop screen leaves the setup and Windows reports only the external monitors. DeskScene treats that as a setup of its own: link a scene to it, or let auto-restore bring back its last snapshot.
How do I move my scenes to a new PC?
Close DeskScene on both PCs, copy the folder %AppData%\DeskScene\v2 (Settings → “Open data folder”) to the same place on the new PC and start DeskScene. The monitors of the new PC have other ids, so link your scenes to the new setups once; until then scenes load onto the closest monitors.
How is this different from Snap Layouts?
Snap Layouts help you place the window you are dragging right now, and Windows forgets the group as soon as a window closes. DeskScene remembers whole arrangements – which apps, which monitor, which size – and brings them back on demand or after docking. Use both: snap windows into place, then save the result as a scene.
How does the trial work?
Install DeskScene from the Microsoft Store and use everything for 15 days, free. After that your scenes stay visible and editable, but loading them (click, hotkey, tray, command line), auto-restore and focus mode need the full version: €9.99 once, all 2.x updates included.
I use DeskScene 1. What happens to my profiles?
DeskScene 2 is an update in the same Store listing. On its first start it imports your profiles as scenes, together with their hotkeys and monitor profiles. The version 1 files are only read, never changed.
Try it free for 15 days.
Every feature from the first day. After that €9.99 once – no subscription, no account at DeskScene.