The Bothersome Maximize Button
Windows 11 introduced an excellent window management feature called “Snap Layouts.” This allows you to easily snap multiple windows into perfect grids on your monitor. However, the way Microsoft chose to expose this feature is highly intrusive. By default, whenever you casually move your mouse cursor over the “Maximize” button (the middle square icon in the top right corner of any window), a massive grey pop-up box appears displaying several different grid layouts. If you frequently use your mouse to manually resize or move windows, you will constantly trigger this massive visual block by accident. If you prefer to manage your windows using traditional keyboard shortcuts (like Windows Key + Arrows) or dragging them to the edges of the screen, you can permanently disable the hover pop-up.
How to Turn Off the Snap Layouts Pop-up
You can disable the hover trigger without completely removing the underlying snapping functionality from the operating system.
- Click the Start Menu and type Settings, or press the Windows Key + I.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on System.
- In the main window, click on Multitasking.
- Look for the master toggle switch labeled Snap windows. Do not turn the master switch off, or you will completely break your ability to drag windows to the edge of the screen.
- Instead, click the small downward arrow on the right side of the “Snap windows” box to expand the advanced menu.
- Uncheck the box labeled “Show snap layouts when I hover over a window’s maximize button”.
A Cleaner Experience
The change takes effect instantly. You can test it by opening a new File Explorer window and resting your mouse cursor directly on top of the maximize button. The button will simply highlight slightly to indicate it is clickable, but the massive grey grid menu will no longer appear, allowing you to manage your desktop without visual interference.