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Sometimes when using a multimonitor
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setup on Windows a strange issue can
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happen where an application window opens
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on a screen that no longer exists. This
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often occurs after disconnecting a
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secondary monitor. You might notice that
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when you launch an application that was
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previously displayed on that second
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monitor still tries to open in the same
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position as before on that now
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disconnected display. is a completely
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invisible window. The application is
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running but you cannot see it or
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interact with it using your mouse. It
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seems like it disappeared or is frozen.
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But the problem is simply that it open
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outside your visible screen area. For
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example, after working with a dual
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monitor setup and disconnecting the
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external display, you might start an app
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and notice no appears. You know the
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application has started maybe because
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you hear sounds or see its icon in the
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task bar but you cannot find the window
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anywhere. If you go into the system
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display settings and click on the detect
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option, Windows will confirm that there
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is only one monitor currently connected.
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Still, for some reason, Windows
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remembers the previous window position
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and opens the program in a location that
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is no longer reachable. The situation is
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frustrating, especially the application
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does not give you any way to move it
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back to your visible screen. Right
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clicking the task bar may not help and
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trying to drag it with the mouse will
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not work if the window is not visible at
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all. Even annoying is that there is no
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move option when you try to interact
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with the application using traditional
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methods. However, the good news is that
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there is a simple and reliable solution.
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that works on Windows 11 and preview
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version as well. The first step is to
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make sure the application window is
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selected and active even if it is not
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visible. You can do this by using the
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keyboard shortcut alt plus tab. Press
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and all the alt key. Then tap the tab
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key until you highlight the application
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window that you want to bring back into
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view. Once that window is selected and
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active also still invisible you can
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proceed to the next step. With the
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hidden window now activated press the
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alt key and the space bar together on
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your keyboard. This will boing up the
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windows control menu for that specific
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window. Even though you cannot see the
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window itself, this menu will appear and
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it will allow you to perform basic
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actions like restore, move, minimize,
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maximize or close. At this stage it
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might be tempting to choose the move
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option but in most cases, pressing move
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and trying to drag the window using the
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mouse will not work. Since the window is
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located on a non-existent screen, the
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move command will do nothing and you
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will still not see the window. Even
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instead of using move the more effective
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method is to use the maximize option.
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When you press alt plus space and then
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select maximize windows will force the
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application to take up the entire screen
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on your currently active display. This
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makes the window visible again and
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usable. The application will appear
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maximized on your main screen even
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though it was previously stuck on a
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screen that no longer exists. You can
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now see and interact with the
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application as normal. Once the
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application window is maximized and
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visible, you may want to return it to
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its original size and move it around
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freely. To lose this, simply left click
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on the title bar of the window, hold
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down the left mouse button and drag the
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window around the screen. This will
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resize it to its previous form and allow
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you to place it on your main display.
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From this spont the application should
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remember its new position and open
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correctly the next time you launch it
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even without the second monitor
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connected. It is important to remember
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that if you try to double click the
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maximize or minimize buttons before
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moving the window back to your main
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screen, the window might minimize again
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to that invisible position on the ghost
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screen. This is why it is better to
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follow the exact sequence. First bring
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up the window is alt plus tabs then use
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alt plus space to access the menu.
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Choose maximize and finally reposition
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the window using the mouse if needed.
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This method is simple, efficient and
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works without the need for any extra
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software or system restart. It allows
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you to recover access to applications
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that appear to be missing but are simply
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off screen. This can happen with many
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types of software special is that
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remembers their last position and size
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on a multiple monitor setup. Knowing
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this keyboard trick can save you time
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and frustration whenever a window
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disappears unexpectedly. So in summary,
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if an application window seems to be
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missing after you disconnect monitor,
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don't panque. Use alt tab to activate
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it, alt space to open the control menu
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and select maximize to bring it back
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into view. Then if needed, click and
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drag to reposition it. With this steps,
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you can quickly solve the issue and
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continue working without interruption.
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This is a useful trick. Every Windows 11
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user should know especially IOS who
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often switch between single and multiple
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monitor configurations.
