How to disable vertical maximizing of windows in Windows 10

The Aero Snap feature which appeared in Windows 7, allows you to manage opened windows easily. It has a number of features, one of which, is the ability to maximize an open window vertically by double clicking on the window's top edge. This behavior exists in Windows 10 and Windows 8 as well. Windows allows turning off Aero Snap completely via Ease of Access Center but offers no fine tuning over it. Turning off Aero Snap disables drag-to-top to maximize, drag-from-maximize to restore, drag-to-side-edges to snap and this vertical maximize feature - it's an all or none switch. If you want to keep Aero Snap on but only disable vertical maximizing of windows, in this article we will see how it can be done.

If you never tried vertically maximizing a window, you can test it as follows:

1. Open any window. A File Explorer window is suitable. Make sure it is not maximized already.
2. Double click on the top edge where the point turns into a double headed arrow, to vertically maximize it. The result will be as follows:

Option one: use a simple Registry tweak

To disable vertical maximizing of a window in Windows 10, you have to follow the instructions below:

1. Open Registry Editor.
2. Go to the following Registry key:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

   Tip: You can access any desired Registry key with one click.

3. Modify the string value named SnapSizing. By default, it has a value data of 1. You need to set it to 0 as shown below:
4. Sign out from your Windows 10 account and sign in back for the changes to take effect. Restarting Explorer is not enough.

Now, when you double click on the top edge of any window, it won't be maximized vertically! You can still drag a non-maximized window to the top edge to fully maximize it or to the left and right edges to snap it! You can also double click its title bar to fully maximize it. To restore the default behavior, set the mentioned SnapSizing string value back to 1 and re-login to your Windows session.

Option two: use Winaero Tweaker

With Winaero Tweaker 0.3.2.2, it is possible to easily customize the Snap behavior using a graphical interface. Tick the option "Disable vertical maximizing" under the page Behavior - Disable Aero Snap. This change will be applied instantly. No reboot is required.

This works on Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7.

That's it.

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