Why the six-window layout is not showing on your Mac
Short answer: the six-window grid is offered only on screens at least 1,800 points wide — roughly a 27-inch monitor or an ultrawide. On a laptop display the layout chooser shows five layouts instead of six. The limit is there because most apps refuse to be made very narrow: Chrome will not go below about 500 points, so six columns on a laptop screen would overlap rather than tile. Control-Option-6 still tiles six windows on any screen if you want to try it.
On this page
Where the grid appears
Drag a window to the top of the screen and Okie Dockie shows a row of layouts. On a large screen there are six cards, the last being a three-by-two grid for six windows. On a smaller screen there are five, and the grid is left out.
It is decided per screen, as you drag. With a laptop and a monitor connected, the same window shows six cards when dragged to the top of the monitor and five on the laptop screen.
How to check your screen size
Points are not pixels: a Retina screen draws two pixels for each point, so a 2,560-pixel Retina display is 1,280 points wide. What matters is the size macOS is drawing at:
- Open System Settings → Displays and select the screen.
- Look at the resolution it is using. Options read either as a size, such as 2560 × 1440, or as Larger Text … More Space.
- The number shown for a scaled setting — "looks like 2560 × 1440" — is the width in points. 1,800 or more, and the grid appears.
As a guide: a 27-inch monitor at its usual setting is 2,560 points and gets the grid. A 13-inch or 14-inch MacBook is around 1,470 to 1,560 points and does not. A 16-inch MacBook at "More Space" can cross the line.
Why the limit exists
Apps set their own minimum window size, and no window manager can go below it. Chrome refuses to be narrower than about 500 points. Six columns would therefore need about 3,000 points across, which even a 27-inch monitor does not have — so on a large screen the grid works with most apps, but with six Chrome windows even that is tight, and on a laptop screen it is impossible.
When windows cannot fit, they overlap and the shared edges cannot be dragged. Rather than offer a layout that breaks, Okie Dockie leaves it out where it cannot work.
What to use on a laptop screen
- Four quarters — two across and two down. Comfortable on a laptop with most apps.
- Three columns — good for narrow apps such as Notes, Finder or a terminal. Three Chrome windows will not fit on a laptop screen.
- One left, two right — one main window with two smaller ones beside it.
- Control-Option-6 — tiles six windows on any screen, including a laptop. Apps that cannot get narrow enough will overlap, which is why it is not offered as a card.
If it still does not appear
- Check you are dragging to the large screen, not the laptop one. The chooser belongs to the screen the pointer is on.
- Check Snap layouts is on in the Okie Dockie menu.
- Check the screen's resolution setting. A monitor set to "Larger Text" can be under 1,800 points even though the screen is physically large. Choose a setting with more space.
- Update Okie Dockie. The grid arrived in version 2.2; the version is at the bottom of its menu.
Get every Chrome profile into your Dock
Okie Dockie builds a real Dock icon for each Chrome profile you use, badged with that profile's own picture. Click one and you land back in the window it already had open.
Everything except Chrome profile icons is free forever, and the profile icons come with a 7-day free trial that starts on its own — no sign-up, no card. macOS 13+, Apple Silicon and Intel.
Frequently asked questions
Why can I only see five layouts?
The six-window grid is offered on screens at least 1,800 points wide. A laptop display is usually smaller, so five layouts are shown.
How do I arrange six windows on a MacBook screen?
Press Control-Option-6. It tiles six windows on any screen, though apps that cannot be made narrow, such as Chrome, will overlap.
What size monitor do I need for the six-window layout?
A screen macOS is drawing at 1,800 points or wider — in practice a 27-inch monitor at its usual setting, an ultrawide, or a 16-inch MacBook set to More Space.
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