Open Window moves sideways off screen - how to get it back?

krs


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Hi,
Running a 2012 Mini with El Capitan

Very sporadically and for no obvious reason, I occasionally have an open window on my monitor move sideways off the sceen - sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right.

It seems to happen at random, but only (I think) when I open another file.

Just now I had a window open in Firefox, when I then opened a file sitting in a folder on my desktop, the open Rirefox window disappeared off the screen to the right.
I tried various ways to bring it back, going through each one of the function keys, but no luck.

This time, because I was watching for it, I brought it back by selecting Firefox again in the dock, but often I don't know what application the window that disappeared is associated with to bring it back.

I assume this is a new feature that was introduced between SL and El Cap, for me it's just an annoyance.

Any suggestions what is going on and how I can turn that off?
 
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That can happen if your fingers brush the trackpad. Here is Apple's article on trackpad gestures: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204895

To get it back depends on where it happens. In Safari, if the page went right, you can click on the ">" symbol on the top bar of Safari to go forward to the page you slid to the right.
If it's a desktop swap, either left or right, it's three fingers on the trackpad to move left/right on the screen to another desktop. Desktops can be controlled by a four finger swipe up on the trackpad. All available desktops will be on the top of the resulting screen. You can click on the desktop you want, or the "+" to add another desktop.
 
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krs

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That can happen if your fingers brush the trackpad. Here is Apple's article on trackpad gestures: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204895
To get it back depends on where it happens.

Thanks Jake, but ...........

I'm using a Mini as mentioned in my post - no trackpad.

I also don't necessarily know which application opened the window that disappears off the screen.
I just want to turn this annoyance off completely.

Maybe I wasn't clear enough in my post - the problem is not within an application which I think is what you are assuming, last time it happened when I opened a file that was on the desktop and a window that I had already opened in Firefox vanished off the screen.
 
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That happens occasionally while using my Magic Mouse. Sometimes I inadvertently "swipe" while using it. If it bothers you, you can turn off gestures in System Preferences > Mouse. Turn off unwanted gestures. Also, another thing is to look to see it your have "Mission Control" enabled, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204100.
 
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In addition to what Bob said, there are keyboard combinations to open different desktops. And if a given application is set to open on, say Desktop 2, and you are Desktop 1, when you click on the document to open it, the view will shift to Desktop 2. You can control that by eliminating all other desktops and having just one through Mission Control. That limits the functionality of macOS, but will stop the changing.
 
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That happens occasionally while using my Magic Mouse. Sometimes I inadvertently "swipe" while using it. If it bothers you, you can turn off gestures in System Preferences > Mouse. Turn off unwanted gestures. Also, another thing is to look to see it your have "Mission Control" enabled, https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204100.

These is my mouse preference panel - no option for gestures to change or turn off

Mouse Preferences.jpg
 
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In addition to what Bob said, there are keyboard combinations to open different desktops. And if a given application is set to open on, say Desktop 2, and you are Desktop 1, when you click on the document to open it, the view will shift to Desktop 2. You can control that by eliminating all other desktops and having just one through Mission Control. That limits the functionality of macOS, but will stop the changing.

I upgraded from Snow Leopard to El Capitan.
Mission Control I don't think was a SL capability - so mission control setup should be the default one.
The MC system preference panel is below - anythin "funny" there?

Remember, this happens very sporadically, sometimes not for days.

I have see if I can somehow pin down what triggers it each time.

BTW - the F- keys shown in the Mission Control preference panel don't at all match the symbols on my Mac keyboard.

On the keyboard,
F9 is Fast Forward
F10 is mute volume
F11 is lower volume
F12 is increase volume

Mission Control Preferences.jpg
 
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Yes, Spaces are Desktops. F3 is, on my MBP, the Mission Control key, with a set of three little rectangles on the key itself.

I don't see anything strange. What mouse are you using with the Mini?
 
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Yeah,

On the keyboard:
F3 is Mission Control
F4 is Application Window
F5 is Desktop
None of the function keys on the keyboard bring up the Dashboard

I wonder if I should change the keyboard shortcuts in the MC panel to match what's on the keyboard.

The mouse I used was a Logitech MX510 until it became intermittent because the USB cable has an internal break.
Happened once before and I changed the cable. Now waiting for replacement cables for that mouse which I rather like.

Right now I'm using a model 23415 mouse with the Staples name on it.
But I doubt the mouse is the problem - I had the same issue with the Logitech mouse until the cable became intermittent.

I do have some other "mouses"; I'll switch to a Logitech M100 to see if that makes a difference.
Trouble is that this issue is so intermittent that I won't be able to tell if changing the mouse makes any difference.
 
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Mouse doesn't matter. Once you move away from a mouse with a touch surface like the BT Magic Mouse or the USB Magic mouse, the options are reduced for you. Maybe somebody with that mouse can help you with whatever gestures it can support, but I cannot, I don't use Logitech.

The Dashboard is set to display as a Space (another Desktop in *Nix terms). So you invoke Mission Control with the F3 key and one of the options on the top bar on the screen is "Dashboard." That's how to get there.

Here is my setting. I don't use MC much. I use a trackpad and the swipe to change Spaces.
2019-02-25 04.07.29 pm.png
 
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Mouse doesn't matter. Once you move away from a mouse with a touch surface like the BT Magic Mouse or the USB Magic mouse, the options are reduced for you. Maybe somebody with that mouse can help you with whatever gestures it can support, but I cannot, I don't use Logitech.

I don't think the mouse supports any gestures (like a trackpad or equivalent)

It's just one step up from the original Mac hockey puck mouse or the single buttom Mac white mouse.
The Logitech M100 has a right and left button plus a scroll wheel - that's it
The Logitech MX 510 has two additional buttons on the side but they were more of a hinderance than a help.
 
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Some mice have a scroll ball on top, those can support gestures because of the side to side rolling. But the trackpad is the best for gestures because you can manipulate with one, two, three or four fingers and it adjusts to the number. Pretty handy once you learn the gestures.
 
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These is my mouse preference panel - no option for gestures to change or turn off
It seems you are not using an Apple Magic Mouse. If you were, you would have options for "gestures".
 
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Just happened again - most annoying since I still don't know what causes it and how to get the windows back again.

Most comments about this problem, and there are a lot of them via google, seem to relate to the problem when an external monitor was or is attached.
But for me it's happening on a Mini running El Capitan.
I never had a second monitor attached, the mouse is a simple as they come, two buttons and a scroll wheel, but no other options on the mouse at all.

As I mentioned before, very sporadic - hasn't happened for weeks until just now and I use that Mac several hours each day.
 
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Just happened again - most annoying since I still don't know what causes it and how to get the windows back again.


Any chance that using command+Z right after the window moves would bring it back to where it was???

Actually, I have had the same problem happened, but very sporadically, even using Mavericks 10.9.5 on my iMac and no extra attachments.



- Patrick
======
 
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I just thought I knew what was causing it - opened a file in a folder on my desktop, then launched Acrobat pro 9, selected
File > Combine > Merfe Files into a single pdf

That caused the open window with the file to disappear to the left.
Tried that a second time - same problem
Tried it a third time - NO problem
Tried it a fourth time - NO problem again

I'm thinking if the problem really relates to Acrobat, then the position of the open window makes a difference.

As to "Command+Z" - I will try that next time I have the problem, but same as for you - this happens rather infrequently for, at least so far, no apparent reason.
 
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I think you are running into Spaces, which came in Lion. Here is a pretty good article on it: https://www.wikihow.com/Use-Spaces-on-Mac-OS-X

And this is Apple's documentation on Spaces: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204100

Basically, it's different desktops, which on a trackpad are seen with a three-finger swipe up. Without a trackpad it's the F3 key. And if you have multiple Spaces, the movement between them is also a trackpad movement, but without the trackpad the only option is the F3 key and then click on the space you want.

When some apps open, if the option to Open on a certain desktop is selected, the system will shift to that desktop. You can see this setting by right clicking on the icon on the Dock, then Options and look at the Assign to section. Also, in System Preferences, under Mission Control, there is a set of options for how spaces are used. You can experiment with the settings to see if you can make the problem go away.
 
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Thanks Jake,

I think you're right - I'm somehow into "Spaces" but I still don't know how I get there in the first place.
Seems "Spaces" in El Camino still has a few bugs.....

The Apple documentation states:
Use any of these methods to open Mission Control:

Swipe up with three or four fingers on your Multi-Touch trackpad or Magic Trackpad.
Double-tap the surface of your Magic Mouse with two fingers.
Click Mission Control in the Dock or Launchpad.
Press the Mission Control key on your Apple keyboard, or press Control–Up Arrow.
In OS X El Capitan, drag a window to the top of the screen.

Mission Control shows the Spaces bar at the top of the screen, and below it all of the windows that are open on your desktop.

The touchbar or Magic Mouse options obviously don't apply to me, but only the "F3" key option works to access Mission Control and thus spaces
The "control + up arrow" does nothing and "dragging a window to the top of the screen doesn't do anything either.

Hoever, "control + right arrow" and "control + left arrow" do show me the two other desktops.
Seems like those two are defaults - the one on the left is the Dashboard, the one on the right is the desktop by itself (with no other open window)
So this "control + right arrow/left arrow" might let me recover when this happens again.
But I will try Patrick's suggestion as well.

PS: People on line complain that they have this problem - desktop disappearing to right or left, with Snow Leopard as well even though this feature was only introduced with Lion.
I ran Snow Leopard on a half dozen different types of Macs for several years - never saw that problem.
 
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Yep, you would not see it in SL. It was introduced in Lion, I think. Don't remember what was before that. (Long time ago, brain cells got recycled.)

The desktop to the right can be used for an application, if you want. It's particularly useful if you run apps full screen--open on on the left desktop, one on the right and move back and forth between them.
 
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This issue just reared its ugly head again.

I don't think this is exactly Mission Control.
Mission Control will show all the different desktops on the screen and then one can select the one one wishes to work with.

What I get is the desktop with a window suddenly moving to the left for no apparent reason.

What I was doing is combining a dozen pdf files into a single pdf file.
So I had the folder "X" open with the various pdf files in it that I wanted to combine
I then opened the Acrobat window where one drags the pdf files one wishes to combine and when I dragged the first pdf file from folder "X" to the Acrobat window, that window disappeared to the left off screen.
So now I have one desktop with folder "X" open and a different desktop (same desktop items) but with the Acrobat window open.

I can move from on desktop to the other using ctr and the arrow keys, if I hit the ctr & left arrow one more time I get to the dashboard.
I can move between dashboard and the two desktops till the cows come home, but none of the suggestions posted here wil get the two open windows back on the same desktop.

Then I looked for an option to turn Mission Control off if that is really causing the problem, but I found no such option in Mission Control preferences.

BTW - I'm running El Camino on a late 2012 Mini.

Any suggestions what i causing this and how to turn off whatever....
 

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