How to click anywhere in a window to move it around on macOS Monterey

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How to click anywhere in a window to move it around on macOS Monterey

This guide will show how you can configure macOS Monterey to support window drag and drop operations from anywhere in the view and not just from the menu bar at the top.

Introduction

If you are familiar with Linux desktop environments, then you probably already know that it is possible to move windows around by selecting them anywhere in their active area.

macOS, on the other hand, does not have this feature enabled by default. Fortunately, with some command line trickery, this feature can be enabled directly from within the Terminal.

Here is how to do it.

Enable window dragging

Open a new Terminal either via the Launchpad or Spotlight Search.

Type the following command, followed by the Enter key.

defaults write -g NSWindowShouldDragOnGesture -bool true  

Restart your Mac for the changes to take effect.

Moving the window

If you hold down the Control⌃ and Command⌘ keys simultaneously, you can now left-click anywhere in the window to move it around.

You can easily see that the command is working because the window will bounce for half a second when you select it.

Disable window dragging

If you decide that you no longer wish to use this feature, simply type the following command in the Terminal, followed by the Enter key.

defaults delete -g NSWindowShouldDragOnGesture

Restart your Mac for the changes to take effect.

Limitations

One of the reasons why Apple has not enabled this option by default is because not all applications support this feature. For most day-to-day tasks you should be fine, but in some apps you might notice that nothing happens when you press the keyboard shortcuts.

Summary

This guide has shown how can configure macOS Monterey to support window drag and drop operations from anywhere in the active view and not just from the top menu bar.

Article updated: 25 November, 2023