Frequently asked questions

VirtualZones is a tiny native Windows app that splits one physical monitor into vertical zones that behave like separate monitors. Fullscreen or maximize any app and it snaps into its zone instead of taking over the whole display — so a video call, presentation, or fullscreen video stays boxed in one part of the screen while the rest stays yours.

No. It is a single ~180 KB native exe with zero dependencies — no virtual-display driver, no .NET runtime, no admin, and no install. The OS never knows your monitor was split.

It is an all-in-one replacement for PowerToys FancyZones (zone layouts + drag-to-snap), RegionToShare (share a single region), and a virtual-display splitter (fullscreen confinement) — in one small tool instead of three.

Windows 10 and Windows 11. It is a native Win32 app rendered with Direct2D, so there is no runtime to install.

Yes. Maximized windows, PowerPoint slideshows, borderless-fullscreen video players, and Firefox F11 all snap into their zone. Chrome and Edge F11 are the one exception — Chromium re-asserts full-monitor bounds, so maximize the browser instead.

VirtualZones exposes one zone as its own window in Zoom, Teams, or OBS’s native share picker, so you share exactly that region — with whatever is underneath it — instead of your whole screen. Toggle it with Ctrl+Alt+1 (or 2, 3…).

Yes. The FancyZones-style grid editor lets you click a shared border to merge two zones, or an internal line to split one apart. Save as many named layouts as you want; each shows up in the main layout dropdown.

By default zones fill the work area and leave the taskbar visible. Tick Cover taskbar to make zones span the full monitor instead.

There is a 7-day free trial with everything unlocked. After that you can subscribe for $1.99/month via the Microsoft Store, or buy a one-time $29.99 lifetime license via Lemon Squeezy.

Settings and window position keep working; only the confinement and snap features pause until you enter a license key. Nothing is deleted.

Yes. A lifetime license activates your device once, then quietly re-checks about every two weeks. If you are offline it keeps working for up to 30 days on the last successful check before asking you to reconnect.

The $29.99 lifetime license pays for itself versus the monthly plan in about 15 months and includes all future updates. The $1.99/month Microsoft Store plan is the lowest-commitment option and updates automatically through the Store.

No. Window confinement never captures or mirrors anything — every app renders natively at full speed. Only the opt-in Share Zone feature captures, and only the specific zone(s) you explicitly toggle on, streamed locally to your meeting app.

Only license activation/validation calls to the storefront, and update checks against the public releases repo. See the privacy page for exactly what is sent.

Chromium re-asserts full-monitor bounds indefinitely when it enters F11/HTML5 fullscreen, and blocks the in-process workaround. Maximize the browser window instead — that confines correctly.

That is Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, shown for any unsigned or low-reputation app — not a finding about VirtualZones specifically. Click More info → Run anyway, or install via the Microsoft Store to sidestep it.

The app resizes a window just after it goes fullscreen, so a single ~16 ms frame can flash before it snaps in. The maximize animation is suppressed to hide this for maximize; F11 may still flash one frame.