Google Plus user François Beaufort appears to have stumbled on a new Chrome OS feature in the works that will make working with external displays much less difficult in the future. The feature effectively allows users to connect an external display, move windows to that, and then to have them automatically migrate when disconnecting or reconnecting from or to an external display. Of course, it goes without saying that the feature is only currently available on the Dev Channel of Google’s operating system and it won’t necessarily find its way to the consumer-ready stable channel. As is almost always the case, it also requires a hidden setting to be tweaked via the Chrome OS hidden settings at the chrome://flags URL. So, less tech-savvy users may want to avoid checking it out for now.
For those who are feeling a bit more adventurous or already on the Dev Channel, the setting is easy enough to get to. Users simply need to navigate to chrome://flags and search for “persistent window bounds” or navigate to chrome://flags/#ash-enable-persistent-window-bounds. After enabling the feature, a restart is required. While that should enable users to move between external display configurations and the built-in display more easily, it reportedly doesn’t work for every user or Chromebook. That will almost certainly change if the change is brought to the Stable Channel. So users shouldn’t be too worried if it isn’t working on their device just yet but there’s no way to know if or when the feature will move out of the testing phase.
This type of feature will undoubtedly be useful for consumers in the enterprise market or in the development sector of the tech market. Moving between externally connected displays is common in those areas for business presentations or for having multiple apps and windows open simultaneously. As things currently stand, a user needs to waste precious time moving windows around manually when connecting or disconnecting an external display, which can be a real hassle for those who need to do so on a regular basis. Preserving the display configuration doesn’t just save time, however. It can also save work since users won’t have any of the problems associated with a window or app being left in virtual extended display space when moving back to the built-in display.