How to turn off window tiling when dragging on a Mac

In short

Open System Settings, click Desktop & Dock, scroll to Windows and switch off Drag windows to left or right edge of screen to tile. Also switch off Drag windows to menu bar to fill screen if windows fill the screen when you drag them to the top.

5 of 5 steps show a real screenshot from our MacBook Neo.

Steps

1. 1

   Open System Settings

   Click the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen and choose System Settings.

   Done
   
2. 2

   Click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar

   On our MacBook Neo, Desktop & Dock sits just below Appearance in the sidebar.

   Done
   
3. 3

   Switch off Drag windows to left or right edge of screen to tile

   Scroll down to the Windows section, below Default web browser. On our MacBook Neo this switch was on.

   Done
   
4. 4

   Switch off Drag windows to menu bar to fill screen

   It is the next row. Switch it off if windows grow to fill the screen when you move them to the top.

   Done
   
5. 5

   Decide about Hold ⌥ key while dragging windows to tile

   On our MacBook Neo the label uses the ⌥ symbol rather than the word Option, and the switch was on. Apple says this lets you press the Option key to speed up tiling when you drag a window to the edge of the screen.

   Done
   

If you do not see this option

• Desktop & Dock is not in the sidebar Scroll down the System Settings sidebar: Apple says you may need to scroll down to find it.
• You cannot see the Windows section Scroll down the Desktop & Dock page. On our MacBook Neo, Windows comes after Widgets and Default web browser and before Mission Control.

If this does not work

• Windows still fill the screen when dragged to the top Edge tiling and filling the screen are separate switches. Switch off Drag windows to menu bar to fill screen as well.
• Tiled windows have gaps between them Switch off Tiled windows have margins in the same Windows section; Apple says it leaves some space around each tiled window.

Good to know

Spaces and Mission Control settings are further down the same page: how to stop Spaces rearranging themselves on a Mac.

On our MacBook Neo, Tiled windows have margins was off. Apple says this setting leaves some space around each tiled window.

Apple says you can also tile the active window from Window > Move & Resize in the menu bar, or from the menu that appears when you hold the pointer over the green button, and Fn-Control-R makes it the size it was before it was tiled (Apple Support). Apple lists other window choices in the same section, such as Prefer tabs when opening documents and Ask to keep changes when closing documents. To place two windows side by side on purpose, see how to tile windows side by side on a Mac.

macOS 27 compared with macOS 26: We rewrote steps 2, 3, 4 and 5 to match the macOS 27 screens. The macOS 26 page keeps the steps and screenshots as they were.

Version history: the macOS 26 version of this guide, with its own screenshots.

About this guide

Device

Mac

Shown on

macOS 27.0.1 (MacBook Neo)

App

System Settings

Real screenshots

5 of 5 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

2 official, linked below

Sources

• Mac User Guide: Change Desktop & Dock settings on Mac
• Apple Support: Mac window tiling icons and keyboard shortcuts

Links checked October 2026. Menus and features can change with updates.

Did this guide work for you?

YesNo