Enable Snap Feature Of Windows 8

You should not confuse the new snap feature of Windows 8 with the Aero Snap feature that Microsoft introduced under Windows 7. Aero Snap back then allowed users to snap windows to the left or right side of the monitor where they'd resize to take up exactly half of the available screen estate. It was furthermore possible to move a window to the top to maximize it.

Snap in Windows 8 on the other hand refers to a feature in Windows 8's new Metro user interface. When enabled it allows users to run and display more than one program in the Metro interface. To be precise, it can be used to display two program windows in the interface instead of just one.

Snap is however only enabled if the computer monitor resolution is 1366x768 or higher. Users who run a lower resolution won't be able to make use of Snap on Windows 8.

It is however relatively easy to enable Snap on Windows 8 thanks to a Registry key that's being used by Windows to determine whether the feature is enabled or disabled.

To enable Windows Snap do the following:

• Open the Windows Registry editor. You can do that with the hotkey Windows-r, typing regedit in the run box and hitting enter afterwards. This may trigger an UAC prompt.
• Navigate to the Registry key HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell\AppPositioner\
• Right-click in the right pane and select New > Dword (32-bit) from the context menu.
• Name the new key AlwaysEnableLSSnapping and enter 1 in the Value data field.
• Click ok and restart the computer aftwards.

You should be able to display two program windows side by side in the Windows 8 user interface.

Users who do not want to edit the Registry manually can download a software like Windows 8 Snap Enabler which is a two button software that can enable or disable the snap feature of Windows 8. (via)