How can I keep displays aligned when I change resolution?

Create positioning rules in the group's Layout Protection settings. Each display you want to position needs a reference display and a direction. Enabling the feature without adding these rules does not save an arrangement.

  1. Open Settings > Groups > [group] > Layout Protection and enable Enable layout protection. Add the participating displays to the group if needed.
  2. Choose Add New Protection…, then the display you want to position.
  3. Set Arrange [display] next to to its reference display.
  4. Choose Above, Below, Left of or Right of. Keep centered anchors for centered alignment, or adjust the two anchor offsets for edge or offset alignment.
  5. Repeat for other relationships, then use Apply All Protections to check the result.

For example, to keep a TV centered above the main monitor, position the TV Above that monitor with both adjoining-edge anchors centered. The app can recalculate this relationship when the desktop size changes.

Layout Protection requires Pro, an active group and connected participating displays. Avoid contradictory rules or arrangements that become impossible at another size. The physical-size preview uses different dimensions from the logical desktop layout. If the reported physical dimensions are inaccurate, the preview's proportions can look surprising.

See Layout Protection for anchors and activation rules. If you are switching between saved groups, see applying layouts when switching groups.

For the main-display choice, use the group’s Protect main display status with the group active and layout protection enabled. To apply group rules when BetterDisplay starts, also enable Settings > Groups > Overview > Advanced… > Apply all layout protections on startup. Avoid competing main-display preferences in group and per-display protection. If the layout still fails to restore intermittently, collect logs from a launch where the problem occurs.

A saved group describes particular displays. If you connect a different monitor or projector each time, a saved group cannot automatically use “whichever physical display connects first” as its reference. A custom script can query the connected displays, choose an anchor, set it as main and position the virtual screens relative to it. The script also needs to handle the reference display disconnecting. Test that workflow with each intended arrangement before relying on it. See CLI examples for selection and positioning commands.