CenterStage

Brings Blizzard's windows back into view on ultrawide monitors, without giving up Blizzard's own window layout.

On a 21:9 or 32:9 screen, the default UI pins every system window (character pane, spellbook, map, dungeon finder, merchant, quest log, professions, …) to the far left edge, well outside your natural line of sight. CenterStage confines those windows to a centered band of the screen and lets Blizzard keep laying them out exactly as it always has.

Why not just a window mover?

Window movers like BlizzMove or MoveAny can drag a frame anywhere, but you lose the default UI's dynamic placement: windows pushing each other aside instead of overlapping, sliding into free space, the spellbook minimizing when you open something next to it, and so on. Addons that detach frames from the panel system entirely (NoAutoClose, DeModal) make the same tradeoff.

CenterStage takes a different approach. It moves the two boundaries Blizzard's own layout code measures against, the left origin and the right-edge reserve, so the whole window dock lives inside a centered band. Blizzard still does 100% of the layout itself: spacing, pushing, sliding, replacing, auto-closing, auto-minimizing and the "does another window fit?" decisions all behave exactly like the default UI, just measured inside the band.

Features

• Centered windows on ultrawide screens. By default the band is the middle 16:9 slice of your screen, so windows land exactly where they would on a regular 16:9 monitor: 50% of the width on 32:9, about 74% on 21:9.
• Blizzard's dynamic layout, untouched. No frames are moved by hand. Blizzard's layout code keeps doing its job; the addon only changes the space it works in.
• Bag windows too. The default bags (combined or individual) open against the right edge of the band instead of the corner of the screen. Blizzard still stacks, scales and wraps them into columns as before. Optional, on by default.
• Per-resolution settings. A 32:9 monitor and a 16:9 laptop screen on the same account each keep their own configuration. The addon enables itself automatically on 18:9 and wider screens and stays off on 16:9 unless you opt in.
• Live preview. Changing a setting flashes a green outline showing the band for a few seconds.
• Taint-free. The layout boundaries are written from a secure handler, so Blizzard's protected code never reads tainted values. Changes made during combat are applied once combat ends.
• Fullscreen interfaces are handled too. The Trading Post and the Barber Shop, which normally stretch their panels to the far edges of the screen, open inside the center band too (optional, on by default) [starting from v0.4.0 currently in alpha].
• Clean off switch. Disabling the addon on a resolution restores Blizzard's original boundaries exactly.
• EllesmereUI support. If you use EllesmereUI, its bag window opens against the right edge of the band and its bank window against the left edge. Windows you have dragged yourself stay where you put them.

Settings

Type /centerstage or open Options > AddOns > CenterStage.

• Enable on this resolution: on by default for 18:9 and wider, off otherwise.
• Center area width: width of the band as a percentage of screen width (20% to 100%). 100% is Blizzard's default behavior.
• Include bag windows: slide the bag windows (and EllesmereUI's bag and bank windows) into the band.

Supported game versions

• Retail (12.0 and 12.1)
• WoW Forever
• Classic Era
• TBC Anniversary

Compatibility notes

• Window movers (BlizzMove, MoveAny) work alongside CenterStage. A frame you drag is taken over by the mover; CenterStage only affects windows Blizzard still places itself.
• Bag replacements (Bagnon, AdiBags, BetterBags, ElvUI bags, …) hide Blizzard's bags and draw their own. The bag option only moves Blizzard's bags and leaves those alone. EllesmereUI's bags are the exception and are supported.
• NoAutoClose / DeModal detach frames from the panel system. Blizzard no longer positions those frames, so CenterStage will not affect them.
• UI suites that re-anchor or dock Blizzard windows themselves override Blizzard's placement for those frames, so such a frame can end up outside the band.

Native center popups (game menu, death recap) and fullscreen panels are unaffected; they were already centered.

Links

• Source code and issue tracker: https://github.com/geekoo-wow/wow-center-stage
• License: MIT