Window Snapping in macOS Sierra [video] | Hacker News Reader

Window Snapping in macOS Sierra [video]

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I use this wonderful app Spectacle[1] for window management in OS X—I mean, macOS. :)

Effectively utilizing my screens is a big priority for me when I do work. It might just be a security blanket thing but I need need need to have a few things open at all times to get in my groove.

[1] https://www.spectacleapp.com/

I haven't head of Spectacle before. I've been using BetterTouchTool which seems to offer more options and greater functionality (see my other comment - can set what % of the screen the left and right take up). However the simplicity of Spectacle looks inviting.

It's the main reason I switched to it from Amethyst. I've heard good things about BTT but I have yet to find a reason to switch from Spectacle as it has everything I need to manage windows over two screens.

I remember looking for something like Spectacle when setting up my first dual-monitor Mac in 2010 and not being able to find it— and when I was doing so again in around 2013 I was delighted that it had come into existence. Macs feel so much less usable without it.

Agreed. Spectacle is one of the first things I install on a new Mac.

I can also vouch for Spectacle. It's a rather amazing little app, and it really simplifies a lot of the annoying window rearrangement tasks (particularly the shortcut key for moving a window to another monitor).

Personally I use AppGrid every day and can't imagine using Mac OS 10 without out.

https://github.com/sdegutis/AppGrid

(Disclaimer: I wrote it.)

Still can't believe they haven't fixed the maximize the window functionality. Windows has so much better window management.

When I saw this title I thought "finally" but it appears that I'm going to be disappointed yet again.

Holding the Option key when clicking the Full Screen button is part of my muscle memory now.

I never understood the reasoning behind trying to change user behavior to favor 'full screen' over 'maximize' in a multitasking OS.

Becuase most people struggle with multiple tabs, imagine how painful multiple tabs in multiple windows may get.

You can also just double-click on the title bar. I used to be mad that they switched the meaning of the + button, but once I discovered the double click trick I have been happy. I think it is even more convenient.

Another thing that made me mad in the past was when they switched New Folder from being Command-N to Command-Shift-N during the transition from Mac OS 9 to Mac OS X. Nowadays I tend to just make new folders in the terminal with mkdir.

The command-N change made it more consistent with most applications where “new” creates a window of some kind.

Besides, in the Keyboard section of System Preferences, you can remap any menu command to any key sequence that you want. (It is unfortunate that these mappings are as buried as they are.)

On a Macbook you can three-finger swipe through the fullscreen apps (and spaces) which is similar to app switching on mobile devices. That could be their intention.

I think they didn't fix it because they didn't think it's a problem. I understand it might be hard to get used to if you're used to using applications fullscreen. But when you use a 27" iMac you kinda get why it works that way. I just have a lot of big windows and actually never want to maximize any of them. Partly overlapping windows also makes it easy to switch between them. So it actually suits the way I work quite well. As I see it: Apple has a vision on how you are supposed to work with a computer. You can only change it slightly. Maybe you like it, maybe you don't. I generally like to adapt the ideas a UI or OS is using. As long as it feels coherent and well thought out.

Well on my main computer I am running a 34" screen with 3440x1440 in resolution. But when on a MacBook you really want to be able to maximize the window. Also, on my large screen, with Windows, I can drag any window to the side and have it maximize the space that is left which is just perfect.

Have you tried the split screen with two full screen apps? I do this all the time now with an editor and terminal next to each other.

In fact I pretty much use full screen apps and spaces all the time now, reminiscent of my UNIX setup with fvwm.

Yes I do that all the time on Windows, it's a lot harder on a macOS though.

I agree with the parent. However I do use better snap tool to be able to maximize any window (double click on the title bar) and have left-right half expansion (like windows) when moving window to the side.

They didn't think that a one-button mouse was a problem for the longest time either. Apple can be wrong and they're certainly wrong here.

OS X window management is completely incoherent and not well thought out compared to Windows.

>But when you use a 27" iMac you kinda get why it works that way.

That is optimizing for the least common use case. It makes even less sense to do that, than to just have a maximize button.

I'm not familiar with this complaint. Can you explain it to me? When I click the green button the app fills up the screen, then I can just three-finger-swipe between windows, I love it. Is that what you don't like?

There is a legion of people who think macOS has maximize functionality. They would activate green zoom button and if zoomed size happens to be smaller than whole of desktop's working space (e.g. Safari), complain that maximize button is bugged.

In fairness, macOS' behavior is less predictable than maximize, insofar as what happens when you press the green button depends on the contents of the particular window.

Whether this is a problem or not depends on one's own particular tastes in OS behavior.

> they haven't fixed the maximize the window functionality

Click the green dot, go full-screen. Double click the title bar or option-click the green dot and you get a maximized window that takes up the screen minus the dock, but doesn't enter full-screen mode.

What exactly needs to be 'fixed'? Or is it simply that it's not exactly the same as the Windows functionality that's your real complaint?

Double-clicking the title bar does not cause the window to take up "the screen minus the dock".

I've never figured out what the green button does besides make the window larger and randomly sized. I always figured there was something that the size was tied to but never invested the time in figuring it out. I use SizeUp and never click on any of the buttons now anyway. I do miss Windows for this functionality.

Most programs I use, the green button causes the window to go full screen and switch to another desktop. But double clicking the title bar in Safari, for example, sets it to what seems to be an arbitrary width and maximized from top to bottom of the screen. I don't know how to get it to fill the entire screen without switching to another desktop.

The intent is to size the window to fit the content. For example, if you're viewing an image, then the window's size would be set to the image's size (or to the screen size, if the image is bigger than the screen).

For something like Safari, there often isn't a single sensible content size, so it ends up just trying something reasonable for the width.

It does in el capitan.

system preferences -> dock -> checkbox for "Double-click a window's title bar to: " an the options are zoom or minimize.

If its set to zoom, the window will grow taller, doesnt seem to get any wider for me, but it does get larger overall.

Try using a tool like Moom or divvy - both give you super powers compared to the usual fullscreen

I use Divvy with a set of hotkeys that makes window arrangement a breeze. Using my numberpad, the keys represent quadrants (1,3,7,9), halves (2,4,6,8) or fullscreen (5). This works great for large screens.

I have no desire (or need)to move my windows around with a mouse.

Fullscreen gives you more space than "maximizing" and macOS has always had better multi-desktop management than Windows. With the two/three-finger swipe gestures on trackpad/Magic Mouse, in combination with the Mission Control hotkeys/hot corners, it's very convenient to slide between multiple fullscreen windows.

For example I have one hot-corner set to show all desktops and another corner to show all windows for the current applications. I just throw my mouse into the corner then throw a window to its own desktop.

The split-view just makes it better, especially since you can resize two windows with just one action, unlike Windows' snapping.

However, depending on the physical size of my screen, I do prefer to have some of my nice wallpapers showing around a window at all times.

When half the people here don't know how to use the window management features of an os even though they've been using it for some time I wouldn't be so quick to call it better than the competition.

Before Spaces was introduced in 10.5, the Mac had no multi-desktop management.

Can you try resizing a window to the full screen and seeing if the dock still reserves pixels? http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/141800/gap-at-the-b...

This! We must know!

...it has been killing me for years.

For window snapping I like to use Moom. I like it because it offers snapping without injecting any behaviors into window dragging so I don't find myself accidentally snapping windows when I'm really just trying to move them. It also lets me choose when I want to snap, so I get to keep standard Mac window management most of the time, but have snapping around in the cases where it makes sense.

+1 for Moom. It does what it's designed to do beautifully.

I use BetterTouchTool for window snapping. After seeing the title I thought maybe it would replace my need for BTT. However after watching, it definitely doesn't.

Here's a preview of BTT Window snapping: https://fat.gfycat.com/SandyFastFinch.webm . I also have keyboard shortcuts to snap left, right and maximise.

> keeping the desktop clutter free

Or you could just join the tiling window manager cult and become enlightened.

e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL51N8fTLTA

I've spent maybe 1% of my time on Windows in the past five years and I'm still constantly trying to snap my MacBook's windows by dragging to the edges of the screen.

I've been on ChromeOS a lot lately and I really like the keyboard shortcuts there. Alt-[ or Alt-] to put a window on half the screen or Alt-= to maximize and Alt-- to minimize.

Next time you're on Windows, try Win + Arrow keys.

Maybe I am the only one, but I think just watching the video make it already frustating. Specially with the prounouced window shadows, it doesn't really make sense clarity-wise.

Reminds me of Winamp that had this feature long ago.

Also noticed the dock has blank spacers in it. If that is the case, that is a great new feature as well.

Turns out you can already do this. It works on El Capital, at least.

http://www.imore.com/add-space-your-mac-dock

I'd just be happy if you can just move windows back on screen easily.

Openbox does the snapping-to-other-window-edges thing too

I really like Openbox

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