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Comment by yboris | Hacker News Reader

How can one live without the minimize button? What does the OS recommend instead?

I hardly ever minimize/hide windows, and I don't use virtual desktops/spaces either.

My workflow is based on two main hotkeys plus some extras:

1. Alt+Tab to change between applications. Set it up so it ONLY switches between applications (never between windows of the same application). If you keep alt pressed the icons for the open applications stay on screen, and you can click on them to go straight to that app.

2. Alt+` (the key below "esc"). This rotates between open windows of the same application. It is basically alt+tab but for windows of the same app (that you have focused).

Extras:

- Window-resizing keywords (make the current window occupy the left half of the screen, maximize it, etc.)

- Tabs on some applications (like the browser or vscode). I still use several windows though.

- Disable all animations. Just make things appear/disappear as fast as they can. It sounds silly but it really enables faster "ops, not that window, switch again" when you don't nail it the first time.

This workflow is ingrained in my brain already. I somehow seem to mentally (without noticing) keep track of the window and app switching stacks, so most of the times I know how many times I have to hit tab or ` to reach the window I want.

Thanks for the hot tip on Alt+`. What a tremendously handy hotkey I had absolutely no idea existed!

For a few persistent applications (terminal, calendar, chat client, email, ticket dashboard, wireframing tool, etc) I have them tiled on specific workspaces/monitors and I use a keyboard shortcut to jump to the relevant workspace. (I don't know about Elementary, but workspaces is what Gnome recommends for this kind of thing.)

In cases of transient windows (reference materials, docs I'm reviewing, internal wiki pages, screenshots) I just let them pile up willy-nilly on my desktop. When I need to find a specific window that is no longer visible I either tab through the application switcher or select it from the multitasking view.

It may sound like a "messy" approach to window management, but finding an open window using an app switcher or multitasking view seems neither more nor less efficient than finding that same window minimized in a taskbar/dock.

When I'm on my Mac I don't really use a minimize button ever. I organize all my windows between virtual desktops. One for calendar/notes, one for browsers and maybe the downloads folder open, one for IDE and terminal, one for chat apps, etc.

I think wanting to minimize is related to working with non-maximized, mouse-managed windows. I was a heavy minimizer on Windows back when I used it for things other than gaming (so... some time before Win7) and on Linux back in the day, but on macOS with Spectacle, I never minimize. Everything is almost always maximized, half-screen (top or bottom, left or right), or quarter-screen. I rarely move a window with my mouse, I just toss them to different regions (or maximize them) with key combos. I don't get visual clutter without minimizing, because my screen's usually completely filled with whichever things I'm working on.

I second this. Minimising windows in mac os is a nuisance because they can auto restore unexpectedly when switching back to the application or clicking on the dock icon.

I think it's a Gnome thing.

I've never understood Gnome.

You get used to the dock real quick.

Or just install Elementary Tweaks.

Ironically, the Mac dock that this dock emulates does support both "minimizing" and "hiding" (and always has, as far as I remember).

It's one of those little functionality gaps that keeps people on closed/non-free systems. Is it at least on their roadmap? I'd gladly donate/pay just to get a Mac-like minimize/hide experience.

> You get used to the dock real quick.

What's the connection between the dock and minimizing windows? I use a WM with a dock and that supports minimized windows just fine.

If the app is in focus and you click on it on the dock, it minimizes itself. You can also do Super+H.

Personally I put it back to "Windows" layout (min/max/close on the right), even though I mostly use Super+H.

Ah, okay. Thanks. That's not as bad as I thought, using the click on the dock (that would otherwise do nothing) is clever. Thinking about it, my dock does this as well :)

FYI it's re-branded as Pantheon Tweaks for this release.

When on a Mac, I use cmd+h(hide) extensively.

Windows+h (h == hide, I guess). Also, as others have mentioned, virtual desktops.

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