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Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

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Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#21

Post by tarentel »

RobertRoberts wrote: post #5

My mac users feel the exhaustion of micro managing windows but don't know what causes the drain until I show them a better way [1]. [1] https://rectangleapp.com/ (I add this to all the Macs I touch)

I've been using Spectacle for a while now, https://github.com/eczarny/spectacle, it seems to be less feature rich than some of the alternatives other people posted but it's free and works well for what I need it to do. Basically, just keyboard shortcut to move windows do different monitors and resize them to the left, right, or fullscreen.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#22

Post by incanus77 »

nicwolff wrote: post #15
iwebdevfromhome wrote: post #11

I use the kinda hidden three finger dragging gesture that you can activate like this: 1. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Accessibility. 2. Select Pointer Control in the sidebar. (In earlier versions of macOS, select Mouse & Trackpad.) 3. Click the Trackpad Options button. 4. Select ”Enable dragging,” then choose ”three finger drag” from the menu. 5. Click OK.

That's not the same at all, you can still only drag the move bar – and it focuses the window, bringing it to the front. Moving and resizing background windows can very handy.

I always turn this on as well, but yes, it doesn't allow different moving of windows.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#23

Post by eneeigriega »

RobertRoberts wrote: post #5

My mac users feel the exhaustion of micro managing windows but don't know what causes the drain until I show them a better way [1]. [1] https://rectangleapp.com/ (I add this to all the Macs I touch)

I've been hesitant about installing software like the previous suggestions, so I opened the Stickies app and resized them to create a guide. I like to have a space between windows so that the wallpaper is still visible in some of my Spaces.

My issue is that it's not efficient and I need to nudge some windows from accidentally moving them.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#24

Post by RobertRoberts »

mckjns wrote: post #13
RobertRoberts wrote: post #5

My mac users feel the exhaustion of micro managing windows but don't know what causes the drain until I show them a better way [1]. [1] https://rectangleapp.com/ (I add this to all the Macs I touch)

I highly recommend Swish as an alternative to Rectangle. Recently discovered it and wouldn't go back. The main thing that sold me is the ability to resize two windows by dragging the divider between them (similar to how Windows works). https://highlyopinionated.co/swish/

This looks neat, but it only seems to be useful for touchpads, which is the vast minority of users. And while it's not expensive, it's also not free. Any software I have to manage with an extra license is an added time burden. (even if minimal, it adds up)

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#25

Post by RobertRoberts »

tarentel wrote: post #21
RobertRoberts wrote: post #5

My mac users feel the exhaustion of micro managing windows but don't know what causes the drain until I show them a better way [1]. [1] https://rectangleapp.com/ (I add this to all the Macs I touch)

I've been using Spectacle for a while now, https://github.com/eczarny/spectacle , it seems to be less feature rich than some of the alternatives other people posted but it's free and works well for what I need it to do. Basically, just keyboard shortcut to move windows do different monitors and resize them to the left, right, or fullscreen.

On the repo it says this:

"This project is not being actively maintained... Spectacle users have recommended Rectangle as an open source alternative."

This is actually how I found Rectangle. :P

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#26

Post by RobertRoberts »

ajdoingnothing wrote: post #20
RobertRoberts wrote: post #5

My mac users feel the exhaustion of micro managing windows but don't know what causes the drain until I show them a better way [1]. [1] https://rectangleapp.com/ (I add this to all the Macs I touch)

I don't understand why Apple didn't build this functionality and enabled it by default. It's much easier dragging a window at any corner or side on a Linux/Windows OS.

They made a _one_ button mouse for many years... Maybe it's an Apple culture issue?

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#27

Post by lwkl »

WhyNotHugo wrote: post #2

I never figured out how to easily move windows on macOS. How I know why; it's disabled by default and you also need to hold down `Ctrl`.

Are you sure you are talking about moving them?

Because you can move them by grabbing them by the title bar and dragging them to the spot you want.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#28

Post by brandonhorst »

nicwolff wrote: post #12

Wish you could change the key combo for this, I've been using a long-abandoned tool called Zooom2 to do this with `fn` (and `fn` + `control` to resize`) and fear losing it on my next Mac if it's an M1.

You can do exactly this with BetterTouchTool. You can also set it up with Hammerspoon.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#29

Post by ubercow13 »

mckjns wrote: post #13
RobertRoberts wrote: post #5

My mac users feel the exhaustion of micro managing windows but don't know what causes the drain until I show them a better way [1]. [1] https://rectangleapp.com/ (I add this to all the Macs I touch)

I highly recommend Swish as an alternative to Rectangle. Recently discovered it and wouldn't go back. The main thing that sold me is the ability to resize two windows by dragging the divider between them (similar to how Windows works). https://highlyopinionated.co/swish/

Doesn't seem very useful if you use your Mac with a normal mouse though.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#30

Post by ugh123 »

iwebdevfromhome wrote: post #11

I use the kinda hidden three finger dragging gesture that you can activate like this: 1. Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences, then click Accessibility. 2. Select Pointer Control in the sidebar. (In earlier versions of macOS, select Mouse & Trackpad.) 3. Click the Trackpad Options button. 4. Select ”Enable dragging,” then choose ”three finger drag” from the menu. 5. Click OK.

I just tried this and it should be warned that this resets existing "three finger drag" (for mission control and switching desktops) to "four finger drag". This took me a while to figure out after thinking something was seriously broken, even after going back and disabling the new setting you mentioned.
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