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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

#241

Post by cjaybo »

varenc wrote: post #225
wnolens wrote: post #107

I use https://rectangleapp.com/pro and really enjoy this app (I paid for it, it gets a lot of updates/fixes). It mostly takes care of snapping and resizing windows with hot keys, but has a less obvious feature in preferences to use mouse. My setup is: CMD+SHIFT will move any window under mouse pointer CMD+SHIFT+CTRL will resize any window under mouse pointer

Wow, I didn't know there was a paid Pro option, but the same developer also makes the open source app Rectangle, which sounds like the same thing minus a few features. I use it daily. https://github.com/rxhanson/Rectangle/

I recently started using the pro version for the custom shortcuts. On a portrait mode monitor I like to split the pane vertically into thirds, so it makes that possible. It's also a pretty cheap buy at $10.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#242

Post by Gigachad »

filchermcurr wrote: post #238
jonsen wrote: post #219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I so miss the days of the well structured and comprehensive manual. I used to read them end to end. Even if you didn't remember the details you knew what was possible.

They still write manuals, it's just non-obvious: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/welcome/ios

The specific spacebar trick is even in the manual at https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/iphone/iph3c50f96e/ios

>Touch and hold the Space bar with one finger until the keyboard turns light gray.

>Move the insertion point by dragging around the keyboard.

So the problem is more that OP doesn't read manuals rather than them not being as good as they once were.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#243

Post by mzmzmzm »

This really should be a standard feature, everyone seems to have their own window manager for Mac desktops. I use an app called Window Mover that's so old the developer and dmg can't be found anywhere online, but it still works flawlessly on Monterey! Much more minimal than some of the populat apps so I keep the package handy. Using other Macs I'm struck by how clumsy it is not to have global window drag to move or resize. Fn is my favorite modifier since it so rarely interacts with the cursor (unlike other mod keys when using eg Photoshop).

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#244

Post by lancesells »

adonovan wrote: post #203
bluedino wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using a Mac since 2010 and someone always points out 'weird' features like this to me on what has to be a monthly basis.

Same with iPhone. My mind was blown when after years of tapping left-arrow someone showed me what happens when you hold down the space key. Or that dragging the iphone chat message app's background to the left reveals the timestamps of each message. It's all very clever and elegant and minimal but consumer technology user interfaces seem to be converging on that of a Theremin.

If you hold down the period key on most keyboards in iOS it'll bring up .com, .org, etc. Saves a little time typing in urls.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#246

Post by sxg »

Teever wrote: post #165
sxg wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this may be a misunderstanding on your part (no disrespect). Cut/paste works slightly differently on macOS compared to Windows. There's no actual concept of "cut". You just "copy" whatever files you want. When you're ready to paste, you can hit Cmd+V to "paste" or Cmd+alt+V to "paste and remove the original file(s)". The benefit is that you don't have to decide whether you want to just "copy" or "cut" before…

Now how do I do this with a mouse? (I already know the answer, but I'm curious if you do. It isn't very discoverable.)

Drag and drop from one folder to another is how I would do it with a mouse only. Is there another way?

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#247

Post by yaomtc »

Adverblessly wrote: post #216
daenz wrote: post #71

I've enabled this "grab" feature on every Linux window manager that has supported it. Hold alt or the windows key, click, move. Simple usability improvements make a world of difference, but for some reason, they are uncommon.

I actually recommend binding it to something other than Alt (I usually do winkey), since several programs (and in particular browsers) use Alt+drag to allow you to select text that is otherwise unselectable. For example if you drag a link it "drags" the URL allowing you to paste it into other windows, but if you Alt+drag you can select the link text (or parts of it) for copying.

Makes more sense to use Win+drag because it's a function for the windows

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#249

Post by LoveGracePeace »

benknight87 wrote: post #189
rland wrote: post #146

MacOS is full of these UI "tricks" that remain undiscovered by 99% of users because they are: - not obvious - not discoverable For example: if you hold option when you click the Wifi button, you actually can view a lot of information about the Wifi networks you are connecting to. This is invaluable when you're dealing with a Wifi issue, and completely undiscoverable! I think MacOS is a perfectly usable operating syst…

With a wide range of technical savviness among users, macOS tries its best to make everyone happy and IMO does a pretty decent job at it. It's loved by programmers and grandmas alike. Can't really say that about Linux or Windows.

My wife is non-technical and uses Linux Desktop (KDE) every day and prefers it to the sometimes weirdness of Windows. We never used Mac and have no desire to.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#250

Post by Tagbert »

microtonal wrote: post #99
millzlane wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are so many bugs in the OS and I just work around them. Two recent ones I can think of: Issue 1 is: Shift+click selection doesn't work in Finder's Icon view. To reproduce: In finder select the "icons" view. Click on the first item, Hold shift, and while holding shit then click on the tenth item. Expected behavior is to select Items 1-10 including ten. Workaround: Switch to list view. Issue 2: Lock screen keyboa…

To reproduce: In finder select the "icons" view. Click on the first item, Hold shift, and while holding shit then click on the tenth item. I don't think that's a bug. The icon view does not have an inherent ordering, since you can just drag icons around. What is supposed to be the range to select if you have an unordered view. Issue 2: Lock screen keyboard shortcut doesn't work when mission control is activated. That…

Still, icon view is usually a grid of icons, there is an implied order there, also you can set the sort order to any number of properties. I’m not particularly bothered by this, but it seems like you should be able to select a range of icons with shift-click like any other list of items.
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