Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

mmazzarolo.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

291–300 of 314 posts

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#291

Post by Teever »

sxg wrote: post #246
Teever wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

No, there isn't. and that's my point.

If you want to copy a file in OSX with your mouse you use the menu bar whereas if you want to cut and paste (move) a file in OSX with your mouse then you use the two open windows method that you describe.

They are both very different and one isn't so discoverable.

What's the worst about this is that it's purely a choice and Apple intentionally greys out the cut option in the menu bar.

Madness.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#292

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

DavideNL wrote: post #282
oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FYI, that apple logo character isn't a 'real' emoji — it doesn't display on non-Apple devices.

> " In Unicode, the Private Use Areas (PUA) are three ranges of code points (U+E000–U+F8FF in the BMP, and in planes 15 and 16) that, by definition, will not be assigned characters by the Unicode Consortium. The code points in these areas can not be considered as standardized characters in Unicode itself. They are intentionally left undefined so that third parties may define their own characters without conflicting w…

That's great info, as is the page it links to:

http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~fine/OSX/unicode_apple_logo.html

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#293

Post by ksala_ »

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

I also use Rectangle, the same developer also make https://hyperkey.app which works very well in tandem with it (you can also get the same features using Karabiner, but I like how polished and plug&play Hyperkey is)

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#294

Post by nsonha »

js2 wrote: post #233
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

I like divvy. Create your own grids. Works with a mouse or keyboard. https://mizage.com/divvy/ I also like Witch for window/app switching. I just wish it was a little less sluggish to activate: https://manytricks.com/witch/

I use AltTab, completely free and I only need to fix task switching, no need for fancier features of witch.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#295

Post by cywick »

giobox wrote: post #163
na85 wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't dragged a scroll bar in any OS since windows XP. When do you find it's necessary/convenient?

It can still be a lot more efficient to grab the scrollbar to jump to a section of a large document. For example, you can instantly get to say 3/4 of the way through by moving the scroll bar a very short distance, which when done with the scroll wheel or trackpad gestures could take a very long time. The scroll bar is also sometimes a nice visual cue to the size of a document you've just opened for the first time, ag…

Related hint: Instead of dragging the scroll bar slider, you can also just option+click on the place of the scrollbar that you want to jump to.

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#296

Post by js2 »

logbiscuitswave wrote: post #262
maxwelldone wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll throw another option: https://magnet.crowdcafe.com/index.html I bought it in '17 for $1 - possibly the best dollar I've spent. Looks like it's $4 now. Coupled with a QMK keyboard, the modifiers are even easier to use.

When moving from Windows to macOS as my daily driver I really missed the window management keyboard shortcuts and ability to easily snap a window to the left/right of the screen or maximize windows. Magnet gave me everything I wanted and the price was right. I highly recommend it. Even at $4 it’s well worth the price given how well it works and it’s regularly updated. That being said, reading this thread I’m realizin…

Snap left/right and maximize are actually built-in by using "Tile Window to Left of Screen" and "Tile Window to Right of Screen" from either the Window menu or option-clicking the green window button:

https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/12/04/how-to-speed-up-w...

There aren't built-in keyboard shortcuts, but you can add a keyboard shortcut for any menu item, including these:

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/create-keyboard-sho...

There's a preference to make double-clicking the window titlebar fill the screen instead of minimizing. And you can add a keyboard shortcut for this too:

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/372719/maximize-wi...

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#297

Post by bashyal »

thiht wrote: post #278
_carbyau_ wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bullshit... tries it ... Oh! :-) Thank you! Says something about discoverability when it seems like I need to RTFM for gestures again.

Is there a manual for these hidden features though? I’d really like to read something exhaustive about available gestures!

See David Pogue's "Missing Manual" series

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#298

Post by Tagbert »

throwaways85989 wrote: post #131

Can we talk for a moment about how horribly well hidden these shortkeys are for normal users? Why not blend in a shortkey-tooltip when dragging a window around normally using the title bar? Make stuff discoverable again?

I don’t know where “clicks” like this are documented, but keyboard shortcuts are well documented. (If you know where to look or search.)

Keyboard Shortcuts https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201236

This is a great little tool that shows all of the keyboard shortcuts for an app when you hold down the CMD key.

Cheatsheet https://www.mediaatelier.com/CheatSheet/

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#299

Post by SebastianKra »

drewg123 wrote: post #121
Tepix wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sucks when you're unable to overcome old habits...

It sucks when UI designers don't provide ways to configure software..

Reminds me of https://xkcd.com/1172/

I acknowledge that I'm still young, but I feel like Apple is introducing changes at a good pace. UI elements and layouts have stayed consistent. [^1] Radical changes are usually confined to single apps, and if there is a f*up like Safari 15, they provide a fallback option and quickly revise their decision.

Providing endless backwards-compatibility only bloats the interface and makes it harder to learn for new users. The goal must be slow but steady progress, so that everyone can adapt.

[^1]: The best example is probably System Preferences: https://www.versionmuseum.com/history-of/mac-os-x

Re: Moving a macOS window by clicking anywhere on it

#300

Post by aaronharnly »

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.

I've also been hand-copying my Zooom2 app from machine to machine.

On my new M1, I am using Hookshot (which apparently is now Rectangle Pro https://rectangleapp.com/pro ) – it has support for key combos to Move and Resize windows.

The only downside is that Hookshot/Rectangle focuses the window when you do this, which Zooom2 did not.

Post reply on HN