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Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

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Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

#491

Post by eproxus »

rifty wrote: post #315
AndrewSwift wrote: post #56

Mac user since 1987, Lisa user before. Mac windows do snap together when they're close to each other or the edge of the screen. You can option double-click any corner to make the window fill the screen without going into fullscreen mode. You can double-click any edge or corner to make it expand to the edge. Hold down option and mouse over the green traffic light, and you get the option to fill the left or right half…

Maybe you already know about these, they aren't free, but they do address your issues. For number 1 there is: https://funk-isoft.com/display-maid.html or https://rectangleapp.com/pro For number 2 there is: https://manytricks.com/menuwhere/ I think both should in some form be supported natively though. My reasoning for the second is that many apps are now using command palette search overlays when technically 'command…

For number 2 I use Raycast with the shortcut ⌘⇧P bound to the built-in extension Navigation → Search Menu Items. This gives you a command palette in any application (you can exclude apps that have their own built-in version if you want).

Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

#492

Post by bayindirh »

pxc wrote: post #480
Noumenon72 wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I love about my Mac is anything I found that seemed weird to me on first go, there was an app to make it behave exactly the way I would want. I love Magnet and sure hope I will always have it.

I'm hoping things will go better for me this time, but the last time I used a Mac for work (5 or 6 years ago) I found the exact opposite. Many things I wanted couldn't just couldn't be done, even with paid third-party apps. Many more behaviors could be put back in with third party apps, but were either inherently broken or at some point broken by Apple with a new OS release. From a desktop Linux perspective, Apple is…

I believe that I'm in a strange minority who can adapt to whichever computing environment, but macOS doesn't me bother me at all, because it has its own design goals and its own character. IOW, it doesn't try to mimic anyone, and it's fine with me.

I use Linux for 20 years at this point, and it will be always my primary OS, yet I don't feel the need to modify macOS's behavior to behave like my KDE setup. Yes, I have magnet, and that's my only behavior modifying app I have, yet I use it only when I'm really in a rush and need to do something big in a short time (which generally needs me to connect to half a dozen remote machines and open a dozen terminals, no kidding). IOW, it's closed most of the time.

What macOS lacks is composability, and it's OK, because it's a GUI first OS. I use a couple of Automator actions, and that's fine for most of the time.

Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

#493

Post by donfotto »

So sad that we need 3rd party apps for even the most basic functionality in mac os. It used to be that linux was a hassle to set up, and mac os worked out of the box. Now it's quite the opposite.

Similar thing with using an external 4k monitor. By default it's blurry (looks like 720p, awful), and one needs a 3rd party app (BetterDisplay) just to get a decent image. I had this issue with several macs and displays and cables. Terrible user experience. Obviously works out of the box with ubuntu, debian, and windows.

Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

#494

Post by donfotto »

donfotto wrote: post #493

So sad that we need 3rd party apps for even the most basic functionality in mac os. It used to be that linux was a hassle to set up, and mac os worked out of the box. Now it's quite the opposite. Similar thing with using an external 4k monitor. By default it's blurry (looks like 720p, awful), and one needs a 3rd party app (BetterDisplay) just to get a decent image. I had this issue with several macs and displays and…

I wish it was easy & reliable to run ubuntu on an M2 macbook. That would be perfect - ubuntu is a much more capable & convenient OS at this point, but nothing comes close to the macbook in terms of hardware.

Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

#495

Post by nxpnsv »

rxhanson wrote: post #247
nxpnsv wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use magnet^1, should I be using rectangle? ^1: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/magnet/id441258766?mt=12

I'm the developer behind Rectangle. There are a handful of features in Rectangle that aren't in Magnet, like being able to repeat shortcuts to achieve different sizes/positions, and being able to modify a lot more of the behavior of the app (there are more settings, and there are terminal commands listed on the readme of the GitHub repo). The main draw is that Rectangle is FOSS, which comes with obvious benefit. Beyo…

Thanks - sounds totally worth checking it out!

Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

#496

Post by ShadowBanThis01 »

happymellon wrote: post #401
watermelon0 wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, now you can resize from any corner/edge.

Does it show the cursor hint though? If I remember correctly, the confusing part was finding the part of the edge that allowed you to resize as the mouse remained a pointer.

That is the fundamental problem with the implementation. Apple doesn't have frames on their windows, and often the resizing cursor fails to appear.

The cursor problem also occasionally afflicts splitter bars in other Mac UI, however. I don't remember how often this splitter-bar problem happens on Windows.

Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

#497

Post by ShadowBanThis01 »

GeorgeTirebiter wrote: post #207
ShadowBanThis01 wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple loves to hide functionality to the point where it essentially doesn't exist. When I started at Apple as an engineer, the first bug I filed was "Can't resize windows from their edges" (or any corner except one). Just mind-bogglingly stupid. And when Apple finally does capitulate and admit that others have done it better, they petulantly try to hide the functionality anyway. In the case of the windows, there's no…

I only have an iPad these days, I now use Windows; but when I did use MacOS, has Apple fixed your first bug? Can you resize windows from any edge or corner now, or must one always uses the lower right corner only to resize the window?

It took years, but yes.

Years after that, Apple was going to fix another one: The Delete key (the real one, not the Backspace key that Apple mislabels "delete") does nothing in Finder. It should send files to the trash, as it does in Windows (and probably every other desktop GUI).

They pushed the bug back to me as "will not do," which I bounced back with an argument that forcing people to drag, drag, drag stuff to the trash all day made the Mac look clumsy and dumb in comparison to Windows. To my surprise, they actually reconsidered and added the deletion function to Finder. I don't remember the OS version, but it may have been Jaguar betas.

A few months later, someone on an internal mailing list posted, "Hey, what happened to the Delete key working in Finder? I was really enjoying that!" Sure enough, the function had been pulled at the last minute before release.

I investigated, and was told that ONE person had objected to the behavior, claiming that his cat might delete stuff by walking on the keyboard. Seriously.

I wrote an even longer protest, pointing out that this was the entire purpose of the trash-can paradigm: to prevent accidental deletions. I also observed that it was pretty sad that Apple no longer understood a paradigm that it had popularized.

But to this day, the Delete key does nothing in Finder. Absurd.

Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

#498

Post by ShadowBanThis01 »

nirvdrum wrote: post #382
nijave wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Once I got used to gestures, I actually like macOS window management more than Linux/Windows for single monitor. It seems a bit clunky if you have multiple monitors Cmd Left/Right to change between fullscreen windows. Cmd Up Arrow to show all of the fullscreen windows. Using the trackpad, 3 finger swipe up to show all the windows. Either 3 finger or 2 finger swipe left/right to switch between them. When 2 windows are…

Is there a way to make Cmd+Tab work with fullscreen windows? If I can't remember if I've made an app fullscreen, I have to three-finger swipe up to see the list of maximized applications and if it's not there, start Cmd-Tabbing to find it. Because I don't use macOS exclusively, what often happens is I try to Cmd+Tab, can't find the window, assume I'm not actually running the software I think I am and then eventually…

Try the utility called Alt-Tab: https://alt-tab-macos.netlify.app

Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

#499

Post by thiht »

lloeki wrote: post #443
thiht wrote: post #439

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Well, because it has? This is absolutely not the same thing. The full screen feature on macOS is ok because it’s very well integrated with the 3 fingers gestures. But the fact snapping requires to go to full screen mode completely sucks, it’s unintuitive and requires too many steps compared to just « drag the window to an edge ». I agree with OP that Apple stubbornly refuses to implement QoL features for no good re…

> snapping requires to go to full screen mode It does not; reread my comment: you're confusing tiling (no Option key) with snapping (Option key).

My bad you're right, I missed the Option key.

I wonder how many people actually know it exists, and among these people, how many use it at all.

Re: Ask HN: Why does Apple refuse to add window snapping to macOS?

#500

Post by Tagbert »

abeyer wrote: post #361
mahathu wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The default scroll direction on macOS absolutely makes sense from a UX perspective. On a phone, you scroll up by physically touching the same display your content is on, so you have to move your finger down on the screen, which makes sense on phones but not on computers where the content is separate from the touchpad.

Which is exactly why it shouldn't be modeled as manipulating the content, but rather the viewport/scroll thumb.

But why does that argue for “opposite” scrolling? Why add an extra layer of abstraction for no benefit other than habit?
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