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macOS Tips and Tricks (2022)

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Re: macOS Tips and Tricks (2022)

#341

Post by notpushkin »

madeofpalk wrote: post #218
Dagonfly wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never gotten this to work on an ISO-keyboard (chunky enter key). It opens "Help" in every single app, even Apple's like Finder or Safari. I've tried GB, German, US-International, and my default EurKey layout. None of them work. This shortcut always felt like an Alt+F4 prank to me.

The help menu is what searches all menu items.

Yeah. I think the idea was to help the user find out where a command is, so they can use menubar directly next time. Not the brightest idea IMO.

Re: macOS Tips and Tricks (2022)

#342

Post by baal80spam »

BenFranklin100 wrote: post #25
Philpax wrote: post #5

Does anyone have any advice for making the most of the Dock? I find it pretty unhelpful coming from an older Windows / Linux background: I just want easy access to the windows that are open on my current workspace on my current monitor, and it seems ill-suited to that. I usually have it on auto-hide because it takes up space without providing much value. I'm aware that I can do the three finger swipe to look at all o…

It’s interesting hearing you say this. I come from Windows and thought it was just me. I started using an app called Sidebar: https://sidebarapp.net/ I find it superior to the dock. The applications on the task bar are persistent and only those active on the current desktop are shown. It handles multiple monitors too. It has a few quirks I haven’t sorted out yet, but the overall experience is much closer to Windows 1…

My God, only on a Mac you can find a _sidebar_ app that has a subscription. How I hate that.

Re: macOS Tips and Tricks (2022)

#343

Post by greatgib »

tannhaeuser wrote: post #108

All I want is an app that can fix the "broken window" focus management. Like when I click a window, Mac OS brings to top all windows of the respective app, and when an app (say, Finder) has no window open currently, bringing it to front also unaskedly manipulates the stacking order such that other app's windows become the top most one, completely destroying the visual context. Also, back in the days I used Expose a l…

I guess that it is not what you want to hear, but just use a Linux desktop, like cinnamon!

Apple pretend to do ergonomic but their window manager is full of frustration. Using cinnamon is a breeze with everything working well as expected. Even having multi-screens and having apps in menu on the correct screen where they are located.

I usually have open multiple Firefox, console, folder, pdf windows and my life under os-x was a nightmare.

Impossible to have one bottom icon per window (I tried everything, even U-bar that was my hope is just garbage), to not have all windows of the same app open when you click on the icon like Firefox, having to do right click on the icon all the time to go from one window of console to the other, terminals having tabs and window mixed in the menu bar,...

Re: macOS Tips and Tricks (2022)

#344

Post by greatgib »

sbuk wrote: post #312
nyarlathotep_ wrote: post #268

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I gained a reputation at my workplace for complaining about this. Nonsense default behavior, slow as heck, search barely works, keybindings are totally illogical. It's totally unacceptable.

Whenever I read comments like this, I know that it is someone that has switched from another OS. macOS is neither Windows, KDE or Gnome. An awful lot of the functionality that you deem 'nonsense' comes from the days of classic Macintosh and even from NeXTSTEP. In fact, nearly all the complaints I see in this and similar threads come down to people expecting macOS to behave like their previous OS did, and being surpri…

It is just people being used to efficiency and interface improved over years to be ergonomic for users.

OS-X is surprising because there is a lot of marketing pretending that it is the most ergonomic when it is in fact the worst, and mostly it does not really improve other time.

Re: macOS Tips and Tricks (2022)

#345

Post by greatgib »

lwouis wrote: post #122
tannhaeuser wrote: post #108

All I want is an app that can fix the "broken window" focus management. Like when I click a window, Mac OS brings to top all windows of the respective app, and when an app (say, Finder) has no window open currently, bringing it to front also unaskedly manipulates the stacking order such that other app's windows become the top most one, completely destroying the visual context. Also, back in the days I used Expose a l…

You may be interested in https://alt-tab-macos.netlify.app/

I can recommend you to also use "Rectangle" app with that.

Re: macOS Tips and Tricks (2022)

#346

Post by tacker2000 »

y1n0 wrote: post #310
tacker2000 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yea I also hate that. If i have two terminals on two screens then click on one, all the terminals are now in the foreground and blocking the IDE/whatever…

Maybe this is something that was changed on recent versions of macos but I can't reproduce this. I've tried terminal, iterm, browser windows, etc.

It only happens when you click on the dock icon, not the app itself, i remembered it incorrectly.

Re: macOS Tips and Tricks (2022)

#347

Post by tannhaeuser »

greatgib wrote: post #343
tannhaeuser wrote: post #108

All I want is an app that can fix the "broken window" focus management. Like when I click a window, Mac OS brings to top all windows of the respective app, and when an app (say, Finder) has no window open currently, bringing it to front also unaskedly manipulates the stacking order such that other app's windows become the top most one, completely destroying the visual context. Also, back in the days I used Expose a l…

I guess that it is not what you want to hear, but just use a Linux desktop, like cinnamon! Apple pretend to do ergonomic but their window manager is full of frustration. Using cinnamon is a breeze with everything working well as expected. Even having multi-screens and having apps in menu on the correct screen where they are located. I usually have open multiple Firefox, console, folder, pdf windows and my life under…

Yeah thanks, actually I've left Linux for Mac OS, and while I do have Linux (and Windows) notebooks for specific needs I have no plans to return to it as my main machine. The reason is simply that I couldn't stand witnessing mainstream Linux desktop regressing into dysfunctionality for me (as in causing physical pain), and I'm sick of developers fetishizing de-facto proprietary containers, programming languages, system frameworks, or ideologies instead of creating apps I would actually want to use.

Re: macOS Tips and Tricks (2022)

#349

Post by everettp »

copypasterepeat wrote: post #271
danielvaughn wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want a Finder that actually works. It’s pretty incredible just how bad Finder is. It’s by far the worst piece of software I’m forced to use on a daily basis.

I always feel like I'm missing something, but I find the creation of new folders really awkward. I'd like to just be able to right-click on a folder or even on a file or between two files and have it create a new folder there. But the new folder option is not available in those cases. I have to go to File->New Folder or click on the empty bottom of the screen, create the new folder there, and then drag it. Would love…

Command-Shift-N

Re: macOS Tips and Tricks (2022)

#350

Post by everettp »

notpushkin wrote: post #341
madeofpalk wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The help menu is what searches all menu items.

Yeah. I think the idea was to help the user find out where a command is, so they can use menubar directly next time. Not the brightest idea IMO.

no, when hitting Command-? the help menu bar opens a search box that takes you directly to matching menu items -- like Spotlight for menu items. you can activate them directly from the search box. no learning involved
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