Leopard and better window handling
Leopard may arrive with better window handling if doesn’t eliminate windows altogether. Here are four ways to improve the user experience:
You should be able to unminimize a window using the keyboard.
Mac OS X minimizes the frontmost window to the Dock when you type Command-M, but to unminimize that window—maybe you minimized it by accident—you’re forced to use the mouse.
You should be able to cycle through minimized windows using the keyboard.
In Mac OS X, Command-Tab cycles through applications, including hidden applications. Command-` cycles through the current application’s open windows, but doesn’t include hidden windows (minimized). There’s no good reason for this inconsistency.
Exposé doesn’t include minimized windows, either. A reasonable improvement to Exposé might be to add an option to the F10 view (show all windows for the current application) allowing you to see minimized windows for that application as well.
You should be able to zoom a window using the keyboard.
If you can minimize a window using the keyboard, why can’t you zoom using the keyboard as well?
You should be able to maximize a window using either mouse or keyboard.
There’s no standard for maximizing a window on the Mac. Even zooming isn’t standard. According to Apple’s human interface guidelines on window behavior, zooming a window should show as much of the content as possible, or a reasonable unit, such as a page. That’s the guideline, but it turns out that zooming like this is harder for the developer than simply zooming to fill the entire screen, so correct zooming has remained a guideline only loosely followed.
But while zooming is nice, sometimes you really want to maximize the window to fill the entire screen, or even to go full-screen. Writers’ tools increasingly feature full-screen modes now, with larger font sizes while full-screen. Going full-screen makes the distractions disappear and lets you concentrate on your work.
Apple has been adding full-screen modes to many of its applications, too. Maybe Leopard will make this system-wide.
While it’s true that these details probably don’t matter to most people, they really matter for those who prefer the keyboard over the mouse. For them, having to reach for the mouse breaks their concentration and forces them to slow down, to notice the human interface. Oh, I have to use the mouse.
Keyboard shortcuts are specifically designed to accommodate users who prefer the keyboard. Mac OS X should support reasonable window handling from the keyboard.
Let’s hope Leopard finally does.
I agree wholeheartedly, Apple’s been heading mainstream and it’s time to go all the way. I have been a Mac user since Mac OS 8.5 so I was a “true” switcher. I didn’t need the beauty of OS X to make me switch, I was just done with Windows. The unfortunate thing is some of the “Windows way” is the easy way and it makes sense.
Now while I use keyboard commands mainly for enlarge fonts and various other things I still use the mouse a lot. Apple’s Leopard needs to take heed that many people rely on the keyboard for most computing tasks and window resizing can’t be done without the mouse.
Apple’s logical way of resizing does make sense to a degree however it’s not practical for switchers. If you learned off a Mac and never used anything else it will be easier to accept but pressing the expand button and the screen enlarging just enough to show current content is not logical to many people.
It’s really a pain to have to explain how that works to my friends that have recently switched and I haven’t liked it that way since I switched backed from OS 8.5. Now while I never browse full screen because I don’t like being blocked from my desktop there are times where full screen is necessary and I use a 23″ screen and I hate have to manually stretch the window to full screen because the expand button won’t do it.
Yes, it’s also a pain that only some of Apple’s apps do it and some don’t. iPhoto, iMovie, iCal and iDVD do it but why not iTunes, Safari where these programs are used daily, keyboard commands just won’t cut it.
Not everything is perfect the “Apple way”.
I couldn’t agree more. Expose, especially, should include more power options. Apple needs to give users access to more power options, even if it requires a special lock button be unlocked and a reminder that the options are not intended for novice users. There is just no reason to cripple the possible ways of working that you have described - other than K.I.S.S., which only applies to a certain level of user.
The maximize window situation is frustrating. At least give us a key command to have the front-most window fill the screen. Possibly even add another gummy drop button to the red/yellow/blue. The green button is inconsistent and frustrating. Even mouse users spend lots of extra action and time moving down to the right corner of the window to grab the handle and expand the window, then re-adjust the window.
These are all very simple UI things to be programmed. Most of them could have been done in Mac OS 1.0. It’s just a choice of Apple about what to expose to the user and define as a guideline.
FWIW, Ctrl-F3 highlights the Dock, arrow left or right to the minimised window, press space to maximise it.
Additionally, when an application’s Dock icon is highlighted in the same way, the up arrow will show the contextual menu for that app (an all open windows for that app are listed here, including minimised ones).
Most applications have a “Bring All to front option” in the WIndow menu. It is easier to click on the dock icon. It would be easiest if there were a consistent standard easy keyboard shortcut to do this as well (there should be!).
Speaking of keys… the capslock key has one of the best positions on the keyboard. It is a complete waste of space (luckily you can turn it off in OS X). When can we get a useful key in that position. Oh and when will we be allowed to turn that other hated key, the help key (aka the mis-hit delete key), off.
You can get to minimized windows in the dock when full keyboard access is turned on via Control-F2.
Actually, Control-F3.
Part of me really likes this idea - much as it harkens back to the old school again when computers would multitask and you’d have a full screen application switcher. The other part of me thinks …. drag-and-drop goodness in OS X would become, hmmmm, drag-fumblefumble-drop.
I really like the idea of making windows obsolete, and Windows by association. That would be genius if it could be pulled off.
I still laugh at all of this…
I’m reminded of a PC developer I worked with years ago. He had a mouse attached to his computer. It usually was stuck under a batch of paper or coffee cups or something. Accessing the mouse was a real pain for him and his UI always had lots and lots of keyboard shortcuts. Whenever he had to use the mouse, he’d mutter about what a pain in the ass the mouse was and move all his paper and coffee cups and crap so that he had room, etc. etc.
Even before, back in 1983, I remember seeing the Lisa interface and thinking it was cute, but it will never replace my keyboard and command-line interface. It was only when I actually sat down and used a Mac a year later, day in and day out, did I realize how convenient it is to use a mouse than remember a bunch of arcane commands, function keys, and the like.
The fact that you said, “We need a keyboard command to get a minimized window out of the dock,” and someone told you the keyboard command to use should really show you that you’re wasting your time memorizing all these keyboard commands. If you want to minimize a window, click on the little yellow bubble in the window title–it’s the bubble in the middle (in case the window is not frontmost) rather than scrolling through all the windows, minimizing the one you want, and then scrolling back to the window you want.
Really. The mouse is your friend.
I consider minimized windows being left out of Expose, window cycling, and even “X All…” (eg, Save All, Close All,..etc) through the use of the Option key to be a feature, not an inconsistency. I put windows in the Dock to remove them from these functions.
You can add a keyboard command for Zoom in the Keyboard Shortcuts pane of System Prefs.
“Maximize”, as windows users expect, should simply be holding in SHIFT while clicking the Zoom button. The Zoom button is supposed to zoom the window to fit the content. By holding in SHIFT with the button, it could zoom the window to fit the screen.
There is an extension to classic Mac OS (since at least System 7, and works in 9) named WindowJuggler which allows you to cycle through open windows, in most recent to least recent order, using the keyboard (Command-TAB, if I remember correctly). This single extension was the biggest feature that I missed when moving to Mac OS X.
Windows Alt-TAB has always been document-centric rather than window-centric, which is the opposite of the standard Mac OS X Command-TAB functionality. And while I find Command-TAB useful, it’s usually windows I want to cycle, not whole applications.
Now, at last, there is a solution to cycling windows on Mac OS X - including windows minimised to the Dock - from the keyboard - and in recent use order.
I have discovered Witch , a PreferencePane. And it does everything I was missing with WindowsJuggler, and more. It requires you to turn on “Enable access for Assistive Devices” in the Universal Access PreferencePane, but that’s all.
I have no affiliation with the product, other than being a very satisfied user. I strongly encourgae you to check it out if you want to enhance you keyboard control of Mac OS X.
My boss purchased a G4 that he never uses simply because in Windows he has access to more keyboard shortcuts. This is not always the case, but for many instances it is. In Windows, you can pull down any menu and manipulate all it’s choices thru the keyboard. You can even choose to print only the current page from the keyboard.
OSX definetely needs improvement in this area.
Note, Ctrl-F4 and Ctrl-shift-F4 will cycle through all maximised windows in all apps.
OmniWeb utilises the shift-clicking of the zoom button to go full screen. I too would like to see this used across the system (other than for things like Calculator where it just doesn’t make any sense).
Ctrl-F3 to highlight Dock items. Press Return key to select app or minimized window.
The ctrl-f4 is a killer find but what a bad key combo for something you want to do all the time.
ctrl-F3 navigation is nice I use it until the first time I hit the uparrow key and get frustrated there is no way back without restarting the whole process usually by esc, ctr-F3 again, some number of arow presses to get to the doc location I want….
I like the up arrow bring me to the menu it does. Thats great, but (esc, right, left whatever) should bring me back to the location in the doc I was at. not cancel the whole process and force you to start over.
Menu commands are not nicely accessible from keyboard in OS X. in Windows you can access a menu selection with two keys, down arrow/type name or abbreviation of the command and hit enter to execute. OS X requires ctrl-F2 which brings you to the apple. bit the menu selection you want, some arrows or letters to get to the menu option you want, then a (Return/ down arrow) to open the menu which can not be undone.
I use butler to make most app-switches these days and almost never Command-tab.
After two years being mac only I still feel the pain of some missing windows features. but the love of the mac UI and features keeps me here. It takes some pain to get acquainted with ‘The Mac concept’ if you come from windows; because it is hard to change the way you train yourself to do things.