Getting Spaces to work on OS X Jul 07, 2009
The Spaces application looked promising when I first saw it. Unfortunately, I was sorely disappointed when I actually got my mitts on it. Spaces would shift around, and I could never get to the window I wanted quickly enough.
My expectations were high because I'd grown to like the KDE desktop manager; this was back when I worked with Linux.
Here's how I picture it working:
I split up my desktops by task.
- Communication (email and instant messenger)
- Browsing and Coding (Firefox and my text editor)
- Terminal (Command Line Geekery)
- Designs Programs and FTP
Ideally, I would stay on one task (or desktop) at a time and only switch after I've completed my task. When I look at a desktop, I would have no more than 3 windows open. When I switch windows with cmd+tab, I will only see the windows available on that desktop. That keeps my work modes separated and my mind focused on "what I gotta do RIGHT NOW".
Thankfully I found some software that makes Spaces and my Mac behave that way.
- Witch (shareware that will cost $10 for the full version; it's totally worth it)
- PullTab
- Application Enhancer
Install Witch, enable it in system preferences, and UNCHECK 'Show an "Activate" item for windowless/hidden applications'
When you click option+tab you'll scroll through all the available windows on your Space. Pretty f'in nice. For many people, that's good enough, but I think we can do better.
Witch won't let you choose cmd+tab as a trigger because the OS X Dock has it reserved. Next, we need to hack the Dock with PullTab, a module for Unsanity's Application Enhancer.
Install the app and module, then reboot your computer. (It didn't work for me until I rebooted.) When you start up again, you'll notice your cmd+tab trigger does nothing. Now you can go into the Witch Preference Pane and set it to cmd tab.
Baddabing, baddaboom, everything works like it should.
Comments
- Comments have been closed.
