tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post115488620953637129..comments2024-03-17T16:17:20.145-07:00Comments on Amit's Thoughts: Mac OS X window management: SpookyAmithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12159325271882018300noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post-83803926560448778552010-09-27T11:58:46.009-07:002010-09-27T11:58:46.009-07:00I finally got around to setting this up. Setup is ...I finally got around to setting this up. Setup is pretty painful, and the fact that Quicksilver is buggy (it kept "forgetting" my hotkeys) didn't help. I switched to Spark, and it seems to work reliably.<br /><br />I looked at some of the other options that Steve mentioned, particularly SizeUp. I ended up going with Spooky because it looked like the other options aren't configurable enough, and don't support some of the window actions I'm used to. Also, the fact that two of my top-3 apps (MacVim and Terminal) are in SizeUp's list of "known 'trouble' applications" didn't exactly endear it to me.<br /><br />Even Spooky didn't support most of the actions I wanted, but at least I can edit the source to add the actions I want. This wasn't too hard, despite the fact that I had no previous knowledge of AppleScript (which is a *horrible* language, BTW).<br /><br />One of these days I might look into rewriting this in Python using AppscriptModule, but for now, it works.Laurencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12946206226063265718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post-74976219685734576232010-05-21T13:34:46.769-07:002010-05-21T13:34:46.769-07:00Thanks Steve! I had seen SizeUp but not the other...Thanks Steve! I had seen SizeUp but not the others. I'm still using Spooky, with Spark instead of with Quicksilver, because it's working well enough for me.Amithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12159325271882018300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post-30857574942130472352010-05-21T00:59:22.006-07:002010-05-21T00:59:22.006-07:00This article is a bit dated, but it's worth me...This article is a bit dated, but it's worth mentioning that window management has come a long way. Here are some good options:<br /><br />Cinch - $7 - is like Aero Snap for Mac.<br />http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/cinch/<br /><br />SizeUp - $13 - allows you to easily position window using keyboard shortcuts.<br />http://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/<br /><br />Breeze - $8 - allows you to save window states and restore them like a template to another window.<br />http://autumnapps.com/breeze/<br /><br />Divvy - $14 - shows a grid on the screen where you can select boxes to indicate how you want the window to fill your screen.<br />http://mizage.com/divvy/Stevehttp://www.irradiatedsoftware.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post-84976588276812272692008-07-05T23:20:00.000-07:002008-07-05T23:20:00.000-07:00Spooky doesn't create a window manager. The Mac ha...Spooky doesn't create a window manager. The Mac has a window manager but doesn't expose a lot of keyboard shortcuts. It is, however, scriptable, like Sawfish on X, except it uses Applescript instead of a custom language. Spooky is a set of scripts to send commands to the window manager. In theory, tiling could also be done with scripts, just as with Sawfish. (Side note: I find Gnome's default window manager to be very primitive compared to Sawfish and other window managers that we had in the old days.)Amithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12159325271882018300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post-77985227060435572722008-07-05T16:48:00.000-07:002008-07-05T16:48:00.000-07:00So what this basically does is create a window man...So what this basically does is create a window manager for Leopard, which really doesn't have one? I'm tempted to try it, but probably my time will be better spent looking into replacing <BR/>OS X on my Macbook altogether. <BR/><BR/>For window managers in Linux I like IceWm and Awesome. (dumb name, but not hyperbole.) Gnome's behavior seems to mac-like to me, and I can't understand why neither Gnome nor KDE seem to support tiling of windows, which even MS lets you do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post-59405928046755352002008-04-24T18:08:00.000-07:002008-04-24T18:08:00.000-07:00Thanks for the information, I will try it out now!...Thanks for the information, I will try it out now! I thought it didn't work because I recently e-mailed the author of the script, who provided me with a copy w/o Microsoft Office (if one doesn't have Office installed, the script is broken). Unfortunately, that didn't work, and I hadn't bought Office 2008 yet so I thought it was broken with Leopard. I just tested it out, and it works. <BR/><BR/>Thanks again!Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07115871486967860306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post-14158151219591959862008-04-24T09:40:00.000-07:002008-04-24T09:40:00.000-07:00I've been using Spooky with Leopard. It sometimes ...I've been using Spooky with Leopard. It sometimes fails but I think it's just flakiness with Spooky, not with Leopard.Amithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12159325271882018300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post-19421790655280557302008-04-22T13:43:00.000-07:002008-04-22T13:43:00.000-07:00Do you know of anything that works for Leopard? In...Do you know of anything that works for Leopard? In Windows, FreeSnap is priceless in how it can order windows neatly. Right now I'm slaving over trying to align everything exactly center, or perfectly in a corner, etc.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07115871486967860306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post-1161148196470655432006-10-17T22:09:00.000-07:002006-10-17T22:09:00.000-07:00Thanks Tim!Thanks Tim!Amithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12159325271882018300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5304409.post-1157793846063015852006-09-09T02:24:00.000-07:002006-09-09T02:24:00.000-07:00Hi Amit! I also had to fix this line to get Spook...Hi Amit! I also had to fix this line to get Spooky working:<BR/><BR/>set spookyFile to (do shell script ("defaults read net.doernte.spooky \"pathToSpooky\" "))<BR/><BR/>You're right, it IS a big pain in the butt to setup, but it's a real joy once it's setup. Huzzah! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com