Moving/Resizing Windows

[Alameda]

I have two pet peeves with OS X and I'm wondering if there are any workarounds. The first is that moving and resizing windows is more difficult than in Windows. The cursor is very tiny and when you move the cursor to a window edge or corner, only a very narrow band -- a few pixels -- will activate the window resize cursor. In Windows, I think the cursor actually snaps to this area in the window, making it pretty easy to move and resize windows. Lion helps -- now I can resize a window from anywhere -- but it's still more cumbersome than Windows, I have to confess.

Gripe number two is that Command-Tab cycles through applications and not windows. So if I want to switch to a Firefox window, I have to use the mouse.

How do you guys deal with this? Are there shortcut keys or utilities you use?

 

[charlieegan3]

you might want to look into 2 tools: bettersnaptool and divvy.

 

[MrAppleseed]

Gripe number two is that Command-Tab cycles through applications and not windows. So if I want to switch to a Firefox window, I have to use the mouse.

Have a look at this keyboard setting.



The highlighted entry means something like Move focus to next window and might help you out with this one. You can change the shortcut according to your preference (alt + tab for example).

 

[Alameda]

Have a look at this keyboard setting.

View attachment 346871

The highlighted entry means something like Move focus to next window and might help you out with this one. You can change the shortcut according to your preference (alt + tab for example).

Thank you! I always feel stupid when something as obvious as that is right under my nose... but this is odd behavior -- I Command-Tab for next app, and Command-~ for next window in the same app, but I can't Command-<something> to just cycle through all of my windows, can I? Maybe I'll just get used to it.

 

[heisenberg123]

hyperdock is an app that will give you that windows 7 feel when you snap and window to full size or half screen if thats what your looking for

 

[Alameda]

On further reflection, I believe this is simply an inferiority of OSX compared to Microsoft Windows.

Cursor tracking is less precise with a trackpad than with a mouse. That's not Apple's fault, it's just an observation. The problem is that they made the controls smaller, so it takes more effort to put the pointer where you want it to be. When moving the cursor near a resize or move area of a window, the hit spot is very narrow and there's no "snap" which favors that cursor position. Simple tasks like moving and resizing windows are more cumbersome under Lion than under Windows 7, and that shouldn't be.

This seems like such a fundamental part of the day-to-day use, and what's always been a standout advantage of the Mac, that I'm baffled by what Apple's thinking. It seems like marketing and appearance won out at the expense of usefulness.