Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Start Menu Widget

bu113t

bu113t

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 21, 2006
49
10
Howell, MI
I dont actually need a windows style start menu, but does anyone know if there is a Widget that can display the items in your applications folder (or even better, choose which applications you want in it)? I think if I can put this on my girlfriend's login, I can convert her to a mac user...
 
iMeowbot

iMeowbot

macrumors G3
Aug 30, 2003
8,634
0
Could you just drag the Applications folder (or maybe a smaller version with aliases to interesting applications) to the right-hand side of the Dock? With a right-click (or click-and-hold) it's very much like the Start menu.
 
kretzy

kretzy

macrumors 604
Sep 11, 2004
7,921
2
Canberra, Australia
Why not just show her how to use the Dock and Finder. Having to go into Dashboard to access applications seems like an unnecessary step. She'll quickly get used to it.
 
staceydock

staceydock

macrumors newbie
Jan 11, 2006
4
0
Dallas
solution

bu113t said:
I dont actually need a windows style start menu, but does anyone know if there is a Widget that can display the items in your applications folder (or even better, choose which applications you want in it)? I think if I can put this on my girlfriend's login, I can convert her to a mac user...
Click to expand...

drag your apps folder into the dock on the right side of line.
Then when you click and hold on that folder you can browse and open your apps easily.
 
bu113t

bu113t

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 21, 2006
49
10
Howell, MI
I've heard people say you can drag the apps folder into the dock and I havent been able to get that to work.

As far as the reasoning for a widget... i dont need to keep the widget on the dashboard, you can easily just drag the widget onto your desktop and out of the dashboard so you dont have to open dashboard each time you want access... at least that was the plan.
 
MacSA

MacSA

macrumors 68000
Jun 4, 2003
1,803
5
UK
What about this? http://ranchero.com/tigerlaunch/

TigerLaunch is an easy-to-use and easy-to-configure application launcher for OS X.

It displays an Apps menu at the top of your screen listing all your applications in alphabetical order—no matter what folder they appear in.
 
Kernow

Kernow

macrumors 65816
Sep 30, 2005
1,438
0
Kingston-Upon-Thames
bu113t said:
I've heard people say you can drag the apps folder into the dock and I havent been able to get that to work.
Click to expand...

It has to be on the right hand side of the dock - near the trash. There is a dividing line in the dock - to the left of the line you can only put applications, to the right of the line you can put folders and files.
 
decksnap

decksnap

macrumors 68040
Apr 11, 2003
3,075
84
There is this cool widget that sits on the desktop that you can put any apps into you want and launch them right from the desktop. I think it's just what you're looking for.

It's called the Dock.
 
bu113t

bu113t

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 21, 2006
49
10
Howell, MI
vohdoun said:
Which did you go with?

Looks like HimmelBar is more upto date...
Click to expand...

Well, im still at work, so I haven't tried either yet... They both seem pretty similar and botjh look like they can be customizable... I think I may install them both simultaneously and see which I like better.
 
bu113t

bu113t

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 21, 2006
49
10
Howell, MI
decksnap said:
There is this cool widget that sits on the desktop that you can put any apps into you want and launch them right from the desktop. I think it's just what you're looking for.

It's called the Dock.
Click to expand...

Man, in all the years I've been using OSX I never thought of the dock. As much as I love my Macs, the Dock does not have the same abilities as the start menu. If I have 50 programs that I use on my mac, I hardly want them all in there. Opening the finder, clicking on Applications and scrolling through my endless applications takes a long time too... I think that is probably why people wrote HimmelBar and TigerLaunch. The Dock is not exactly what I am looking for.
 
Aramis

Aramis

macrumors member
Feb 25, 2006
98
0
East Coast
bu113t said:
Man, in all the years I've been using OSX I never thought of the dock. As much as I love my Macs, the Dock does not have the same abilities as the start menu. If I have 50 programs that I use on my mac, I hardly want them all in there. Opening the finder, clicking on Applications and scrolling through my endless applications takes a long time too... I think that is probably why people wrote HimmelBar and TigerLaunch. The Dock is not exactly what I am looking for.
Click to expand...

FYI - just in case you were thinking of using HimmelBar on your MBP. The universal binary is in beta.

http://softbend.free.fr/himmelbar/download_beta.html

Tigerlaunch is working fine on my MBP.
 
decksnap

decksnap

macrumors 68040
Apr 11, 2003
3,075
84
bu113t said:
Man, in all the years I've been using OSX I never thought of the dock. As much as I love my Macs, the Dock does not have the same abilities as the start menu. If I have 50 programs that I use on my mac, I hardly want them all in there. Opening the finder, clicking on Applications and scrolling through my endless applications takes a long time too... I think that is probably why people wrote HimmelBar and TigerLaunch. The Dock is not exactly what I am looking for.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but it does if you drag your apps folder into it.
 
W

willybNL

macrumors 6502
Jul 26, 2006
314
64
((New York) - (New) ) + Zoom out = Europe, The Net
Comming from windows I also would probably heavelly use a widget just in my left-bottom corner... If it would include the possibilities of himmelbar and maybe the search option os x has it would (in my humble opinion) really help people from windows switching to mac.

p.s. Why search tons of windows if there is Witch ( http://www.petermaurer.de/nasi.php?section=witch ), a program that will do the ALT-TAB just like in windows (so between windows, not programs).
 
ravenvii

ravenvii

macrumors 604
Mar 17, 2004
7,585
492
Melenkurion Skyweir
I don't think bu113t here understands how the drag-applications-to-dock thing works. So I'll show him a picture. Hopefully he won't go "I tried it, it doesn't work. Anything else" on us this time.

PICTURE HERE
 
D

Donz0r

macrumors 6502a
Jun 29, 2006
903
23
bu113t said:
Man, in all the years I've been using OSX I never thought of the dock. As much as I love my Macs, the Dock does not have the same abilities as the start menu. If I have 50 programs that I use on my mac, I hardly want them all in there. Opening the finder, clicking on Applications and scrolling through my endless applications takes a long time too... I think that is probably why people wrote HimmelBar and TigerLaunch. The Dock is not exactly what I am looking for.
Click to expand...

You Dont Need any 3rd party software! Just DRAG THE APPLICATIONS FOLDER into the dock RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR TRASH CAN!
Then just RIGHT CLICK on it and it displays your applications like a start menu.

Look at the picture in the post above mine
 
m-dogg

m-dogg

macrumors 65816
Mar 15, 2004
1,338
4
Connecticut
Raven VII said:
I don't think bu113t here understands how the drag-applications-to-dock thing works. So I'll show him a picture. Hopefully he won't go "I tried it, it doesn't work. Anything else" on us this time.

PICTURE HERE
Click to expand...

Yup, this is what I do. If you click on the folder in your dock and hold it for a couple seconds, that menu will pop up showing everything that is in the folder.

I also change the icon for it in the dock, so it looks a little nicer (to me).
 
D

dhc

macrumors regular
Jan 10, 2006
168
0
UK
groovebiscuit said:
How about this?

http://softbend.free.fr/himmelbar/

Don't know if it's exactly what your looking for but it's fully configurable as to what apps you want it to display.

I find it very handy for apps I use often but that I don't want to clutter up my dock with.
Click to expand...

Slightly off topic i suppose, but for those apps (& Pref Panes) that I don't want to clutter my dock with, I drag them onto my finder tool bar. Saves digging around in folders.

(I have the scroll ball on my Mighty Mouse configured to open a finder window, so it's only ever a click away.)
 

Attachments

  • finder.jpg
    finder.jpg
    108.4 KB · Views: 104
W

willybNL

macrumors 6502
Jul 26, 2006
314
64
((New York) - (New) ) + Zoom out = Europe, The Net
decksnap said:
You can switch through windows with alt+` in OS X. And since it's right above alt+tab, you can use them in conjunction.
Click to expand...

Haha... i expected that one... but it's differend. With the program above you can do both Alt + ` and Apple + Tab in 1 program. So it saves you the time + you get a nice interface for it (So: Also your X11 programs appear with all windows!... And that is what is all so handy about it if you use for example openoffice).

Note; What is so handy about the left-bottom corner Start (or something that can do that) instead of all programs mentioned on this page is that you can just push your mouse in the fecinity (you don't have to be exactly on start, but just a little around is ok) and you get a list of all programs with just one click and an execute possibility for the prompt. (Almost everyone i know using windows uses start -> cmd -> notepad or calc :p).
It's not that it's maybe the fastest way to do this in OS X, but it is something people got used to if they were using windows... so a widget to help people make the switch could help (and of course, after a while you can uninstall it maybe if you got used to all other things).

It's like the same as a missing 'go one map up' in finder... it's there (Apple + arrow up)... but it's not there in the interface... (or did I really took a bad look). After a while you got used to using that button in windows and start to miss it in Os X.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom