Did they fix Stage Manager in OS Ventura yet?

[oheas]

For those people with OS Ventura (latest patch), did they fix the Stage Manager feature yet?

I was excited about Stage Manager so I downloaded Ventura beta for the first time 1.5 months ago. But Stage Manager is absolute hot garbage.

Did Apple fix Stage Manager in their newest patch yet?

 

[Mr.Blacky]

How about being a little more specific? What didn't work and what do you expect?

 

[oheas]

How about being a little more specific? What didn't work and what do you expect?

E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

Open a new finder window -> creates a completely new "stage" with just the new finder window. Confused how to go back to the last "stage" (even harder if you had multiple spaces). If you do go back to old space, you're lost where the new finder window you just opened is.

Do "cmd + n" in ANY application, chrome, finder, whatever, and it will create a space for every Cmd + N you press. SO CONFUSING.

Does NOT work well with spaces + stages AT ALL.

Do CMD + TAB after switching stages, it will go to the OLD stage instead of staying in the same stage with the switched app. I thought the point of stages is to focus on your stage, so why is it forcing me to the last stage??

Stage Manager is UNUSABLE unless Apple fixed all of these things.

 

[owidhh]

E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

Open a new finder window -> creates a completely new "stage" with just the new finder window. Confused how to go back to the last "stage" (even harder if you had multiple spaces). If you do go back to old space, you're lost where the new finder window you just opened is.

For a while now, you can use cmd-` to switch between windows of a stage, or windows of an application (ie in your example of Finder, if you open multiple ones, cmd-` will switch between the window that's show and the other windows that are on the side. If you have different apps in the same stage, it will switch between all windows of all apps currently visible).

Additionally, in the latest beta, when you open a new window of an app it will.. just open the new window. It will not send al other windows to the sidebar. FINALLY. Huge improvement.

Do "cmd + n" in ANY application, chrome, finder, whatever, and it will create a space for every Cmd + N you press. SO CONFUSING.

Not anymore, see above.

Does NOT work well with spaces + stages AT ALL.

Do CMD + TAB after switching stages, it will go to the OLD stage instead of staying in the same stage with the switched app. I thought the point of stages is to focus on your stage, so why is it forcing me to the last stage??

Stage Manager is UNUSABLE unless Apple fixed all of these things.

Somewhat resolved


But overall, I keep trying it every beta release, and I turn it off after a few days, it's just not.. efficient. Biggest bug I have left is that when disconnecting or reconnecting my external monitor, it resets all my carefully-arranged stages, and I have to set them all up again. Other than that, it's still very clunky to arrange multiple apps to work together one one "project" or one set of tasks, compared to Spaces. I WANT to like it but I can't, as it is now.

 

[oheas]

I WANT to like it but I can't, as it is now.

THIS. THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I FEEL. IT'S SUCH A MASSIVE DISAPPOINTMENT.

Also ty for your progress update. That's what I was looking for.

 

[jasoncarle]

Open a new finder window -> creates a completely new "stage"

That's how it is supposed to work. You either don't understand the purpose of Stage Manager or are trying to make it do things it isn't designed for. When you open a new app, Finder in your case, it shifts whatever you were working on, "off stage" so to speak, in my case off to the right. I can then flip through stages by using alt tab, drag an app from off stage, back onto the stage, put apps back off stage, etc...

 

[oheas]

That's how it is supposed to work. You either don't understand the purpose of Stage Manager or are trying to make it do things it isn't designed for. When you open a new app, Finder in your case, it shifts whatever you were working on, "off stage" so to speak, in my case off to the right. I can then flip through stages by using alt tab, drag an app from off stage, back onto the stage, put apps back off stage, etc...

Clearly not, if they "fixed" and "changed" it to a sensible DIFFERENT way it SHOULD work as the previous poster said.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

Open a new finder window -> creates a completely new "stage" with just the new finder window. Confused how to go back to the last "stage" (even harder if you had multiple spaces). If you do go back to old space, you're lost where the new finder window you just opened is.

Do "cmd + n" in ANY application, chrome, finder, whatever, and it will create a space for every Cmd + N you press. SO CONFUSING.

Does NOT work well with spaces + stages AT ALL.

Do CMD + TAB after switching stages, it will go to the OLD stage instead of staying in the same stage with the switched app. I thought the point of stages is to focus on your stage, so why is it forcing me to the last stage??

Stage Manager is UNUSABLE unless Apple fixed all of these things.

Nothing you listed is an issue anymore since (at least) two betas ago.

 

[ratspg]

Stage Manager is pretty useless if you use your current app taking the entire screen (not full screen mode.)
It will swap but you just don't see what's "off stage."

 

[Phil22]

Slightly off topic, however, just wondered if stage manager has little utility on laptops due to limited screen size? Perhaps the 16 inch pro it might be useful?

 

[n-evo]

I think this is going to be one of those features that's going to rely on massive user feedback to get better.

Or people just won't bother with it and it'll go the way of Dashboard.

 

[sebfrey]

I just turned it on a couple of days ago. I kind of like it, haven't really noticed any problems, but I haven't gone looking.

 

[Corefile]

There can be more managed apps than are displayed on the left so it does seem kind of misrepresenting your apps. TBH it feels like the MacOS version is trying to find a problem that this UI wants to solve. I just don't see what it is.

 

[chama98]

I just toggle it on and off when I need to use it for work etc….

 

[cknlol]

I'll stick to alt+tab and mission control.

 

[owidhh]

in the latest beta (beta 11? I lost track, the one released on October 11 anyway), I've turned SM on again, and so far after 2 days I haven't turned it off in disgust. It's getting better. I'm not sure exactly how or why it's better now compared to before, aside from bugs getting resolved (like losing the SM window arrangement when connecting/disconnecting externa monitors, cmd-` not working properly, etc). Also the new addition where minimizing a window sends it to the side rather than to the Dock is interesting, not sure I like it but it makes it feel more integrated rather than a tacked-on feature.

 

[maternidad]

I'll stick to alt+tab

We don’t have that (?)

 

[gilby101]

did they fix the Stage Manager feature yet?

It is just a feature looking for a purpose (and failing).

 

[tomtad]

Stage Manager is pretty useless if you use your current app taking the entire screen (not full screen mode.)
It will swap but you just don't see what's "off stage."

This. I want to like it but it's just so half baked. The lack of integration with full screen apps is a perfect example of this.

When you're switching between apps you get used to mousing to the left Strip and then selecting which one you want, great. Except when in a full screen app and you mouse over to the left there is nothing. Then you realise you have to gesture swipe back to the Desktop to then mouse over to the left Strip to then open what you want. Or mouse down to the Dock but my muscle memory is now mousing over to the left to switch.

So to switch task you've got the Strip (but not in full screen apps), the Dock and gesture swiping between apps. And then you've still got Spaces if you really want to go all in. Basically it feels like you've got several different multitasking paradigms all existing at the same time and it gets very confusing.

The whole thing just needs rethinking from the ground up. We don't need Expose and Mission Control and Spaces and Stage Manager etc etc.... just one consistent way to manage windows/apps.

 

[owidhh]

Once again, my SM experiment is on hold, after 3 days of having it enabled. It's still too buggy (the cmd-` shortcut fails randomly or is very inconsistent). Window management is still too awkward, especially when it comes to (1) organizing what windows go together and (2) switching between these window groupings. Spaces is still so much faster and more intuitive with the 3 or 4 finger swipe on the trackpad, and new windows opening in the same Space rather than opening in their own and having to move them around after the fact.

And while I did like that windows get minimized on the left strip, the Dock is still better, because (1) there's a specific area for minimized windows and (2) there's a max of 5 items in the left strip so after opening more than a few apps or minimizing more than a few, they start disappearing out of view. Maybe it's OK to minimize (pun intended) the cognitive load for people not opening so many apps or windows, but this is a Mac not an iPad, I'm expected to run a lot of apps and have a lot of windows... soooo.. SM is off again.

(feedback above submitted verbatim before anyone tries to remind me to send feedback....)

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

If they just integrated the app ‘clusters’ into the Dock then it would be a huge step in the right direction. I don’t understand why they added yet another multitasking UI element with the strip on the left-hand side. The Dock and Mission Control are enough.

 

[owidhh]

Alright, so continuing from my previous comment, I'll now try a new approach: stage manager PLUS spaces. Spaces to organize my different, well, workspaces (e.g. projects, personal stuff/casual usage, full-screen apps). Stage Manager to organize windows and apps within each space. Let's see how it goes...

 

[ponzicoinbro]

If they just integrated the app ‘clusters’ into the Dock then it would be a huge step in the right direction. I don’t understand why they added yet another multitasking UI element with the strip on the left-hand side. The Dock and Mission Control are enough.

I think they made this janky looking 3D UI for their headset.

There was no reason to being it to macOS. Your concept is much better. It could all be done on the Dock.

 

[ZacKaffeine]

Alright, so continuing from my previous comment, I'll now try a new approach: stage manager PLUS spaces. Spaces to organize my different, well, workspaces (e.g. projects, personal stuff/casual usage, full-screen apps). Stage Manager to organize windows and apps within each space. Let's see how it goes...

This is what I'm having an issue with. SM works well on one space, but it acts buggy on all the other spaces. Sometimes it will only show one of the windows, but I can't get SM to show the other ones. Pretty bummed, but hopefully it will get fixed soon...or I learn what I'm doing wrong lol

 

[owidhh]

This is what I'm having an issue with. SM works well on one space, but it acts buggy on all the other spaces. Sometimes it will only show one of the windows, but I can't get SM to show the other ones. Pretty bummed, but hopefully it will get fixed soon...or I learn what I'm doing wrong lol

HMm I haven't experienced that issue. So far it's working well with multiple spaces (haven't tried multiple windows)