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Expose overrated?

DaveP

DaveP

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 18, 2005
508
433
Hey Guys (and gals),

Does anyone else think expose is overrated? I think it is really impressive as far as the wow factor, but find that I am much, much more efficient using command-tab and command-~ to manuever to the window I want. I think expose looks really cool and it is good feature, I just don't find it that usefull. I know some people (like my girlfriend) are not comfortable with keyboard commands and use expose to select windows.

I see people listing expose as a feature they like the best or can't live without and I just sort of scratch my head. I am the only one?
 
i dont know, i use it instinctively now, if i am at a windows Machine i find myself hitting the hot corners all the time, but thats just me, maybe its because i am a more visual person, who knows, i use command+tab all the time too, but it depends on what i am doing when i need to switch to a different window that causes me to use one or the other.
 
it would depend on what type of application you are using. for example, if you have serveral word documents open then you couldn't just command tab to the window you want. what i find it most useful for is while coding with several different files open, and i have to navigate with two screen full of open files.
 
I agree with you in that I use cmd-tab much more than expose, especially since I can quit and hide programs so easily from there. Its a great way to just take a look at all the main apps running on your mac and then quit or hide the ones you aren't using at the moment. Windows doesn't even come close (a lot of hidden progs don't show up on the bottom bar, so your stuck with ctrl-alt-delete...uggg!). However, that being said, I still do use expose and I think its great. Maybe I'll be a little more fanatical if I get a Mighty Mouse.
 
yes, i agree it depends on the kind of work you do on your mac. in my case i work doing web design at home on my mac and at work on a pc, and I am having a hard time working with photoshop and dreamweaver while on the pc.. sometimes i have 20+ images open at the same time on PS, and finding the one i need on the PC is a real PITA, while on the mac it just takes one second to find the image i need. same goes for all the applications with multiple documents open at the same time.

for me Exposé is the #1 reason I prefer macs over pcs now. one year ago i was thinking macs weren't that special. now i can't live without them. :)
 
I have no use for F9 and F10. It is just easier to command+tab or command+' between windows. I hate hot corners. I am always accidentally activating them. So annoying.

However, I do use F11 all the time. It is a very easy way to get to the desktop. Windows has a quick launch button that does the same thing and I used it very often when I used windows. It it the one feature I missed when I switched to OS X. Now I miss nothing.
 
The nice thing about Exposé is not needed to hit keystrokes to get it active (ie using just the hot corners). I find it speeds things up a lot, and as PlaceofDis said I find myself going to the hotcorners a lot when using windows with no luck.
 
I find using a computer without Exposé highly annoying. I use it ALL the time. I also use command-tab, but I think the difference is, if my hand is on the mouse, then Exposé is faster (I have hot corners set up), but if my hands are on the keyboard, command-tab is faster. I especially find the show desktop command in Exposé useful.
 
neocell said:
and as PlaceofDis said I find myself going to the hotcorners a lot when using windows with no luck.
Click to expand...

you would need a lot of luck to get hot corners to work on Windows!
 
neocell said:
The nice thing about Exposé is not needed to hit keystrokes to get it active (ie using just the hot corners). I find it speeds things up a lot, and as PlaceofDis said I find myself going to the hotcorners a lot when using windows with no luck.
Click to expand...

I didn't really use Exposé until I configured it for hot corners. Since I started using Hot Corners, I use a mix of the two. Especially with a mouse, Exposé + hot corners works much better for me than Cmd-tab and Cmd-tilde.

I only use two of the hot corners right now -- the ones up top, because I trigger the others too easily. Which means I only use two of the Exposé modes -- show all and hide all. I don't use the F10 one much at all.... I do find Cmd-tab and Cmd-tilde to be more accessible from the keyboard than the function keys, too.
 
I think it really does depend what you're doing and what you're doing it on. Using a trackpad on my 15" Powerbook, hot corners drive me batty. I'm quicker just hitting the appropriate Exposé key.

I use a combination of command-tab and Exposé depending on whether I'm working with multi-window applications or single window apps. When I'm doing anything with lots of images, Exposé is a godsend. If I just want to bring iTunes to the front, command-tab wins.

If I'm dragging files around though, Exposé wins since dragging and dropping using command-tab doesn't seem as intuitive.

I do think it all depends on whether you're a keyboarder or a mouser though. If you're handy with keyboard commands, then Exposé is less useful. For those who can't recall shortcuts with multiple keys, then having a single input to invoke Exposé is much easier.
 
I never use Exposé when I could use cmd-` or cmd-tab. So much faster that way. I do use F11 all the time to get to the desktop though, very useful.
 
Applespider said:
I think it really does depend what you're doing and what you're doing it on. Using a trackpad on my 15" Powerbook, hot corners drive me batty. I'm quicker just hitting the appropriate Exposé key.

I use a combination of command-tab and Exposé depending on whether I'm working with multi-window applications or single window apps. When I'm doing anything with lots of images, Exposé is a godsend. If I just want to bring iTunes to the front, command-tab wins.

If I'm dragging files around though, Exposé wins since dragging and dropping using command-tab doesn't seem as intuitive.

I do think it all depends on whether you're a keyboarder or a mouser though. If you're handy with keyboard commands, then Exposé is less useful. For those who can't recall shortcuts with multiple keys, then having a single input to invoke Exposé is much easier.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you. It all depends on the individual user, and as for myself and my "fingers that are too fat to use this keyboard, and have yet to receive my special dialing wand by smashing the keyboard" I like to use the hotcorners, then cmd + tab, then f10 or whatever it is, just because of the ease, quickness and ability to not hit all the wrong keys.
 
neocell said:
The nice thing about Exposé is not needed to hit keystrokes to get it active (ie using just the hot corners). I find it speeds things up a lot, and as PlaceofDis said I find myself going to the hotcorners a lot when using windows with no luck.
Click to expand...
i too have hot corners with expose, its awesome it makes everything so much faster and easier. I never realized how much you need it
 
Expose was my single favorite thing about OS 10.3. It totally changed the way I navigated the OS.

I've never liked using the keyboard for expose: I find the setting that works best for me is to have the top right hotcornered to expose all windows, the bottom right to show the desktop and now the bottom left to bring up the dashboard, that way all I have to do to bring up the dashboard "dock" is move the mouse to the bottom corner and click at the same time (to click the cross button).

I wish I could say that Spotlight had the same effect for me, but as I keep all of my files very logically organized and all of my windows view options individually configured I find I am able to very quickly find documents.
 
I use cmd-tab to switch between applications. Works flawlessly.

But exposé is great for working within applications. For example, when working in Fireworks, I normally have a lot of files open and F10 is a lot more useful than cmd-`, not to mention a lot quicker. Similarly when dragging files between apps, exposé is invaluable. And yes, I vote for hot corners too.

They both have their uses and are not mutually exclusive in the least. I use both together and love my Mac for it :)
 
If Apple puts this command+` feature in Leopard, then I'll be very happy:
attachment.php


I agree with grapes911 on everything except for the fact that you can use a hot corner, along with a shortcut key, for a screen saver for a fast way of locking my system. However I never had a hot corner for anything until I found out that it I could add a shortcut key (command, shift, option and/or control) to the mouse going in the corner so the screen saver wouldn't go on when I accidentally bump the corner of the screen.
 
I think liking it also has to do wether you use the keyboard for more commands, or are a mouse person. I have expose programmed to one of my mouse buttons and use it all the time, because i don't have to reach over and hit cmd tab, but most people use apple mice or trackpads, not logitech MX700s and other multi button mice.
 
GodBless, I really like your idea for command+` That would be really cool. And I agree that expose's show desktop feature is nice. I use show desktop on Windows all the time, so having it on mac os is handy.
 
Yeah, I use the keyboard shortcuts alot too, but I think Exposé complements those commands. Like others, I didn't really appreciate Exposé until I set up a hot corner for all windows. Rather than hitting cmd-tab 5 times, and then using cmd-tilde to get the window I want, I can now just move my mouse into the corner and click on the window I want. It's much more efficient than tabbing several times.
 
I don't realise how useful Exposé is until I go onto a Windoze PC and try to select a window a folder window at the back. But, I really can't cope woth hot corners, tried them, and hated them.

::20ROGERSC::
 
Now that I think about it, I guess one of the reasons I don't use expose that much is I have too many windows for my screen (at least for my skills). I have an iBook and usually have tons of windows open and it sometimes takes me a while to find the right one out of the 20 or so that are there. Maybe I need to get a new contacts prescription or something so I can find it faster.... :rolleyes:
 
telecomm said:
Yeah, I use the keyboard shortcuts alot too, but I think Exposé complements those commands. Like others, I didn't really appreciate Exposé until I set up a hot corner for all windows. Rather than hitting cmd-tab 5 times, and then using cmd-tilde to get the window I want, I can now just move my mouse into the corner and click on the window I want. It's much more efficient than tabbing several times.
Click to expand...

I've decided to try and see if making my dock a little smaller, so that it doesn't reach to the corners, eliminates the issue of accidentally tripping the two lower corners all the time, and putting application windows and dashboard on those corners. :)
 
I keep most of the files that I'm working with on my desktop, messy, yes, but with expose it's amazingly efficient. It's one of those things that I'll sit there and mumble about not having when I'm using a windows computer.
 
To switch between apps I use both Exposé and the command-tab app switcher, but I more often choose the latter.

It's different however when it comes to the F10 Exposé. It's quite practical. It often happens that I have a lot of files opened in Photoshop. In this case pressing the F10 key, seeing all the images and clicking one is a really fast way to switch between them, rather than using the window menu. In the window menu you can just see the files' names but Exposé shows how they're looking.

So here are my personal statistics :)

all windows Exposé / app switcher
20% / 80%

application windows Exposé / window menu
99% / 1%

desktop Exposé (F11) / hide applications or minimize windows
40% / 60%

Dashboard (F12) / Clicking the Dashboard icon
100% / 0%

In fact I completly removed the Dashboard icon form the Dock
 
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