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

How to Maximize a window...

ryannazaretian said:
Download RightZoom. It works wonders!
Click to expand...

wow! love it! this works just like the maximize button in windows. I've been really annoyed of the green button that doesn't really maximize my windows. Because I really like to see all my icons in a folder without having to scroll down. This freeware did it! Thanks so much!:D
 
this switcher prefers maximizing a window 100%

i have been using a mac laptop for almost three years.

I hate the default green button behavior. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. I have never liked it EVER. Period. Do not try and use any psycho techno babble to convince me the default Mac behavior is worth more than crap, it is not.

It never grew on me. I never thought it was clever. I never thought that my life was now easier. I never have believed that it made any sense at all whatsoever. And I certainly never once thought it was better behavior than Windows. Never ever ever.

I installed Right Zoom and it does work at changing the green button, which I do appreciate. But this application does more than just turn the green button into a maximize button, it actually toggles the behavior of the button just like windows does! Click once, maximize, click again and it shrinks to your previous 'i-am-better-at-optimizing-your-windows-size-than-you-will-ever-dream-to-be-because-i-am-a-brilliant-mathematician-and-computer-genius-and-i-love-steve-jobs' windows size.

I don't like flaming people, but I seriously cannot fathom what good reason Macs don't behave this way by default. You get the best of both worlds. Comments, like 'makes the mac UI superior to Windows", is simultaneously condescending and absurd.

Yes its a nit, but this shortcoming has been killing me for years. Thank God Almighty for BlazingTools for providing me with my salvation from Mac maximization HELL! Thank God! Thank God! Thank God!

Now someone please give me a way to find file locations in spotlight!!!!!
 
I am running all my fav operating systems I need and use in my studio on several computers for different reasons each one. running ubuntu, osx, windows-xp at the moment, my computers are triple-boot, so it is a paradise of OSs here. I am 35 and I got my first computer when I was like 8 or something. To my view, maximizing a window to full screen size is a MUST for an operating system. mac is missing something, it could have a 4th button instead of completely not being able to maximize a window, and I really don't care about the high fidelity when it comes to simple little things, that to some of you make it JUST different, JUST to be different, or easy, and to some others a pain.

In between many kinds of reasons I use a computer for, professionally, like audio production, I am also into web design. I have to say that previewing a website while creating it etc, needs full window size too.

Some apps also have FULL-SCREEN (not full window only). It is nice to support and love what you have I cannot go against this because I love them all. But in my case, I'm getting the best from each world.

In windows-xp tiling windows on the screen is a right click on the taskbar. It will stick them together ? yes. you will need to sort them better ? not always but lets say, yes. In mac, you will still need to sort them on the screen same way. no ?

Full window size is not that great for all apps in high resolution screens. it is 500% a MUST for screens around 1280x1024.

Alt tab switches greatly and very fast through maximized windows in windows-xp (example, dreamweaver/firefox).

Question. would you watch a movie in a window on your brand new huge tv-set ? I think you would set it to full screen to get the most of it. That's why Full window size or full-screen or window maximize is there, it's there for the user. for us.

And something last. When I do music production, I don't need any other apps running than the sequencer software. So I don't need the "lets work with all those windows together" thing, or something like that, that someone said. I don't even want to know there is an operating system at that time. All I want is 1 (ONE) and only thing (WINDOW) at that time (FULL).

anyway, mac osx is wonderful, none can say anything against this. but lets face the facts before we say that the + button is one of the reasons that makes mac's os better..

cheers
 
I just bought an iMac today. 20" screen. I hate it so much because my window cannot go full screen. My iTunes window can only open about 5"x10". When I click the green button even go small. How to open the iTunes window to fullscreen?
 
DIABLOW said:
I just bought an iMac today. 20" screen. I hate it so much because my window cannot go full screen. My iTunes window can only open about 5"x10". When I click the green button even go small. How to open the iTunes window to fullscreen?
Click to expand...

Click the lower right hand corner, and drag to the size you want the window to be.
 
Rampant.A.I. said:
Click the lower right hand corner, and drag to the size you want the window to be.
Click to expand...

For some reason when I do this, I have a 2-3 pixel gap at the bottom of the screen ?

Thanks to whoever mentioned the RightZoom app though,
that's an annoyance I've had with Macs for years!
 
I've never understood why people by Microsoft Windows and then run it as Microsoft WINDOW. Then when they move to OS X they bring that bad habit over and seem upset that a windowing UI makes them use windowS rather than a WINDOW.
 
DIABLOW said:
I just bought an iMac today. 20" screen. I hate it so much because my window cannot go full screen. My iTunes window can only open about 5"x10". When I click the green button even go small. How to open the iTunes window to fullscreen?
Click to expand...

I can almost understand people trying to go full screen on a 13" screen or something but a 20"?! That's a hell of a lot of pixels being wasted by just displaying iTunes.
 
The closest thing Macs have to full window is if you do it manually by moving the window to the top left corner and then dragging on the bottom right corner of the window until you cover the full screen. Once you do this your Mac will memorize it's position and size and will open it the same as you closed it. This way it will always be "full screen" when you use the program.

The green + button works a little different in each application. Most of them work fairly similar but Apple really hasn't forced programmers to make it consistent. In some applications it does do full screen but that's not always the case. This why I actually don't use the green button much unless it does something I like. Actually I don't use the other buttons much either. I just use the drag for full screen and to close windows I use the keyboard shortcut "command W". To close programs I use "command q". I do use the yellow button more often to minimize windows to the dock but I've noticed I use a lot more keyboard shortcuts on Macs in general. It's just faster that way.

Everyone has their own preference on how they like to do things so just because Steve Jobs likes doing things one way doesn't make him God and everyone should follow his way because he can't ever be wrong now can he? For example, when I need to concentrate on something important I like to have it at full screen so that I don't get any distractions from other windows opened in the background. When I multitask and each application gets the same amount of attention from me then I do like having smaller windows so I can see the others at the same time. Even with full screen I can press "command tab" or use expose to quickly change from one application to the next. There is more than one way to do things and each person needs to find out which one is best for them. Not every application needs full screen either so I have a variety of full screen and non-full.

Saying one is better than the other is as absurd as saying green is the best color and everyone should think so because you like it. I prefer having options because not everyone is the same.
 
I agree with all you said EndlessMac, you spoke very well about some stuff in your post. Although having the OS to remember the window position or size is not the case of full-size window and back to normal size with a click. Microsoft's Windows can remember such stuff same way. As you know, it is far different resizing a window with the mouse than changing it's size with a click of a button.

I totally disagree with the way some people think about Microsoft Windows users and multitasking. I know users of all OSs that only use a computer for email and facebook and that's all they wanna do no matter if they are on a mac or whatever else. I also know users like me that use 2 computer screens for years with more than 10 apps running (some would say 10 only ?), and many windows (not full-size) around both screens. That can be on a windows, on a os-x, on a linux OS etc. It's up to the user, and there is no Windows Full screen mentality, and no Mac OS X multitasking mentality.

Mac is not the OS of multitasking and some guys should open their mind and accept this. All OSs are for multitasking. There is no bad habit in having something in full-screen or full window size. Also, there is no better user if the OS he/she is using is a Mac - this doesn't make the user any better. There are only bad/sad/silly users and bad/sad/silly setup OSs same as the opposite.

To my view, if you know how to use them all, you get the most out of all. It's all in your hands. This is the point.
 
orasis said:
Although having the OS to remember the window position or size is not the case of full-size window and back to normal size with a click. Microsoft's Windows can remember such stuff same way. As you know, it is far different resizing a window with the mouse than changing it's size with a click of a button.
Click to expand...
I know what you are talking about and like I said the dragging feature is the closest thing Macs have to full window because there is no dedicated button. Macs really don't have the same feature to go from memorized smaller window and to the full window with a press of a button like Windows does with its maximize button.

Actually I do remember one application allowing the user to pick two memorized sizes when they click the green + button so they can actually make one the full window and the other the smaller size of their choosing. I really liked it that way because I was able to choose the window sizes myself and I didn't always choose full window. That feature made it very close to Window's maximize button if you made the second memorized size a full window, but like I said earlier the + button can be different from application to application.
 
A lot of fanboy arrogant explanations/excuses on here as to how supposedly superior the + button on OS X is compared to Windows.

The way I see it:

Windows:
- double click the entire top part of a window maximises and de-maximises it
- click the maximise button, maximises it.
- clicking it again, lets you play around with whatever size you like

Mac:
- click the tiny little green button lets OS X decide how big you want it.

Windows gives users the choice of how to sort through windows. OS X, decides how it wants you to display things.

Windows is superior because usability and simplicity wise, it's better and easier.
 
stevearm said:
A lot of fanboy arrogant explanations/excuses on here as to how supposedly superior the + button on OS X is compared to Windows.

The way I see it:
Click to expand...

Here's the way it is:

Green button, auto adjust, no wasted space

Litttle triangle in the bottom right of the window, resize it anyway you like.


Not superior, just different. Seriously, is this thread still going?

Edit: Seems this doesn't go across all apps, but it worked on the ones I used, as advertised...
 
jnc said:
Green button, auto adjust, no wasted space
Click to expand...

Not true. For example, I have an Xcode window open and clicking the green button doesn't maximize horizontally, even though the text in the window runs off the edge and there's a horizontal scroll bar to pan back and forth. This functionality is FAIL as far as I'm concerned.
 
Shiggity said:
Not true. For example, I have an Xcode window open and clicking the green button doesn't maximize horizontally, even though the text in the window runs off the edge and there's a horizontal scroll bar to pan back and forth. This functionality is FAIL as far as I'm concerned.
Click to expand...

its the behaviour in Photoshop, Flash, Safari, Finder, Preview at the very least.

Upon inspection (the green button isn't something I use on an app just to check how it works.. until today) It does seem to change dependent on what you're running.
Ditto for the red button (sometimes quits program, usually just closes window) I've just noticed in iLife and VLC too, it will perform Windows-esque Fill Screen. Could do with being more uniform
 
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
Back