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

Lion: Assigning Apps to All Desktops in Mission Control

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
67,204
37,186



alldesktops.png



With the introduction of Lion, Apple moved -- or removed entirely -- numerous options and settings.

For more advanced users, the old Expose & Spaces preference panel included controls to adjust what "Spaces" -- now called Desktops -- apps would appear in. For example, I had my Mail program set to display in Space 2, while iTunes would only appear in Space 4. With Expose & Spaces gone, it was tricky to figure out how to adjust where apps would appear.

It's easy, once you know where to look. Simply right-click (control-click, two-finger-click) on an application icon in the Dock. In the Options menu, you'll see three choices related to Spaces:

- Assign To All Desktops
- This Desktop
- None

Play around with the choices until you get a feel for how they work. I put my instant messaging program into "All Desktops" so I can chat from wherever I'm working at the moment. Safari goes in the first desktop and my RSS reader stays in the second. With the advent of full-screen apps, I no longer need dedicated spaces for Mail and iTunes. They simply go full-screen and it accomplishes the same task.

Article Link: Lion: Assigning Apps to All Desktops in Mission Control
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/07/21/lion-assigning-apps-to-all-desktops-in-mission-control/
MacRumors said:
With the advent of full-screen apps, I no longer need dedicated spaces for Mail and iTunes. They simply go full-screen and it accomplishes the same task.
Click to expand...

This is exactly why they added full screen apps and spaces have been implemented in the way they have been. I bet most people were using spaces in this way. But what's the point in having a dedicated space for a one window app? Makes so much more sense how it is now.
 
I don't get the "Assign To" options when i right-click

Can someone help me. I would like to use this feature, but when I right click an icon in the dock, and choose "Options" all I get is the top three choices--remove from dock, open at login, and show in Finder. The "Assign To" options are not there for me. Do I need to set some preference in Settings?

Thanks for your help.
 
Nanaki said:
The options don't appear for me... what am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...

Make sure you have multiple Desktops added in Mission Control or else you won't see the option.

Go to Mission Control and go to the right of the Desktops and you'll get an option to add a desktop.

-Kevin
 
You have to have the desktops already open before you can add anything to it. Go create a desktop, THEN follow these steps.
 
Last edited:
kbmb said:
Make sure you have multiple Desktops added in Mission Control or else you won't see the option.

Go to Mission Control and go to the right of the Desktops and you'll get an option to add a desktop.

-Kevin
Click to expand...

Exactly, you beat me to posting this.

Maybe the article should be updated to indicate this requirement.
 
in mission control, at the top where you see desktops, move your mouse all the way to the right and a fly-out button (+ sign) will appear at the extreme right of the screen. click that, then select the new desktop. From there, you can right-click, control click, etc on the app in the dock, and the settings will appear.
 
I used spaces with my mac pro and 4 Monitors. Now, since full screen apps dont allow for multiple monitors, ill never use that feature. The entire full-screen system is broken and not well though out in regards to more than one monitor. I understand the awesomeness of it if you just have one monitor, but with 2 or 4, a full screen app is a waste. Hope they fix that.

</oldnews>
 
I just tried this out, works very well. However, how do you make it so that the full screened apps go where you want them to? They just seem to pick a random space. Would be good if, in 10.7.1, apple added the option to rearrange the desktops simply by clicking and dragging.
 
kbmb said:
Make sure you have multiple Desktops added in Mission Control or else you won't see the option.

Go to Mission Control and go to the right of the Desktops and you'll get an option to add a desktop.

-Kevin
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tip Kevin! I updated the post.
 
kbmb said:
make sure you have multiple desktops added in mission control or else you won't see the option.

Go to mission control and go to the right of the desktops and you'll get an option to add a desktop.

-kevin
Click to expand...

thank you!
 
why can't we just simply drag and drop the desktops in mission control to rearrange them, is it too much to ask or am i missing something. do we really have to close all the apps if we want to get them in a different order?

like ... lets say i have safari open on my main desktop, i open iMail and it moves to the 2nd, itunes moves to the 3rd but now i open safari in fullscreen mode and it jumps behind the other two. in order to get it right after my main desktop i have to close iMail and iTunes in order for Safari to move to the 2nd spot???
 
I find it annoying that you lost the functionality of dragging windows to the edge of the desktop to change which space they were in. That was a nice feature.

Also, if you close desktops in mission control to "clean up" you lose the settings you have assigned to apps. In other words, it won't open a non existent desktop for your app.
 
bushido said:
why can't we just simply drag and drop the desktops in mission control to rearrange them, is it too much to ask or am i missing something. do we really have to close all the apps if we want to get them in a different order?

like ... lets say i have safari open on my main desktop, i open iMail and it moves to the 2nd, itunes moves to the 3rd but now i open safari in fullscreen mode and it jumps behind the other two. in order to get it right after my main desktop i have to close iMail and iTunes in order for Safari to move to the 2nd spot???
Click to expand...

There is an option of keeping the most recently used app on the 2nd Desktop.
 
thatisme said:
in mission control, at the top where you see desktops, move your mouse all the way to the right and a fly-out button (+ sign) will appear at the extreme right of the screen. click that, then select the new desktop. From there, you can right-click, control click, etc on the app in the dock, and the settings will appear.
Click to expand...

For me it's on the far left of the screen. Took a while to figure out!

Edit: How strange, it's on the far right on my 2008 iMac, but on the far left on my 2010 MBA
 
Last edited:
If a design is intuitive only after somebody shows you the secret, is it really intuitive?

strausd said:
So what's the difference between saying none and saying all desktops?
Click to expand...
None means the app appears on the whichever desktop is current when you launch it, and nowhere else.

All Desktops means it stays visible even when you switch desktops, i.e., it's on all of them at once.
 
All desktops means that it follows you whichever desktop you move to. I just clicked that setting for Safari, and now if I swipe between desktops, this window is still there, not just where I left it in space 1.
 
Mission Control really needs to have the option to display windows within an application UNGROUPED.

I'm not switching over to Lion because of what a complete mess Expose has become, or at least from what I have seen.

Does Lion even have the ability to set a hot corner to display all windows within a current open application?
 
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