Resizing of windows in OSX!!!

[jason2811]

Well I just switched over to Macs on sunday with a new MacBook. Coming from Windows XP theres two things I miss and I want to know if there are any applications to chnage this:

1) In OS X you can only resize windows from the bottom right corner which gets kind of annoying. In Windows XP you can resize from any corner including the sides with that little black adjuster arrow, is there any program or any way I can naturally do something similiar in OS X?

2) I want my Dock to be more like the Start Bar in Windows XP. Meaning that I want all my programs to stop at the Dock on the bottom. Some program automatically stop at the Dock and can't be pulled down behind the Dock, such as iPhoto. Other programs however, such as iTunes, can be pulled down behind the dock and I don't like that. Is there any way I can naturally change this or any application I can download? Thanks!

 

[PatrickF]

1) In OS X you can only resize windows from the bottom right corner which gets kind of annoying. In Windows XP you can resize from any corner including the sides with that little black adjuster arrow, is there any program or any way I can naturally do something similiar in OS X?

Yes it's a bit annoying at first but I just got used to it after a while. It's a trade-off for not having window borders. I wish it would be possible to resize a window like in Linux where you just hold down Alt or whatever key is mapped and hold the middle button anywhere in the window to resize it.

2) I want my Dock to be more like the Start Bar in Windows XP. Meaning that I want all my programs to stop at the Dock on the bottom. Some program automatically stop at the Dock and can't be pulled down behind the Dock, such as iPhoto. Other programs however, such as iTunes, can be pulled down behind the dock and I don't like that. Is there any way I can naturally change this or any application I can download? Thanks!

Not entirely sure what you're on about here. You can drag the iPhoto icon off the dock if you don't want it there. If you prefer to have all your apps in a menu I would suggest getting a launcher that sits in the menu bar (such as Himmelbar) or even better Quicksilver http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/. It's also possible to drag folders into the dock (to the right next to the trash) and you can view the contents of that folder in a menu by right-clicking on it.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[slooksterPSV]

2) I want my Dock to be more like the Start Bar in Windows XP. Meaning that I want all my programs to stop at the Dock on the bottom. Some program automatically stop at the Dock and can't be pulled down behind the Dock, such as iPhoto. Other programs however, such as iTunes, can be pulled down behind the dock and I don't like that. Is there any way I can naturally change this or any application I can download? Thanks!

Do you mean rearranging the icons in the dock? Yes there are some you can't rearrange if they are not placed specifically in your dock. iTunes, iPhoto, Garageband, iMovie, iWeb, Dashboard, Finder (unremoveable), Mail, Address Book, iCal, Safari and... I think that's it for applications can be moved around at first because they are defaultly in your dock. Now if you open another program say... Calculator and you can't rearrange it, but it disappears when you quit the program unless you have specifically dragged and dropped it in your dock. Anyone have SnapX Pro and want to make a video on how to do this?

EDIT: WHen you open an application the dock acts like the taskbar, it tells you that that application is open. when you close it and its not a shortcut in your dock (alias, reference) it disappears/leaves/hides, those ones you cannot rearrange.

 

[jason2811]

No I don't mean adding things to the dock or removing them. I'm talking about resizing windows. Sometimes when I try to resize a window and I pull the window down to make it bigger it goes below the top of the dock and you can still see the dock in front of it. I want all my windows to automaticcaly stop at the dock level and not go below/behind the dock. Anyone get what I mean? Thanks again.

 

[robbieduncan]

No I don't mean adding things to the dock or removing them. I'm talking about resizing windows. Sometimes when I try to resize a window and I pull the window down to make it bigger it goes below the top of the dock and you can still see the dock in front of it. I want all my windows to automaticcaly stop at the dock level and not go below/behind the dock. Anyone get what I mean? Thanks again.

Apple's Human Interface Guildlines (that ALL apps are meant to follow but few manage completely) state that no apps should be able to go behind the dock. Cocoa apps get this behaviour automatically for free which is why iPhoto behaves correctly. Carbon apps do not and it's up to the developer to do the right thing.

 

[Kalns]

You can have the dock hide and then pop up when you scroll the mouse to the very bottom of the screen. That's what I do just to have a bit more screen space.

 

[gauchogolfer]

2) I want my Dock to be more like the Start Bar in Windows XP. Meaning that I want all my programs to stop at the Dock on the bottom.

I'm sitting at a desk with a Windows box next to me, and I can pull any window I want (outlook, explorer) down below the Start Bar. Similarly, if i put the Dock on the left side of my OS X desktop, I can pull any window behind it. Sounds pretty similar to me.

 

[baleensavage]

I've been a Mac guy since the Mac Plus, and this is something that also bothers me. In OS X it is particularly bad because you can't grab the sides of a window to move it like you could in OS 9. I have had countless times where the window or palette ends up below the dock or actually below the bottom of the screen and I have to close the app or something to get the window to go back to normal. Add to that the fact that the lovely little green button usually doesn't do a thing 9 out of 10 times, and it can get pretty annoying. Regular offenders: Quark, Poser, Adobe CS and MS Office.

All in all I feel that it is sloppy programming on the app developers part, but I do wish that OS X would let me grab a window like I used to be able to do in OS 9.

 

[jason2811]

yeah that's what I'm talking about baleensavage. there has to be a program that allows people to adjust windows this way.

 

[shadowmoses]

Drag your apps folder to near the trash can and right click on it for a windows start bar style apps menu....

Pic:

if you don't want an app in the dock drag it out, personally though I think you need to change your windoze ways,

SHadoW

 

[slooksterPSV]

I've been a Mac guy since the Mac Plus, and this is something that also bothers me. In OS X it is particularly bad because you can't grab the sides of a window to move it like you could in OS 9. I have had countless times where the window or palette ends up below the dock or actually below the bottom of the screen and I have to close the app or something to get the window to go back to normal. Add to that the fact that the lovely little green button usually doesn't do a thing 9 out of 10 times, and it can get pretty annoying. Regular offenders: Quark, Poser, Adobe CS and MS Office.

All in all I feel that it is sloppy programming on the app developers part, but I do wish that OS X would let me grab a window like I used to be able to do in OS 9.

Some, not all, apps have a cascade window function in them. Also, if you open up iTunes and click and drag anywhere on the grey metal you can move a Window like that. There's one other trick I think... if I think of it I'll post it, its a way to shift the windows.

 

[Rend It]

You'll get used to it!

When I switched 3 years ago, I had similar complaints. Now, I don't even notice it-- I even use Win XP at work, and I still unconsciously adjust depending on which computer I'm sitting in front of. Think of it like having two cars, say a VW and a Honda. They may both have 4 cylinders and manual transmissions, but things are still laid out a little different. If you drive both regularly, you'll adjust.

In fact, I think it only took me 3 weeks after getting my Powerbook to not be bothered by the nuances of the two systems. Plus, after you use Mac OS X for awhile, you'll realize how unimportant those two features are compared to all the other awesome stuff you get.

-RendIt

 

[dopa dopa]

Yes it's a bit annoying at first but I just got used to it after a while. It's a trade-off for not having window borders. I wish it would be possible to resize a window like in Linux where you just hold down Alt or whatever key is mapped and hold the middle button anywhere in the window to resize it.

Perhaps I am retarded.

Someone please explain to me why it is not an option to resize from anywhere or someone has not created an app that allows to resize mac windows from the side or other corners.

Yes. It actually infuriates me.

 

[migulic]

Perhaps I am retarded.

Someone please explain to me why it is not an option to resize from anywhere or someone has not created an app that allows to resize mac windows from the side or other corners.

Yes. It actually infuriates me.

It's because the windows in OS X don't have borders like they do in Windows. Look (if you are on OS X) at the sides of your browser window. Do you see any borders that could be dragged to be resized (other than perhaps the top)? Because I don't.

 

[dopa dopa]

Yes,

I understand there are no borders to drag around. That's the point.

I should have been more specific I guess, Why are there no borders to resize windows with? I hate to be a mad ass but wow, I just started having to use MacOS and wow, that is counter-intuitive.

 

[ubercool]

Because it supposedly keeps idiots from resizing their windows willy-nilly. I can't tell you how many times I have accidentally resized windows in XP. Microsoft fixed that in Vista. The Apple philosophy is less is more. Less chances to introduce user error = less tech support.

Yes,

I understand there are no borders to drag around. That's the point.

I should have been more specific I guess, Why are there no borders to resize windows with? I hate to be a mad ass but wow, I just started having to use MacOS and wow, that is counter-intuitive.

 

[Cromulent]

I should have been more specific I guess, Why are there no borders to resize windows with? I hate to be a mad ass but wow, I just started having to use MacOS and wow, that is counter-intuitive.

Because it makes the GUI less intrusive. I think the idea was to save as much space as possible for the application you are actually using rather than borders and other graphical fluff that tends to be in operating systems these days.

 

[Cabbit]

Yes,

I understand there are no borders to drag around. That's the point.

I should have been more specific I guess, Why are there no borders to resize windows with? I hate to be a mad ass but wow, I just started having to use MacOS and wow, that is counter-intuitive.

Windows is Windows, KDE is KDE, Gnome is Gnome, CDE is CDE, OSX is OSX.
With all the different windowing environments and there is more than i have listed here you actually expect to go from one to another and expect them all to be exactly the same way of working as Windows, you do know compared to a lot of windowing environments Windows is the child here.

 

[mitsu13gman]

I genuinely don't want to minimize the frustration that some of you are experiencing - truly I don't.

That said, for some stupid reason I kind of enjoy the differences between OS X and Windows. I'll admit that sometimes that little hashed corner seems a bit difficult to grab ahold of.

But for me, those brief moments of frustration just serve to remind me that I'm not stuck on a Windows box anymore.

I guess for me it's the journey of using the computer that makes it enjoyable, not just necessarily the destination of completing a task.

That said, I still have to go grab a book on AppleScript - I've got a few things I'd like to try...

 

[phatness]

This thread hasn't had a post in a month, but,

what if the window is too big for the resolution??

I have a window open right now that is too big for my screen. The three-line-corner-resize is out of my view right now. I cannot move the mouse over there. There has got to be another way to resize a window.

 

[Cromulent]

This thread hasn't had a post in a month, but,

what if the window is too big for the resolution??

I have a window open right now that is too big for my screen. The three-line-corner-resize is out of my view right now. I cannot move the mouse over there. There has got to be another way to resize a window.

Drag it until the three coloured buttons are in view and then click the green one and it should resize it for you.

 

[phatness]

Drag it until the three coloured buttons are in view and then click the green one and it should resize it for you.

Thank you! That worked great. I was a little frustrated before.

 

[cromwell64]

As much as I like OS X and dislike Windows, this is one point that I think Windows wins on. It doesn't matter if there is a visual border around a window or not. The functionality of being to resize from any window edge can exist and should at least be an option. Having a visual border might be a cue that you can grab it, and OS X strives for less visual clutter, but the actual functionality is not tied to the graphic you see on the screen... so there is absolutely no reason to justify making resizing windows more difficult than it should or could be. Come on, at least give me a terminal command to enable the this.

 

[Neil321]

As much as I like OS X and dislike Windows, this is one point that I think Windows wins on. It doesn't matter if there is a visual border around a window or not. The functionality of being to resize from any window edge can exist and should at least be an option. Having a visual border might be a cue that you can grab it, and OS X strives for less visual clutter, but the actual functionality is not tied to the graphic you see on the screen... so there is absolutely no reason to justify making resizing windows more difficult than it should or could be. Come on, at least give me a terminal command to enable the this.

You don't multi task and have alot of windows open at once then?

 

[MacDawg]

I use XP at work and OSX at home.

I honestly never even knew this issue existed until I saw it crop up repeatedly on the board here.

Apparently it is a huge deal to some.

Woof, Woof - Dawg