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Spaces - do you actually use it and why?

sk3pt1c

sk3pt1c

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 29, 2005
918
6
a simulacrum
i'm having a hard time finding a way to make Spaces useful.
i know it is but i just can't decide what apps to put in which space.
i kind of like having all my windows on the screen and just do an "all windows"
and pick the one i want when it gets too crowded...
how do you use Spaces?
how have you divided your apps?
maybe with a few examples from you guys i can find a way to use it...
 
that's a good example, thanks!
although i don't have a need for windows programs and i'm on a powerpc,
so i can't apply your example :)
i'm looking for Leopard only apps, no windows (ew!) stuff :)
 
I keep my stickies notes in one space.

I'm still deciding how I can really use Spaces. I'm sure there is a good function for it I just haven't found it yet.
 
Yep. 4. I use a Mouse Button shortcut to switch between them.

My 'Workspace' (Safari, Adium, etc. As well as things I don't use that often)
A Space with an open iTunes Window
A Space with my downloads and any video encoding going on
A Space for VMWare Fusion.

It's brilliant.
 
first space i have web browser and adium - next itunes - full screen with cover flow + last.fm


bottom two i have motion running in one and the other i have eyetv running fullscreen (muted)


I love it, can flip between work rest and play all real quick, altho i find i leave apps open for longer, im cool with that
 
InDesign

There's a bug with the current version of InDesign CS 3 which means you can't hide the app. Keeping it on its own space is a good workaround.
 
I'm just starting to get the hang of spaces :p

I use space 1 for everything internet and everyday use, so adium, firefox, skype, itunes etc.
Space 2 for pages, numbers and keynote
Space 3 for Design; FTP program, video software, audio software
Space 4 for my Virtual Machine
 
I've used "Spaces" since Panther and up until Leopard in the form of Desktops Manager. That was my ideal virtual desktop environment, even if Spaces has added one or two nice features (while failing to implement others.)

For specific examples, I liked these features about DM:

  • Small, clickable menubar desktop icons which showed a basic view of open windows on each desktop (see screenshot to see what I mean).
  • Ability to configure an odd number of desktops.
  • The ability to name desktops.
  • Optional pager and desktop name display.
  • The ability to move apps from one desktop to another with a key combo.

What I like about Spaces:

  • Exposé-type view of desktops with drag-and-drop.
  • Ability to bind apps to desktops.
  • When you click on or select (via CMD-Tab) an app open on another desktop, it will zoom to that app. (John Gruber hates this, I think. It's a matter of taste.)

To me, the features of DM outweigh the small bonuses in Spaces. I really wish Apple would add some new optional features like the ones mentioned above (something tells me I'll be waiting a long time), or some dev comes up with DM-like hacks for Spaces. At the moment I've got four (as opposed to my usual three: E-mail, Work, Web) unnamed desktops that take two clicks to reach; and without clicking or keystrokes, I can't tell at a glance what's open on each of them.
 

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abso-freakin-lutely!

I use it for doing audio editing and that alone is worth the price of admission. I have spaces set to engage when I hit center mouse and its so fast to switch between having safari open in one window, to mail and cal in another, to word in another... and yes I am constantly doing this. It is so much faster, more efficient, and cooler than minimizing windows...
 

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i've added as a test my usual browsers and adium in space one, my web dev apps in space two, and my ilife apps in space 3...
i'm still a bit skeptical as to how helpful this whole thing is.
i mean, i know have to use a key combo to get from one space to the other.
before i just moved my mouse to a hot corner and i got all the windows.
plus if i need to drag something from my browser to say, fireworks, it's more of a hassle.
i know it's more organized, but is it as helpful and as fast as doing it the old way?
 
Used it when i first got leopard but stopped using it since. It might be more organised but i don't like having to switch desktops to get to different programs. I used Virtue desktops before with Parallels but ever since Coherence came out I've never needed a second virtual desktop.
 
Spaces need some more features before it is really usefull to me

I think before i can really optimally enjoy spaces i need more features:

Adding a space actually should behave like another adding another user, but without the permission issues.
- I would like to be able to give each space a different desktop and background image so i'll know in a glimpse what space i'm actually in.
- I would like each space to be able to have its own dock contents.
 
I tried. I swear I did. But I just can't find a use for it right now. I could see if I was running Windows (I have no use for Windows) in one space and doing everything else in another, but for right now... I just don't use it.
 
I've been using virtual desktops for so many years (on Mac and other platforms) I don't know how I'd live without 'em. Before Spaces was available, I used Virtue in exactly the same way.

1. Main desktop. Email and desktop access
2. CoRD, VNC, terminal windows (I admin a mixed network of Windows and Macs for a living, so am invariably remoted into several other machines at any given moment)
3. VMWare (when it's running, which isn't that often)
4. Everything else (which can include Indesign, photoshop, Omnigraffle, Xcode or whatever dependent on what I'm doing)
5. spare desktop/overflow
6. spare desktop/overflow

The above is why this machine has 4gb RAM and could probably do with around 3 times that ;-)
 
I actually use spaces all the time...
since I am a MB owner screen space gets used up rather quickly...

I use one space for office apps
one for internet apps
and one for personal stuff
 
It's the one thing that has kept me using Leopard. I would return to Tiger, if I did not have a 12" PowerBook (spaces is amazing), a 17" iMac (it's no 24") and a Mac Mini on a 20" ACD (for simplicity and consistency).

I think spaces is amazing.
 
I think I'd be more likely to use it at work. But I use a of at work so I can't. I have more apps open at work than I do at home.
 
I love Spaces! It's the smoothest implementation of virtual desktops that I've ever used... easily trouncing Linux's KDE version of that.

I use four spaces:
- Firefox,
- Thunderbird + Adium,
- Finder + Terminal, and
- Scratch space for random stuff

Assigned the top-left corner (by the Apple Menu) as the trigger to open Spaces. Works great to switch between Spaces!
 
I'm testing Spaces now and have two.
1) Normal stuff: Finder, Browser, Email, iPhoto, etc.
2) Video / Web page work: MPEG Streamclip, iMovie, iWeb, CyberDuck (FTP)

When I want to convert, edit and post video from my Toastmasters club, I it all happens in Space #2. This is proving convenient since the conversion tasks take a while, I just switch spaces while it runs hidden. And keeping all the related activities in a single space helps me stay focused and not get distracted by email or web surfing.

I agree that Spaces needs a few additional features, particularly a different background image per space. It's hard to visually separate one space from another.

My big complaint is that my work style is document-centric, not application-centric. I don't Excel assigned to a specific space, but specific spreadsheet documents assigned to a space. I'd like to set up a Finance space, and all documents and web pages related to finance would open specifically in that space. And there would be a Toastmasters space, where all documents related to my club's business, speeches, etc. would open in that space.
 
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