stuck when dialogue box is beyond screen

[4now]

I own a macbook pro

at home I connect to a larger 20in monitor when working on my graphics work. And then my notebook is used for extra screen space, pallets and such.

If I disconnect the external monitor cable all the windows automatically reorganize themselves on the notebook display. (very convenient)

..and then I run off

however, sometimes when i return to work on my book, I will be prompted by a dialogue box - ie color selector - but I can't find it...but i realized that it probably popped up somewhere off to the right, where it would be in the dual display set up

Then I'm stuck!
I can't do anything until I answer the prompt - but the box is unobtainable
So I can't save my files, or close up my program or operating system to restart.

I have to go home and connect it to my monitor -- or loose all of my work

any solutions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Expose is a huge help in situations like this. Try bringing it up and see if you can get the offending window to appear on your notebook screen that way.

 

[4now]

thanks for your help

i'm new to the mac platform

what is expose and how would one use it

 

[wrldwzrd89]

thanks for your help

i'm new to the mac platform

what is expose and how would one use it

By default you can bring it up by pressing F9, F10, or F11 (each invokes a different mode). F9 is all applications mode. F10 is this app only. F11 is show desktop. Expose is basically a window clutter manager that's built into Mac OS X.

 

[angelwatt]

thanks for your help

i'm new to the mac platform

what is expose and how would one use it

Expose would be the F7 key, or one of the other function keys at the top of the keyboard, depending on setup.

 

[4now]

thanks for the help

 

[4now]

it is f7 on the pro
that was fun

i'll have to wait to see if it solves my problem

 

[4now]

well too bad

it didn't work

 

[ravenvii]

well too bad

it didn't work

Yeah, expose can't help you here. It will tell you that the dialog is, indeed, off-screen. But it'll go back off-screen when you un-expose.

One solution I can think of is to go to the displays preferences and try to detect displays.

Or maybe delete the preferences in that application with the dialog window, that should reset the position of the dialog.

 

[angelwatt]

I can't test this, but you can try (while the application is selected) hitting cmd+` (the key above tab), which is used generally to switch between windows of the same app, then you can hit enter, or tab to another selection, though you'll have to guess what is currently selected.