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Trouble with double clicking on windows - HELP!!

jbrown

jbrown

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 7, 2002
997
4
London
Stange one this ( or really obvious and I just can't see the answer ).

I have transfered a CAD program to another computer so I can leave it up and running to do a really long render - several days worth.

So I transfered all relevant files to the new machine ( 17" MBP 2.8 ) - and the programs and files run fine. However the programs control windows were collapsed to a single bar - no problem I thought, I'll just double click them to uncollapse them. But that didn't work, either with the trackpad or the mouse.

I then tried double clicking in windows on other programs, and this didn't work.

So the nub of the problem is that on the new machine the double click feature doesn't work.

How do I turn it on? I've tried looking at System Preferences / Trackpad etc. and can't see the answer.


cheers all

J
 
You're not providing enough information for anyone to help.

What operating system are you running, including version number?
What CAD program are you talking about? What version?
How did you "transfer" the CAD program to another computer?
What "control windows" are you referring to?
A screen shot of your problem would be helpful.

Maximizing your MacRumors troubleshooting experience.
 
Appreciate the reply - but I have provided the info.

Being a MBP 2.8 - I took as read that it is Snow Leopard.



CAD program is not of relevance as it's not that programs problem. But for your information it's Vectorworks.

Control windows are the tool windows - Navigation, Object info, etc. Having them collapsed means I can't use them to access their option.

As I said - it's not a Vectorworks problem, but a system problem - this problem affects all programs.

If I boot from an external disk - all is fine.
 
jbrown said:
Being a MBP 2.8 - I took as read that it is Snow Leopard.
Click to expand...
The computer model isn't a reliable indicator of what OS is running. For example, many run Windows 7 on your computer model.
jbrown said:
CAD program is not of relevance as it's not that programs problem. But for your information it's Vectorworks.
Click to expand...
It is of relevance for a few reasons. First, if you said it was AutoCAD, that would have let me know you were running Windows on your Mac. Second, knowing the application involved helps troubleshooting, since it's specific to that application.
jbrown said:
Control windows are the tool windows - Navigation, Object info, etc. Having them collapsed means I can't use them to access their option.
Click to expand...
If you're referring to the palettes, such as the Navigation or Object palettes:
From the 2011 Getting Started Guide:
If necessary, expand the Navigation palette by dragging the lower right corner to resize it.
Click to expand...
jbrown said:
As I said - it's not a Vectorworks problem, but a system problem - this problem affects all programs.
Click to expand...
It is a Vectorworks problem, as Mac OS X does not have Vectorworks palettes.
 
Are you describing the "window shade" feature that collapses windows with a double-click on the title bar? That feature was removed from the OS a while back (Leopard?). You can get it back with Unsanity's WindowShade, if you don't mind running a haxie. There may be others that restore it.
 
Ugimom said:
Are you describing the "window shade" feature that collapses windows with a double-click on the title bar? That feature was removed from the OS a while back (Leopard?).
Click to expand...
That's not what the OP is referring to, and the feature you describe still works in Leopard and Snow Leopard.
 
UGIMOM - That is exactly what I am referring to.:)

GGJ - It is not a Vectorworks problem - The problem is that - system wide and across programs - windows are unresponsive to double clicking on the menu bar. Different windows in different programs have different actions resulting from double clicking. IE - finder windows minimize ( which they don't on this computer ) - many applications tool palette windows will collapse ( ala window shade ) - again this is not working.
 
jbrown said:
UGIMOM - That is exactly what I am referring to.:)

GGJ - It is not a Vectorworks problem - The problem is that - system wide and across programs - windows are unresponsive to double clicking on the menu bar. Different windows in different programs have different actions resulting from double clicking. IE - finder windows minimize ( which they don't on this computer ) - many applications tool palette windows will collapse ( ala window shade ) - again this is not working.
Click to expand...
Your earlier description of the problem wasn't clear to me. If you're referring to minimizing (not "collapsing") any windows (not "control windows") in Mac OS X, there are several ways to do this:
  1. Double-click on the title bar
  2. Click the yellow minimize button in the upper left corner.
  3. Command-M
  4. Click Window > Minimize
Minimized windows show on the right side of the Dock. To restore, simply click on the minimized window.

If double-clicking doesn't work, go to System Preferences > Appearance and make sure "Double-click a window's title bar to minimize" is checked.
148993.image0.jpg​
 
Code: 
and the feature you describe still works in Leopard

Well, the feature I was trying to describe doesn't work in Snow Leo, and after a little searching, I see that it appears to have been removed long pre-Leopard, with the intro of OS X.

If the OP is simply trying to minimize windows to the Dock, your instructions are great. If he's trying to collapse them to just a title bar, a feature which existed in OS 9, he might want to try WindowShade. Which is now Snow Leo compatible.
 
Ugimom said:
Well, the feature I was trying to describe doesn't work in Snow Leo, and after a little searching, I see that it appears to have been removed long pre-Leopard, with the intro of OS X.
Click to expand...
Double-clicking on a window title bar to minimize DOES work in both Leopard and Snow-Leopard. Read my last post.
 
I did read your last post--ergo my reference to your "great instructions". But I have not been talking about minimizing windows. I have been talking about collapsing windows to their title bar, leaving them in place. That feature existed on OS 9. It was replaced in OS X by minimizing. I personally don't like to minimize windows, which is neither here nor there. But from the OP's original descriptions, I took it that he, too, was describing collapsing windows, not minimizing them. Which is no longer available as part of the OS, but is available via WindowShade.
 
Ugimom said:
I have been talking about collapsing windows to their title bar, leaving them in place. That feature existed on OS 9.
Click to expand...

As Vectorworks requires Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later, the OP couldn't have been running OS 9 or using an OS 9 feature, unless there's a 3rd party app installed or a system modification that the OP didn't mention.
 
I'm not sure everyone is on the same page here; jbrown--am I correct that what you're talking about is double-clicking on a window's title bar to collapse the window into JUST the title bar (a small horizontal stripe with the title, and open/close buttons on one end) that can be moved around the screen like other windows, NOT double-clicking on a window's title bar to minimize it to the Dock (that is, making the whole window become an icon of itself in the Dock)?

If I'm understanding that correctly, the behavior you're describing is not part of the OS; as Ugimom and GGJstudios are saying, it's a 3rd party feature enabled by an add-on like Windowshade. If your MBP was doing that before and isn't now, apparently something you did conflicts with (or broke) the 3rd party app, and you should try and see if there's an update to it and/or reinstall.

If it never did that, and you can't figure out how to enable it, then it's because you need to figure out what 3rd party add-on you are using on your other Mac and install it on the MBP. Most will have their own pref pane in the bottom "Other" section--check there on the Mac that it's working on.


If I'm misunderstanding, and you are just talking about double click to minimize to the Dock, then that's the checkbox shown in the screenshot prior, and the animation effect used when the window gets sucked into the Dock is adjusted in the Dock control panel. If that's not working and the afore-imaged box is checked, I'm not sure what's going on.


And if double click isn't working in ANY case, in ANY app, not just minimizing, then maybe you turned the double click speed up too high in the Mouse or Trackpad pref pane.
 
Sorry GGJ - I appreciate you input but you don't seem to get it - it's a system problem NOT a Vectorworks problem. Double clicking has no effect in ANY program including Finder.
:)
 
jbrown said:
Sorry GGJ - I appreciate you input but you don't seem to get it - it's a system problem NOT a Vectorworks problem. Double clicking has no effect in ANY program including Finder.
:)
Click to expand...

Then your problem is your trackpad/mouse. Check your double-click speed settings. It would have been much simpler if you had simply said double-clicking doesn't work at all, without all the detail about the CAD program, control windows, collapsing, etc., which clouded the issue.
 
"And if double click isn't working in ANY case, in ANY app, not just minimizing, then maybe you turned the double click speed up too high in the Mouse or Trackpad pref pane."

That is correct - I have tried adjusting the speed, to no effect. I'll try again.
 
Yeah, it would have been rather clearer if you'd just said "double clicking doesn't seem to work in any app"; the only other relevant info was that it apparently started when you moved an app over from another computer. To keep the testing narrow, I'd recommend double-clicking on Finder icons to see if they open--that should keep more or less anything else out of the picture.

Double Click speed being too fast is the most obvious cause; since it still happens when Vectorworks isn't running that pretty much rules it out as the cause (I've seen VW have some weird behavior, but it doesn't install anything that runs in the background to my knowledge, unless something got added in the 2011 version, which I haven't tried yet).

One other thing: You didn't specifically say that you'd tried rebooting. Did you?
 
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