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

Users With Multiple Monitors: Lion's Full-Screen Apps Are Not For You

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
68,605
39,474



Apple has been touting full-screen apps as a major feature in OS X Lion. By all accounts, it works very well to remove distractions and help users focus on the task at hand.

multiplemonitors-500x373.jpg



For multiple-monitor users, however, full-screen apps don't live up to the hype. When full-screen mode is turned on, Lion dims supplementary monitors leaving extra screens as little more than expensive paperweights.

Don't worry, there's an easy solution: don't use full-screen mode.

Article Link: Users With Multiple Monitors: Lion's Full-Screen Apps Are Not For You
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/15/users-with-multiple-monitors-lions-full-screen-apps-are-not-for-you/
Well crap. I was loving Lion on my MBP, but hadn't put it on my multi-head MacPro. And now it looks like I have no need to, as the full-screen apps was one of the best things Lion had IMHO.

Damn.
 
Yup, I noticed this. Mind you, I've never liked the idea of full-screen apps on a computer. IPad and iPhone fine but not on a computer. When you've got a 30" ACD you get used to having many programs and many windows open at a time. Expose is awesome with that. Even on my MBP I never use full screen mode in any apps, I find it too limiting - so many things require me to reference or copy something from another app or folder anyway.

I'm not that happy about Lion so far, the focus on full screen apps I can work around but the modification of how Spaces works is irritating - it looks like you can only have a row of spaces, no columns meaning those of us that are now used to working with a grid of spaces are stuffed.
 
If your a power use, Lion's not doing much for you. So for myself, 4 monitors on a mac pro, lets just say im not going to use iphoto. Or if so, I guess not fullscreen. My 2 cents.
 
Apple should give an option to support multiple screens should an app have a reason to use two, but unsurprisingly most apps wouldn't lend themselves to appearing on two screens.
 
Spanky Deluxe said:
Yup, I noticed this. Mind you, I've never liked the idea of full-screen apps on a computer. IPad and iPhone fine but not on a computer. When you've got a 30" ACD you get used to having many programs and many windows open at a time. Expose is awesome with that. Even on my MBP I never use full screen mode in any apps, I find it too limiting - so many things require me to reference or copy something from another app or folder anyway.

I'm not that happy about Lion so far, the focus on full screen apps I can work around but the modification of how Spaces works is irritating - it looks like you can only have a row of spaces, no columns meaning those of us that are now used to working with a grid of spaces are stuffed.
Click to expand...

Full screen apps are going to be great for those of us with 11" MBAs.
 
But in the photo attached to this article, the other monitors aren't dimmed out. Looks like the image is across all of them.

Confused. Or is this just a stock photo? In which case, poor form.
 
If you think fullscreen apps is the main feature of Lion then you were asleep during presentations.

Fullscreen apps are great for home users or those with just one main screen.
 
strabes said:
Full screen apps are going to be great for those of us with 11" MBAs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that is what I was thinking.

I have a 15" MBP right now and will be getting an air after the next update. My MBP has Lion and I am enjoying the fullscreen apps with a few exceptions.

On the 11" it will be perfect though as most apps would be near-fullscreen anyways, and now you can just swipe through them.
 
Wirelessly posted (Iphone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8J2)

Well, if the point of fullscreen apps is to focus on the one task, it does seem like it would defeat the purpose to leave the other monitors busy.

Why do people keep saying lion isn't for power users? I can see that maybe this feature isn't, but things like server being a mere $50 upgrade, versioning, reader, resume and the upgraded file vault, and little things like clipboard sharing for screen sharing all seem like great features for power users. Sure, some of these features could be obtained with good third party software or terminal hacks, but doesn't the widespread nature and refining count for something?

I mean, almost anything apple does outside of a new file system or the elusive resolution independence would be stuff power users have come up with anterior methods of obtaining, no?
 
Why not fix the Green Button instead?

Full screen apps look slick on a single monitor, true. But if Apple would just fix the green +/zoom button at the top of every window to expand to maximum size (like every other OS in existence) this would not be an issue.
 
That's my room

I think that's a picture of my room in a parallel universe where I never got up the nerve to ask a girl out.
 
strabes said:
Full screen apps are going to be great for those of us with 11" MBAs.
Click to expand...

Exactly: full screen mode is brilliant on the 11" MBA. On the iMac or Mac Pro with multiple screens, it's not so useful.
I don't have a problem with that: for me, full screen apps address an issue specific to small screen devices and for larger screens that issue doesn't need addressing ;)

DeaconGraves said:
But in the photo attached to this article, the other monitors aren't dimmed out. Looks like the image is across all of them.

Confused. Or is this just a stock photo? In which case, poor form.
Click to expand...
Other monitors aren't "dimmed" - they have the fabric background applied to them (like the one in the notification drop-down on iOS). Full screen apps always run on your main screen so if you full screen an app on your secondary monitor it moves across to the main screen and then goes full screen (it goes back when you revert)
 
Wirelessly posted (Iphone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/8J2)

Well, if the point of fullscreen apps is to focus on the one task, it does seem like it would defeat the purpose to leave the other monitors busy.

Why do people keep saying lion isn't for power users? I can see that maybe this feature isn't, but things like server being a mere $50 upgrade, versioning, reader, resume and the upgraded file vault, and little things like clipboard sharing for screen sharing all seem like great features for power users. Sure, some of these features could be obtained with good third party software or terminal hacks, but doesn't the widespread nature and refining count for something?

I mean, almost anything apple does outside of a new file system or the elusive resolution independence would be stuff power users have come up with anterior methods of obtaining, no?
 
LOL!!! what a fail apple :D

I dont know why apple is so excited about full screen apps. I mean come on who wants iCal on full screen, especially when you use 2x30" and 2x23" screens!!!?? whats the point, like no kidding. I want my Safari window and pages doc open next to each other. I never ever make a window go across the entire screen apart from photoshop, illustrator, imovie, iphoto and formZ (which all need a fair amount of space :D)
Full screen is a feature i will use maybe like 2 times at the most to try it out!!
My opinion is apple should not make iOS and OS X become to similar, I dont want iOS running on 30" screens!!!, if i want to use iOS ill use my iPad!!!
 
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