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I was just saying this to myself when this article popped up. Developing iApps with XCode, I set it to full screen, but when it comes time to run the app in the iPad simulator, that is a separate app. I want that to be on the second screen, but in full screen you can't do it. In full screen, you do get some more real estate in the window, but I can't use it because of the simulator problem.

Full screen should go full screen, but not all-screen. Let the second monitor be another desktop so you can have a second app, perhaps also full screen, on it.

I'm learning python, and since I can't get GASP support to work in OSX, I'm coding in Ubuntu, running in VirtualBox. I cannot tell you the number of times I've hooked my MBP up to my 20" monitor, and needed to run VirtualBox in full screen on the 20", while having the tutorial I'm using on the screen of my MBP. It's just far too useful.
 
... Is this serious? People are complaining that "full screen" (meaning one screen) does not work on more than one screen? Asinine.

Obviously you can go BETWEEN fullscreen apps and have MULTIPLE fullscreen apps open at the same time. So Apple did not design it to simply monopolize your screen a la Windows maximize.

If you set an app to be fullscreen, it should fill that screen and only that screen. Meanwhile, your secondary monitor should be free to do whatever you want. I'm not sure how that would exactly work with Mission Control/Spaces/Dashboard (I can see that getting complicated really quickly), but that'd be better than a filling a whole monitor with linen background :rolleyes:

Just because you don't understand where someone else is coming from doesn't make them "asinine".
 
No, "one screen" means one screen. "Single screen" would also mean one screen. "Full screen" means using all of a screen. I don't see anything in the name implying that it would be some sort of semantic error to support a second display.

I think you may have assumed it would use a single screen, but then you know what they say happens when you assume...

THANK YOU. Fullscreen = fill up one screen. != turn everything to linen. :rolleyes:

In any case, I wouldn't be surprised if this behavior is changed in the coming months. Apple has made UI tweaks to Spaces, Expose, etc. after shipping the 10.x.0 product many times before. If enough people speak up they will patch it accordingly.
 
Why is Apple overthinking this so much? Make an app go fullscreen and it should... fill the screen it's on. That's all. Every other OS manages this. I don't fullscreen an app to remove distractions, I do it because it cleans the screen up. Maybe this makes sense for people who only ever have to do one thing at a time for work, but I routinely have one screen showing the app or page I'm testing, and the other screen shows the specification, or bug list, or Outlook, and I'm far more productive being able to view both at once.
 
Well I guess it is Full-Screen (singular) mode, maybe someday they will come out with Full-Screens mode :). Seriously, I think for the high percentage of users with one display, it is a good feature.

I love that image, wish I had that much screen real estate.
 
Really???

It's called "Full Screen" and not "Full Screens" for a reason. Maybe down the line Apple will support the latter, but I find it amusing that people are complaining that full screen mode only supports one screen.
 
The point is that you might want to have one app full-screen on your "right hand" monitor, while using the left hand monitor to do something else.

Ex: iPhoto full screen on one monitor, and Facebook's photo gallery builder on the other...

Other pre-lion "full screen" apps generally had options like:
[_] Dim other monitors
[_] Only use Primary Monitor for full screen

Lion seems to default both of these options in this build. Dimming other screens makes sense when you're watching a Movie full screen, not when you're tracking your stock portfolio or arranging photos...

Ditto with "only using the primary display". Doesn't make sense for people with a $1000+ high-end Cinema Display as a 2nd monitor...

It's very common for people to have multiple screens with a Mac. Somewhere around 70% of Mac's sold are laptops. And a lot of those people have a monitor on their desk that they use for serious stretches of work. Turning off that big monitor when they go full screen is just plain silly.

I hope these options are added back into Lion, otherwise, full screen is pretty much broken unless you're on a disconnected laptop.
 
I don't know what's the big deal about the full screen apps if you have multiple screens like the one in the photo.
You actually have all the spaces physically instead of virtual spaces.
Full screen mode will be really useful for the 11" macbook air or even my 13" macbook!
 
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.

It also allows for the app to use the space taken up by the dock, without having to use dock hiding.
 
They'll fix it. It's kind of a no brainer to just let the monitor that's hosting the window go full screen and leave the others alone. But they haven't even fixed the bug where spaces get out of order when changing desktop wallpaper yet....
 
I would have thought that that might be one of the actual defensible uses of 'full-screen-apps' - if you have another screen so you can still multitask. I never even use maximise in Windows, but was thinking this might be an okay implementation. However, as I find plenty of room for multitasking on my 13" Air screen, and as I have a dual monitor setup at work with my '08 15" MBP, I think I'll be avoiding full-screen-apps just as much.
 
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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.

Focussing on a single task is great, but what about all your background apps? Don't they serve any purpose? Don't you need to know if you've received an urgent message or just some spam? Wouldn't it be better to be able to stash a window on a secondary display where you could glance at it occasionally instead of forcing you to make a conscious decision to switch tasks?

Some apps really should be full screen because they work best that way. But they simply must take over only the screen or screens they've been assigned and leave the others alone.

If Apple doesn't change this then I don't see myself using full screen even for the apps that really demand it because I cannot afford to lose the advantages of my second display.
 
It also allows for the app to use the space taken up by the dock, without having to use dock hiding.

Who leaves their dock visible anyway? It's a waste of space and very poor as an app launcher/switcher.

Gaining 24 pixels across the top of one display is not worth losing my entire second display.

As noted I do think some apps should be full screen, but only the screen or screens currently occupied by components of that app.
 
Does no-one find it ironic that there is no "maximize" button in OS X, but now they're touting Full-screen as some amazing, magical feature?*

(Yeah I use RightZoom on my mac to give me the functionality I need - i.e. to be able to focus on one app without all the clutter)

*Yes, I know it's not quite the same. But I don't see the point in Full Screen mode on a computer (for tablets, yes, but not computers).
 
Wow. Is it really that hard to get another screen to just act as a permanent 'space'? Where has the Apple which made everything work perfectly without compromise gone?
 
Ya'know, not everyone has a twelve 30" screens and MacPros. Some of us "power users" (whatever a power user is) might just have little white MacBook and fund full screen mode is very useful when it's only a 13" screen.....

Have you ever used Photoshop on a 30" cinema display?

One of the problems I've had with OSX (and earlier) is there is no true full screen -- so open up something in Photoshop for example and you have a bunch of disembodied windows and toolbars with your desktop peeking through the space in between. It's about time they did something about it.
 
Have you ever used Photoshop on a 30" cinema display?

One of the problems I've had with OSX (and earlier) is there is no true full screen -- so open up something in Photoshop for example and you have a bunch of disembodied windows and toolbars with your desktop peeking through the space in between. It's about time they did something about it.

Good thing Photoshop has its own full screen functionality then :3

I don't really see the value in full system full screen functionality. Not all apps have any real use for it.
 
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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?

The people who are saying "Lion isn't for power users" aren't real power users and are most likely just trolls. Real power users make the most of any machine they have and get the job done instead of whining about new features that would make their lives easier if they were REAL power users. (Seriously I'd love to know how Lion is hindering anyones workflow.)

I am a power user and Lion is definitely for me. The main feature I am looking forward to is OpenGL 3.2 support. This means that Mari can finally come to the Mac.
 
Good thing Photoshop has its own full screen functionality then :3

I don't really see the value in full system full screen functionality. Not all apps have any real use for it.

Well maybe if the OS provided it Adobe wouldn't have to freelance (see what I did there) its own version of it which no doubt violates Apple's vaunted UI guidelines.

This is what we've had to deal with for as long as I can remember, disembodied toolbars with the desktop peeking through. It's about time we got full screen apps.

900-mac.png
 
It's called "Full Screen" and not "Full Screens" for a reason. Maybe down the line Apple will support the latter, but I find it amusing that people are complaining that full screen mode only supports one screen.

I think you are missing the point.

Full screen most people understand it as the current monitor you are on. That means it takes up full screen there but leaves the other monitors alone.

Apple way of putting it in place is a waste of screen real estate and I mean a huge waste and anyone who actively uses multiple monitors understands how valuable screen real estate is.

So if you are using multiple monitor you may want to full screen something in one monitor and then for monitor 2 and 3 have reference material in them so you can use them. I do not care if you have a 30 in monitor a 2nd monitor is aways great for reference material as it provides a separation from what you are actively working on so it will not get covered up.

For me an ideal set up would be 3 monitors. It center for code. one for reference material and one for testing. What is considered the primary monitor by the OS is not the center one where I code but one off to right.

Then again Apple multi monitor support has always been poor at best since if you need any of the menu items it is on the primary monitor only. This is just another one of the failures in multiple monitor support for Apple.
 
I imagine this is something they'll get working eventually, probably just too many issues with multiple screens to make it work right in the initial release so they simplified it in order to met the ship date.
 
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