Why can't we resize window sizes as we wish ?

[JSchwage]

This is also one of my minor complaints about OS X after switching from using Windows all my life. It's so much better functionally to allow the user to resize the window from any side or corner. But, have you noticed that a lot of OS X apps don't even really have anything to grab onto on the window sides? A good example of this is any OS X web browser. Maybe Apple doesn't think it would make sense to "grab" onto a non-existent window side.

 

[dejo]

most people wouldn't care.

That explains how Windows became so widespread. 😉

 

[dpaanlka]

Earlier in the thread I proposed one way I thought Apple could provide this, with a "width" cursor when you hover near a window's edge. Perhaps that's not the way to go about, and I'll be glad to bow to superior interface designers.

I actually think the simple solution to that might be giving users 2 or 3 pixels of padding on either side of a window's edge - for a total of 4 or 6 pixel "sweet spot" that they would need to get the mouse too. No borders for me, all the dragging in the world for clevin.

But might that interfere with applications already designed with such a feature non-existent? And once that is implemented, will PC users move onto "it's so damn hard to resize the window from the corners - we need like 12 pixels minimum" after their first problem is solved?

Is this going to turn into an endless battle of Apple trying to please Windows users until our desktop looks like Vista?

But, have you noticed that a lot of OS X apps don't even really have anything to grab onto on the window sides?

This goes along with a minimalist design philosophy - why should you clutter up space so you can have four different ways to do the same thing? Is the title bar really not enough?

Besides, in Safari you can also move the window around from the status bar at the bottom. Ditto for Finder.

 

[Kondor]

can you post a screen shot?

not that it's very spectacular ...

 

[clevin]

not that it's very spectacular ...

good, its firefox 🙂

try this out
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2498

this will allow you to resize the window from right click menu anywhere inside the browser window.

PS, try out firefox 3 beta 3, much faster, snappy and nice looking. 🙂

No borders for me, all the dragging in the world for clevin.

Is this going to turn into an endless battle of Apple trying to please Windows users until our desktop looks like Vista?

I guess you just love my name so much that you have to find a way to put it in your post somewhere.

Apple is not pleasing windows users, when they use a mac, they ARE mac users. Why do you have to label switchers as "windows users"?

 

[Krevnik]

a real, hierarchical list view in finder with lots of sorting and column options (details view from vista) instead of the current, useless "column" view in OS X

For someone who is looking for more options in the OS, you certainly bash the column view.

While it doesn't give a whole lot of detail, sure, but I (personally) don't want or need a crapton of detail up front. I know where I want to be in my filesystem, and I want details on the files or folders I am interested in. For that, column view does great. Other will hate column view, and I understand, but don't take away my column view. There is enough room for a fourth mode. 🙂

 

[Kondor]

good, its firefox 🙂

try this out
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2498

this will allow you to resize the window from right click menu anywhere inside the browser window.

PS, try out firefox 3 beta 3, much faster, snappy and nice looking. 🙂

Apple is not pleasing windows users, when they use a mac, they ARE mac users. Why do you have to label switchers as "windows users"?

Wow! This worked like a magic, thanks a lot! Of course, I needed to close and open my 300 windows, but it was worth it. I'll need to go to 3 beta 3 now 🙂

I always use whatever works for me and whatever available 😀

 

[MisterHXC]

Just another way Apple chooses to annoy you 😉

 

[clevin]

Wow! This worked like a magic, thanks a lot! Of course, I needed to close and open my 300 windows, but it was worth it. I'll need to go to 3 beta 3 now 🙂

I always use whatever works for me and whatever available 😀

nice, firefox 3 is still in beta, many extensions aren't compatible with it yet. you can try out and see if it works for you now, or later in the future with final release 🙂 good luck

 

[kuwisdelu]

But, have you noticed that a lot of OS X apps don't even really have anything to grab onto on the window sides? A good example of this is any OS X web browser. Maybe Apple doesn't think it would make sense to "grab" onto a non-existent window side.

This is exactly it. OS X doesn't waste screen space and create clutter by having ugly borders around every window (and not even a menu, either! it's at the top 🙂). OS X is much more space-efficient like this and as a result, it's much more aesthetic.

If Apple can implement multi-border/corner resizing without sacrificing any aesthetics, then I don't really care where you can resize stuff from. I just don't want those ugly borders that made me so claustrophobic in Windows. Personally, I've never been in a situation where I've needed to resize anything from anywhere else. I'm fine with its implementation as long as it doesn't disrupt me or change anything else.

Wow! This worked like a magic, thanks a lot! Of course, I needed to close and open my 300 windows, but it was worth it. I'll need to go to 3 beta 3 now 🙂

300 windows?? Holy 😱!

But then I also have a friend who uses all 16 spaces. I'd have no idea what to do with that many...maybe if I had a Mac Pro, but on a MacBook?

 

[anjinha]

I've seen someone mentioning not being able to cut and paste on OS X in this thread. I've used macs all my life and I don't see the need for cut and paste. Can't you just drag and drop?

I admit when I use windows I do find cut and paste useful but when I use macs i never miss it, I just drag and drop.

 

[johnq22]

I have three choices: Piss & moan, move to another OS, or just adapt to it and get on with my work. I choose adapt.

Nonsense. I went looking for the ability to more easily resize Mac windows because I had a need to do so. I'm not going to move from what I do think is the best OS going for my purposes because of one issue. What I will do is try to make my wishes known.

It's not pissing and moaning - it's called a feature request.

Instead of finding a solution I found lots of threads like this with the same back and forth banter.

I move from my laptop to a larger pair of large screens and back. Often, I can't reach the little lower right corner square without first moving the window. Sometimes, the window is too tall, so I have to discover that, then click the little plus at the top and then move opposite to the little bottom right square.

If Apple had it all right, we wouldn't continue to get new versions of the OS.

Perhaps a decision was made years ago, perhaps with aesthetics emphasized over usability and it's resulted in a difficult decision to add this. Perhaps too many people have attacked the people who would like this feature and don't feel it's worth their time/effort/frustration to make their case.

That's the way it is and/or I like it that way is not a satisfactory response to folks who feel a clear need for something.

I created a petition on YouChoose.net where I'm the CTO. If you're in favor of more flexibility please go and vote. If not, go and make a comment as you like.

 

[Doctor Q]

Nice post, johnq22. Good luck with the petition. And I'll remind everyone of Apple's Mac OS X Feedback form.

If a large group of users want a convenience in Mac OS X that will in no way inconvenience others, I think Apple should consider it. Apple adds hundreds of new features in each major O.S. release. There aren't 100 other features more important than this one, in my personal opinion. In fact, it would make my top 10.

 

[CalBoy]

In fact, it would make my top 10.

Out of sheer curiosity, what would your queue be?

(you know I had to throw that one in there). 🙂

 

[Doctor Q]

Out of sheer curiosity, what would your queue be?

(you know I had to throw that one in there). 🙂

I just knew that somebody would ask. 😉

I haven't really kept a list, but I think of ideas now and then and say "yeah, put that on the list" to myself. Then I never actually put it on a list.

If I had to ask Santa Claus for a new feature right now, I might pick multiple clipboards, so you can copy/copy/copy then paste/paste/paste with some easy way to manipulate the "clipboard stack." I already use iClip, but an integrated solution directly from Apple could be even better, and I'd like to be able to "pop" the clipboard stack as easily as I push onto it.

 

[CalBoy]

I just knew that somebody would ask. 😉

Couldn't leave you high and dry now could I Doc? 😉 🙂

If I had to ask Santa Claus for a new feature right now, I might pick multiple clipboards, so you can copy/copy/copy then paste/paste/paste with some easy way to manipulate the "clipboard stack." I already use iClip, but an integrated solution directly from Apple could be even better, and I'd like to be able to "pop" the clipboard stack as easily as I push onto it.

I know exactly what you mean, and I would like this too.

It's amazing how much we complain about "productivity" and "speed" when just two decades ago everything was much, much harder to do.

What a spoiled bunch we are. 🙂

 

[QuarterSwede]

It's so much better functionally to allow the user to resize the window from any side or corner.

I used to think that until I realized it doesn't take anymore clicks to resize a window in OS X than it does in Windows. First I move the window to where I want the left side to be then I resize the lower right corner. I'd get the exact same thing in Windows by resizing the right side and then resizing the left side. Not hard people and certainly not something to make a thread over.

For someone who is looking for more options in the OS, you certainly bash the column view.

While it doesn't give a whole lot of detail, sure, but I (personally) don't want or need a crapton of detail up front. I know where I want to be in my filesystem, and I want details on the files or folders I am interested in. For that, column view does great. Other will hate column view, and I understand, but don't take away my column view. There is enough room for a fourth mode. 🙂

Column view made list view obsolete as far as I'm concerned. It's a heck of a lot faster to navigate through as well. And details? If you want that hit the spacebar or hit ⌘+I.

 

[NickFalk]

There are several things to keep in mind here.

Time and again the question "why do I have to do three things when one should suffice?" has been asked in this thread. The thing is, no OS can be 100% optimized for every possible task.

In OSX any visible part of the window-frame lets you move the windows around, a task at least I use a lot more often than I resize the windows. In Windows the only way to move the windows around is by the title-bar. This means all the other visible bits of the frame are idle and you might as well use them for resizing. So Apple have clearly prioritized making the moving of windows over resizing. I for one think that's the right decision...

 

[saltyzoo]

I used to think that until I realized it doesn't take anymore clicks to resize a window in OS X than it does in Windows. First I move the window to where I want the left side to be then I resize the lower right corner. I'd get the exact same thing in Windows by resizing the right side and then resizing the left side. Not hard people and certainly not something to make a thread over..

It amazes me how little many people actually use the GUI.

Your statement would be wonderful except for one thing. What if the after this step: "First I move the window to where I want the left side to be", the lower right corner is no longer on the screen? Welcome to the actual problem. You must take 2 extra steps now to accomplish what you could with 1 if the design was changed.

Let me hit Cmd-alt-b or some crazy key combo and have a border appear that those of us that actual use windows to their full potential can use to resize them efficiently. As long as you don't hit that key combo you'll never know what you are missing *cough* I mean you'll never know that feature exists and you can sleep well at night with your pretty borderless windows.

 

[dejo]

Your statement would be wonderful except for one thing. What if the after this step: "First I move the window to where I want the left side to be", the lower right corner is no longer on the screen? Welcome to the actual problem. You must take 2 extra steps now to accomplish what you could with 1 if the design was changed.

Wait. What is this 1 step you could perform to get the lower right corner on the screen?

 

[saltyzoo]

Wait. What is this 1 step you could perform to get the lower right corner on the screen?

It would already be on the screen. I wouldn't have to move the window and then resize from the bottom right, I could resize from the top left in one step without having to move the window first.

 

[dejo]

It would already be on the screen. I wouldn't have to move the window and then resize from the bottom right, I could resize from the top left in one step without having to move the window first.

Ah, so the intention is to be allowed to resize the window even when part of it is offscreen (and will remain offscreen)?

 

[clevin]

Ah, so the intention is to be allowed to resize the window even when part of it is offscreen (and will remain offscreen)?

the intention is to allow user to resize the window with less moving distance of mice, and allow users to re-size width/height alone.

You knew the intention, what good does it do to the discussion by just playing games?

 

[Kondor]

Ah, so the intention is to be allowed to resize the window even when part of it is offscreen (and will remain offscreen)?

yes, in my opinion such option would be very useful. especially, when you cannot move right lower corner onscreen, because your upper left corner is too high for that 😀

 

[dejo]

You knew the intention, what good does it do to the discussion by just playing games?

I'm not playing games; I'm trying to clarify the issue so that we're all "on the same page", so to speak. If the intention was to resize a window so that all borders are now visible, that's an entirely different matter, one that having more resize options does not really optimize.

yes, in my opinion such option would be very useful. especially, when you cannot move right lower corner onscreen, because your upper left corner is too high for that 😀

I agree; there's an issue in that case.