8 ms·
I actually wish programs do not put content in the Title bar area. The title bar area is meant for users to move the Window around. Try opening Microsoft Word,
by wolpoli 4y ago
I actually wish programs do not put content in the Title bar area. The title bar area is meant for users to move the Window around.
Try opening Microsoft Word, make the window narrow and drag the window. You have to hunt for a small bit of empty space in the title bar or you have to understand you could drag on the Title text, Search box and the Sign in Username, but not the Auto Save text, Upcoming Features icon, or the Ribbon Display Options icon.
- banana_giraffe 4y agoI don't disagree. It's for this kind of nonsense that I have "alt-space -> s -> down -> right" burned into my fingertips followed by moving the mouse cursor to resize a window deterministically (along with "alt-space -> m -> any arrow" for move, doubly useful to "rescue" an off screen window)
- jolmg 4y ago> alt-space -> s -> down -> right > alt-space -> m -> any arrow Are those keybindings default on a particular OS/DE/WM/WC or are they just your personal config?
- sedatk 4y agoAlt-space menu is Windows specific IIRC.
- drekipus 4y agoGnome does the same, I use it all the time for "pin window always on top" Which windows still doesn't have, for some reason.
- quotemstr 4y agoGnome doesn't have menu accelerators in the window menu though, so "alt-spc n" does nothing: the alt-spc brings up the window menu, but the n doesn't activate "minimize". This interaction not functioning in Gnome keeps me off Gnome entirely.
- drekipus 4y agosuper+h minimises. pretty sure you can make it anything you want. if you're looking specifically for "alt-spc n" to minimise I'm sure you can find a way to make that work - but why? to retain muscle memory between windows and gnome?
- Falkon1313 4y agoMy keyboard doesn't have a 'super' key. What does that translate to on a normal keyboard?
- drekipus 4y agoWindows key, but like I said you can change it to anything you want. I'm pretty sure there's an option to emulate the windows key somewhere too
- opan 4y agoI think openbox uses it as well.
- mixmastamyk 4y agoMotif/CDE, +/- 1990. https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19683-01/806-4743/6jdq6q20i/index.html https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19683-01/806-4743/6jdq6q20i/inde...
- sedatk 4y agoIt makes sense since Motif was based on OS/2 Presentation Manager which was also the basis for Windows 3.1's look.
- bm-rf 4y agoWorks on windows for me. Also never really thought about this for rescuing a stuck window, I've always used winkey + arrow keys and kept mashing buttons until it appears on one of my monitors :P
- banana_giraffe 4y agoDefault behavior for Windows applications (since 3.x, I think). Alt-Space brings up the Window menu. Some odd-ball apps will replace it with their own menu, but few apps go to the effort to override the default shortcut it, even if they otherwise hide it.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- sedatk 4y agoYeah Microsoft Word is terrible in that aspect. You don't even need to make the window too narrow. https://twitter.com/esesci/status/1414631138379792384 https://twitter.com/esesci/status/1414631138379792384
- bentcorner 4y agoFWIW you can still click+drag on the file name/search bar. Not as intuitive but it's a big target that you can still use.
- smegsicle 4y ago> The title bar area is meant for users to move the Window around i thought that's what alt-drag was for? maybe microsoft didn't get that memo either...
- com2kid 4y agoThe most basic of window operations shouldn't require a hotkey. Rearranging windows on MacOS and Windows now requires video game precision aiming. It is absurd. What's more, every app places things in different parts of the title bar, so I have to search for "where to click" based on which app window is up. Absurd. The move to controls in the title bar is absurd. It used to be Windows had standard chrome, title bar, then menu, toolbar, then content area. Now days it is the wild west what UI elements are where.
- fragmede 4y agoThe most basic of window operations wants to be bound to a hotkey because it's a basic window operation and there should be easy and quick access to it. Linux does this by default and I find it's an indispensable feature. To get it on Windows search for AltDrag.
- bitwize 4y agoThe most basic of window operations should have a visual affordance right in the UI because they're basic and no one should have to pause and ask themself "how do I move/resize a window?" Remember your Bruce Tognazzini. Shortcuts are just that: shortcuts. They are NOT your primary interface. Everything should be visible and usable with just the mouse.
- marcosdumay 4y agoThe Windows style for bars (both title and status) is way too large. Ditto for the task bar. It's no wonder people are tempted to not use status bars, and shove as much as possible at the title. If applications could exploit the task bar, they would too. (Anyway, you don't need an entire bar for system interaction. But applications aren't designed in a way that allows this.)
- p1necone 4y agoPretty sure it's even bigger on Windows 11, same with the taskbar. Gnome 3 has the same issue.
- mixmastamyk 4y agoUsed to be able to specifically set the size of the title bar in Windows 9X and NT 4-XP or so.
- chungy 4y ago> If applications could exploit the task bar, they would too. Winamp did exactly that, on Windows 95. The capability is there.
- userbinator 4y agoIt's not, or at least it wasn't prior to ~Win8 or so. Yet monitor resolutions have steadily increased, so perhaps it's a reasonable on with a huge monitor. Anyway, you don't need an entire bar for system interaction Having to click on a tiny area to move a window, instead of a relatively wide rectangle, is a huge regression.
- Dalewyn 4y agoThe older I get, the more I respect bigger user interface elements and text. It's not even failing eyesight either; I'm still in my mid 30s and have great eyesight and dexterity. I've come to respect bigger interface elements because they are quicker to work with. I don't have to peck for a title bar if it's there, big and empty in front of me. I don't have to hunt for a scroll bar that hides itself and reveals a 1px wide sliver if I hover over it just right, if the scroll bar is big and always visible. I don't have to aim my mouse like I'm playing a fucking sniper in a fucking FPS if the buttons are clearly texted, colored, bordered, and large. Being able to /just fucking use the interface/ with broad motions is a fucking godsend. The trend of minimalism, hide-everything, gray-on-white interfaces gets in my way and wastes my time and nerves.
- airstrike 4y agoWell, here's an AHK script for those that want to move away from depending on the titlebar drag. Use Alt+Shift+Mouse drag anywhere on ANY window to move it on Windows (puns unintended): https://dpaste.org/pV1aQ https://dpaste.org/pV1aQ I would paste to gist.github.com but the corporate overlords won't let me If you already have a script running at startup and all that, you can save this as a standalone file called e.g. winmove.ahk and add the following to your existing script: #include C:\path\to\winmove.ahk
- Analemma_ 4y agoHard disagree. Vertical space is a scarce resource and I hate when it's used for dead space I can't get rid of or use productively. Alt-drag is the way to go.
- mixmastamyk 4y agoVertical space should not be scarce. 16:9 or worse display is the root issue. Framework has a 3:2 and it is lovely though a bit glossy for my taste. Portrait external is another option.
- dspillett 4y agoBoth on my main machine at home and in the office, I have a 32" 2560*1440 screen and a 24ish 1080p (they work out more it is the same pixel pitch) beside it, which I often effectively use as three portrait screens, sometimes using FancyZones so that the divide on the 32 isn't right in the middle. The setup is a bit tall when sat thought, potentially causing neck strain, but I tend to use the standing desk in up position so that isn't an issue. Tall screens are much nicer than landscape IMO.
- userbinator 4y agoThat's ridiculous. 640x480 used to be the norm for Windows, and now monitors with 4.5x that vertical resolution are common. Instead you should be complaining about the trend of apps spacing everything out with excessive amounts of padding.
- david2ndaccount 4y agoI also dislike how apps are now disabling the classic win32 app icon in the top left corner. If you click on it, you get a menu with window management options and double clicking it closes the window. It’s so burned into my muscle memory as the way to close a window I get frustrated when apps hide it.
- airstrike 4y agoAs a fallback, you could always use Alt+Space to open the menu, Ctrl+W to close a window and good ole Alt+F4 to close the app
- dspillett 4y agoI've seen alt+f4 not have the desired effect (minimising the app or sending it to the tray instead).
- MereInterest 4y agoAbout 15 years ago, I remember being aghast at Skype hijacking the X in the top-right, minimizing itself to the taskbar instead of either exiting or minimizing to the system tray. Because there was a clear standard action that was intended by that interaction, and Skype had gone out of its way to override that standard action.
- bitwize 4y agoWait till you find out how Windows has hijacked "Shut down the computer"...
- MereInterest 4y agoI won't say I'm not annoyed at it. When I want to switch back to the Linux partition and Windows instead decides to spend half an hour installing updates, it becomes another reason not to switch to Windows the next time.
- p1necone 4y agoI much prefer what a lot of Linux desktop environments support, which is holding down alt and clicking anywhere on a window to move it. With that + a keyboard shortcut for closing a window you can get rid of title bars on apps entirely if you want. Sadly Windows doesn't support it natively, although there's another comment on this thread talking about ways to make it work.
- seandoe 4y agoMe too. Don't forget about right-click + key to resize the window. I have to use a mac for work and so use Easy Move+Resize to get this same functionality.
- crtasm 4y agoalt + right click to resize! how did I never discover this one, thanks
- dejawu 4y agoI love this feature and it's since become indispensable to me. I find it pretty funny that my #1 favorite desktop UI feature is from Linux. One of the first things I'll put on a fresh install of Windows or MacOS is a utility that re-creates this behavior. I use AltDrag on Windows (requires a quick tweak for HiDPI): https://stefansundin.github.io/altdrag/ https://stefansundin.github.io/altdrag/ And Easy Move + Resize on MacOS: https://github.com/dmarcotte/easy-move-resize https://github.com/dmarcotte/easy-move-resize
- p1necone 4y agoI'm hoping that Microsoft just implements it natively eventually - their window snapping/tiling-lite functionality has been steadily getting better so they clearly have people working on this kind of window UX QOL stuff.
- Zircom 4y agoThere's a Microsoft utility calls powertoys that makes the window snapping/tiling even better with it's Fancy Zones feature. Also has a color picker which someone in this thread was decrying the lack of on windows. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/ https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/
- baud147258 4y agoRandom sorta related complain: at work when I'm using two different-sized screens, sometime when doing a click and drag to move a fullscreen window from one screen to the other, it's not the top one that's going to get dragged, but instead one 'below' it. Really annoying
- lelanthran 4y agoI've only ever gotten this on my Macbook
- bialpio 4y agoFor moving things around across monitors & snipping them to specific half of desktop I personally use Winkey+[shift]+arrows shortcuts, I recommend you check it out if you haven't already! I honestly don't remember when was the last time I needed a window with custom size. Maybe when placing 2 windows side by side? But even then, the OS recognizes that I want to see 2 windows at the same time and adjust sizes of both windows...
- jrootabega 4y agoSame thing with, e.g., firefox on ubuntu. Not only do you have to hunt for free space, but because of visual design (in turn because of vanity and frivolity, IMO) it's not clear where it is until you mouse over it and display its highlighted color. The "close" button barely even changes color on the default theme, so god forbid you single-click it. And tabs can accidentally be dragged, rather than just failing to drag the entire window. This next part is more of a funny absurd story than a complaint, but I once had a recurring bug where the browser UI was shifted down a hundred or so pixels from the top of the window, replaced by some flat "blank" color. But the interactions were still taking place in their expected areas. So in order to fix that, I had to hunt around with my mouse at the top of the window, look for UI elements to become highlighted in the middle of the window, and then move left or right until I was confident I was over the title bar (which I couldn't know for sure, since it itself doesn't highlight).