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I use a Mac as my main system and what frustrates me is there is no way to truly disable all animations in the system. Sure you can reduce them which gets you a

I use a Mac as my main system and what frustrates me is there is no way to truly disable all animations in the system. Sure you can reduce them which gets you about 80% of the way there but there is no supported way to totally disable them all. It actually surprises me given Apple is very pro accessibility. The reduce motion option is after all an accessibility feature. It is always why I never understood why Apple don't embrace more keyboard shortcuts for simpler app window management (snapping) rather than the decade old, half assed implementation we have currently. For me macOS would be perfect with just a few very small features for better window management built in along with the ability to customise it a bit. I'm not talking full on tiling window manager level features with gaps, master-stack, fib spiral, etc. Basically just something like Magnet/Rectangle built into the OS out of the box, plus two-window resizing (like we already have with the current full screen snapping feature).

shrimp_emoji 3y ago
> there is no supported way This is why KDE is better than GNOME. Guess who GNOME models after? ;)
- talentedcoin 3y ago
  Sorry, what? You absolutely can disable animations in the GNOME control panel.
  - Krssst 3y ago
    Note that you also need an extension to remove the alt-tab delay even if animations are disabled: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1317/alt-tab-switcher-popup-delay-removal/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1317/alt-tab-switcher... (though otherwise GNOME is pretty nice to use without animations)
- satysin 3y ago
  You can disable all the animations in Gnome with the following: gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface enable-animations false This is exactly what I do on my Fedora system and as far as I can tell every animation is disabled. Do you have an example of something not disabled with the above setting change?
  - beached_whale 3y ago
    I hate that settings like this are not given a UI.
    - bdcravens 3y ago
      Can't you add the settings and submit a PR? Not picking on you, as it seems this is common: treating open source software as if it's someone's else's product, and treating ourselves as helpless consumers.
      - gsich 3y ago
        Not that easy, not everyone knows how to code. Also, even if you still need to find/add what you need in a presumably massive codebase.
        bdcravens 3y ago
        I'm not saying it's easy or that everyone is capable. Only that it CAN be changed, but the conversations around OSS often don't reflect that reality. (We've all seen Github issues being abused as a support channel, often with a strong odor of entitlement)
        xdavidliu 3y ago
        If someone has strong feelings about how a UI is lacking, why suppress it in order to be more polite and avoid appearing entitled? That's a very useful signal. Imagine if nobody expressed their strongly-held opinions about UIs; nobody would know what's missing or bad. Why must everyone who complains about something also attempt to fix it themselves?
      - bombcar 3y ago
        IIRC Gnome is one of those projects where it can be VERY difficult to get a PR submitted because the developers have Opinions.
      - 3y ago
- retrocryptid 3y ago
  Sure. KDE is great and all, but if they shipped a default config that included a Taskbar and a root menu that opened a terminal, there would probably be fewer people scratching their heads after starting it. <joke>Besides, everyone knows twm is the window manager of the TRUE Unix Haxxor.</joke>
kitsunesoba 3y ago
> Basically just something like Magnet/Rectangle built into the OS out of the box, plus two-window resizing (like we already have with the current full screen snapping feature). On newer versions of macOS, if you hold down Option while hovering your cursor over the Zoom button on newer versions you'll be given the option to split left/right without fullscreen. Not a full replacement for an Aero Snap sort of thing but covers its most common use case.
- satysin 3y ago
  Yup this has been an option for a while but it isn't a nice quick keyboard shortcut :) Apple managed to make it one of the most awkward features to use in macOS IMHO. You have to position the mouse over a small UI target, wait a second and also use the keyboard. I wish it were just a keyboard shortcut.
  - kitsunesoba 3y ago
    It's true that these don't come with a keyboard shortcut, but you can add your own! Open System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > App Shortcuts and then add a new shortcut to All Applications, with the menu title being "Move Window to (Left|Right) Side of Screen". After doing this, in any app that's left the system-standard Window menu in tact (in my experience, the vast majority), your specified key shortcuts will split the frontmost window left or right.
    - satysin 3y ago
      You're right I should have acknowledged you can make it a keyboard shortcut. That is what is frustrating about macOS window management, they could add everything I want as it is sort of already present. It is just missing customisation and a few additional options. It seems that since Apple started trying to create consistency between macOS and iPadOS features they have (purposely) forgotten that people work with macOS quite differently to iPadOS :(
- robotresearcher 3y ago
  You don't need to hold Option. Just hover over the green button. Option doesn't appear to have any effect.
arbitrage 3y ago
> The reduce motion option is after all an accessibility feature. Thank you for this -- I didn't realize this was an option, now.
CharlesW 3y ago
> I use a Mac as my main system and what frustrates me is there is no way to truly disable all animations in the system. TinkerTool is a friendly GUI for additional advanced settings that Apple doesn't expose via System Settings, including animation settings. https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/14001/how-to-turn-off-all-animations-on-os-x https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/14001/how-to-turn-...
izolate 3y ago
One aspect that I find particularly vexing is the apparent lag when toggling between MacOS Spaces, even when the 'reduce motion' setting is enabled. I utilize Spaces as an alternative to multiple monitors, often alternating between a full-screen terminal and a browser window in different Spaces. Anticipating the need to open a new browser tab, I transition to the browser Space and instinctively press 'Cmd+T', only to discover that a new tab has instead been created in the terminal window. AFAIK, there doesn't seem to be a way to achieve instantaneous Space-switching devoid of any animation or delay.
gspencley 3y ago
> It actually surprises me given Apple is very pro accessibility. I have a hard time accepting that seeing as there is no way to configure system-wide fonts. CMD+scroll-wheel in Chrome doesn't even work properly (you can zoom the entire desktop, but it doesn't scale just the fonts on the website + remember your setting like it does on Linux and Windows machines). I had to use a Mac for work and found it very difficult on the eyes when using an external monitor. To me this was not just an accessibility issue but THE accessibility issue. The fact that Linux gets this right of all operating systems, but Mac doesn't, speaks volumes to how much Apple actually cares about accessibility IMO.
- crazygringo 3y ago
  On a Mac you just scale the whole display, not fonts. I've never understood why someone would want to scale just fonts rather than all UX elements. What good is it to be able to read text but not see checkboxes or click the window's close button? There's also a magnify feature if you need to scale so much that things don't fit on the screen anymore. Yes, Apple is not only pro-accessibility but basically sets the standard for it. Nobody else even comes close.
  - explorer83 3y ago
    I have experienced this on both nix and MacOS. Increasing the font size gives the benefits of the high resolution display desktop space without making the text uncomfortably small. Scaling the display makes the desktop space feel like you're downgrading the resolution of the whole display.
  - usernew 3y ago
    because I need to be able to read text. I only need to see a square box and click on it. it does not need to be the size of the line of text. because I don't need the windows close button at all and it takes up useless space. I close windows using the keyboard. because icons don't need to be big. i don't need to read them. i can tell a stop sign is a stop sign even if it's too small to read the text on it. that is why scaling the whole display, is a ridiculous idea functionally. now if you want your display to look more pretty while fitting less things, you should buy a painting to look at, or something from google with lots of that sweet pretty empty space and some light gray on white text. me, I have work to get done.
Aaron2222 3y ago
> plus two-window resizing (like we already have with the current full screen snapping feature) Rectangle Pro[0] (the paid version that's more akin to FancyZones on Windows) has this now (though it doesn't animate it, it just resizes the other windows after you resize one). It seems to just detect what windows are adjacent and resize them to match. [0]: https://rectangleapp.com/pro https://rectangleapp.com/pro

shrimp_emoji 3y ago

> there is no supported way This is why KDE is better than GNOME. Guess who GNOME models after? ;)

talentedcoin 3y ago
Sorry, what? You absolutely can disable animations in the GNOME control panel.
- Krssst 3y ago
  Note that you also need an extension to remove the alt-tab delay even if animations are disabled: https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1317/alt-tab-switcher-popup-delay-removal/ https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/1317/alt-tab-switcher... (though otherwise GNOME is pretty nice to use without animations)
satysin 3y ago
You can disable all the animations in Gnome with the following: gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface enable-animations false This is exactly what I do on my Fedora system and as far as I can tell every animation is disabled. Do you have an example of something not disabled with the above setting change?
- beached_whale 3y ago
  I hate that settings like this are not given a UI.
  - bdcravens 3y ago
    Can't you add the settings and submit a PR? Not picking on you, as it seems this is common: treating open source software as if it's someone's else's product, and treating ourselves as helpless consumers.
    - gsich 3y ago
      Not that easy, not everyone knows how to code. Also, even if you still need to find/add what you need in a presumably massive codebase.
      - bdcravens 3y ago
        I'm not saying it's easy or that everyone is capable. Only that it CAN be changed, but the conversations around OSS often don't reflect that reality. (We've all seen Github issues being abused as a support channel, often with a strong odor of entitlement)
        xdavidliu 3y ago
        If someone has strong feelings about how a UI is lacking, why suppress it in order to be more polite and avoid appearing entitled? That's a very useful signal. Imagine if nobody expressed their strongly-held opinions about UIs; nobody would know what's missing or bad. Why must everyone who complains about something also attempt to fix it themselves?
    - bombcar 3y ago
      IIRC Gnome is one of those projects where it can be VERY difficult to get a PR submitted because the developers have Opinions.
    - 3y ago
retrocryptid 3y ago
Sure. KDE is great and all, but if they shipped a default config that included a Taskbar and a root menu that opened a terminal, there would probably be fewer people scratching their heads after starting it. <joke>Besides, everyone knows twm is the window manager of the TRUE Unix Haxxor.</joke>

kitsunesoba 3y ago

> Basically just something like Magnet/Rectangle built into the OS out of the box, plus two-window resizing (like we already have with the current full screen snapping feature). On newer versions of macOS, if you hold down Option while hovering your cursor over the Zoom button on newer versions you'll be given the option to split left/right without fullscreen. Not a full replacement for an Aero Snap sort of thing but covers its most common use case.

satysin 3y ago
Yup this has been an option for a while but it isn't a nice quick keyboard shortcut :) Apple managed to make it one of the most awkward features to use in macOS IMHO. You have to position the mouse over a small UI target, wait a second and also use the keyboard. I wish it were just a keyboard shortcut.
- kitsunesoba 3y ago
  It's true that these don't come with a keyboard shortcut, but you can add your own! Open System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > App Shortcuts and then add a new shortcut to All Applications, with the menu title being "Move Window to (Left|Right) Side of Screen". After doing this, in any app that's left the system-standard Window menu in tact (in my experience, the vast majority), your specified key shortcuts will split the frontmost window left or right.
  - satysin 3y ago
    You're right I should have acknowledged you can make it a keyboard shortcut. That is what is frustrating about macOS window management, they could add everything I want as it is sort of already present. It is just missing customisation and a few additional options. It seems that since Apple started trying to create consistency between macOS and iPadOS features they have (purposely) forgotten that people work with macOS quite differently to iPadOS :(
robotresearcher 3y ago
You don't need to hold Option. Just hover over the green button. Option doesn't appear to have any effect.

arbitrage 3y ago

> The reduce motion option is after all an accessibility feature. Thank you for this -- I didn't realize this was an option, now.

CharlesW 3y ago

> I use a Mac as my main system and what frustrates me is there is no way to truly disable all animations in the system. TinkerTool is a friendly GUI for additional advanced settings that Apple doesn't expose via System Settings, including animation settings. https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/14001/how-to-turn-off-all-animations-on-os-x https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/14001/how-to-turn-...

izolate 3y ago

One aspect that I find particularly vexing is the apparent lag when toggling between MacOS Spaces, even when the 'reduce motion' setting is enabled. I utilize Spaces as an alternative to multiple monitors, often alternating between a full-screen terminal and a browser window in different Spaces. Anticipating the need to open a new browser tab, I transition to the browser Space and instinctively press 'Cmd+T', only to discover that a new tab has instead been created in the terminal window. AFAIK, there doesn't seem to be a way to achieve instantaneous Space-switching devoid of any animation or delay.

gspencley 3y ago

> It actually surprises me given Apple is very pro accessibility. I have a hard time accepting that seeing as there is no way to configure system-wide fonts. CMD+scroll-wheel in Chrome doesn't even work properly (you can zoom the entire desktop, but it doesn't scale just the fonts on the website + remember your setting like it does on Linux and Windows machines). I had to use a Mac for work and found it very difficult on the eyes when using an external monitor. To me this was not just an accessibility issue but THE accessibility issue. The fact that Linux gets this right of all operating systems, but Mac doesn't, speaks volumes to how much Apple actually cares about accessibility IMO.

crazygringo 3y ago
On a Mac you just scale the whole display, not fonts. I've never understood why someone would want to scale just fonts rather than all UX elements. What good is it to be able to read text but not see checkboxes or click the window's close button? There's also a magnify feature if you need to scale so much that things don't fit on the screen anymore. Yes, Apple is not only pro-accessibility but basically sets the standard for it. Nobody else even comes close.
- explorer83 3y ago
  I have experienced this on both nix and MacOS. Increasing the font size gives the benefits of the high resolution display desktop space without making the text uncomfortably small. Scaling the display makes the desktop space feel like you're downgrading the resolution of the whole display.
- usernew 3y ago
  because I need to be able to read text. I only need to see a square box and click on it. it does not need to be the size of the line of text. because I don't need the windows close button at all and it takes up useless space. I close windows using the keyboard. because icons don't need to be big. i don't need to read them. i can tell a stop sign is a stop sign even if it's too small to read the text on it. that is why scaling the whole display, is a ridiculous idea functionally. now if you want your display to look more pretty while fitting less things, you should buy a painting to look at, or something from google with lots of that sweet pretty empty space and some light gray on white text. me, I have work to get done.

Aaron2222 3y ago

> plus two-window resizing (like we already have with the current full screen snapping feature) Rectangle Pro[0] (the paid version that's more akin to FancyZones on Windows) has this now (though it doesn't animate it, it just resizes the other windows after you resize one). It seems to just detect what windows are adjacent and resize them to match. [0]: https://rectangleapp.com/pro https://rectangleapp.com/pro