5 ms·

Plainview - A chromeless browser for OS X

39 points by grinich 18y ago

DanHulton 18y ago
...no Mac browser supports F11? Seriously, I've been taking advantage of browser built-in fullscreen for years now. I mean if this fills a need, that's all well and good, but I have a hard time believing this is actually a problem.
- jawngee 18y ago
  Well, believe.
- cschep 18y ago
  Also, and please correct me if I'm wrong, when you hit F11 in Firefox or IE7 you can just hit escape and do whatever you want. I think part of the value is that you can "lock" it in full screen, asking for a password to exit that mode. Maybe you could modify Firefox to do that, but I don't think the functionality exists as of 3.0.8, or whatever is current.
  - Zev 18y ago
    Plainview is a Mac app. By default, F11 is an Expose keyboard shortcut on OS X, it sends all windows to the nearest screen edge and shows the desktop. However, even when you remap the Expose key to be triggered by a separate key, Firefox still doesn't go into full screen on Mac when you hit it. Not without a plugin at least. And since its a Mac app, IE7 isn't a real option (short of virtualizing, Wine/Darwine or not running OS X on the Mac)
    - thwarted 18y ago
      On my Mac, F11 is Volume Down. They keep changing this based on machine model and keyboard model, it seems.
      - seren6ipity 18y ago
        This is a default setting. I believe you should be able to modify it on System Preferences>Keyboard and Mouse>Keyboard : Use F1, F2 as standard keys.
        thwarted 18y ago
        Yes, I know. I was responding to "By default, F11 is an Expose keyboard shortcut on OS X", which is not the case with every released Mac or keyboard.
        Zev 18y ago
        Sorry about that, I checked the box in the settings that reversed function in relation to F11 being pressed. My primary point, that it doesn't make Firefox go full screen, still stands.
      - IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
        Every F[0-9]+ key is two things on the Mac. It's a function key, with its definition set by a carefully negotiated contract between the OS and the current application, or it's a non-changeable controller with a pretty picture (volume, screen brightness, etc.) You do one by pressing the key, and the other by pressing it with the Fn modifier key. Which one is default depends on a pref setting in Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts. Personally, I set it to use the F[0-9]+ keys as function keys, and use the Fn modifier to access the volume etc.
- bouncingsoul 18y ago
  Opera supports fullscreen browsing on Mac. But, yeah, that's it.
- Raphael_Amiard 18y ago
  Well i checked and to my surprise, at least FF3 can't fullscreen on macs ! On a pc you could probably do the same thing with firefox and a few plugins : https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4650 https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4650 for the slideshow abilities and https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1659 https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1659 for full-screen locking. Also : [From the Plainview FAQ] How much does Plainview cost? Plainview is free. Enjoy. Really? Yup. [End] Well, seriously, what is that surprising about a free browser ? Besides that, the browser just looks very nice. I like the multi-windows approach, it could certainly have it's charm on bigger screens
speek 18y ago
I love the barbarian group. Everything they touch turns to awesome.
- PStamatiou 18y ago
  agreed. not only can they throw a good SXSW party but they can come up with a slick browser. loving the completely unique interface so far. might use it when making a screencast showing off my startup
wheels 18y ago
Or you can just use Megazoomer which will make any Cocoa app fullscreen: http://ianhenderson.org/megazoomer.html http://ianhenderson.org/megazoomer.html Combine that with "Hide Statusbar", "Hide Toolbar", "Hide Bookmarks Bar" and you've got a chromeless Safari. I use Megazoomer a lot with Terminal.app.
- ruby_roo 18y ago
  I would pay dollars for something that could hide my OS X menu bar in the same way that I can hide the dock. An added benefit would be to hide all my desktop icons (which I right-align) until I move my mouse to the edge of the screen. Having tried a few isolation apps, I now wish more of that stuff was built into the OS itself.
  - Zev 18y ago
    Have you ever looked into Visor by Blacktree (Same folks that did Quicksilver)? http://code.google.com/p/blacktree-visor/ http://code.google.com/p/blacktree-visor/ - It allows you to show/hide a terminal with a key combo. Not the exact thing you want, but closer to it then any other plugin/app I know of.
  - alabut 18y ago
    I agree that the desktop is annoying, so that's why I forked out cash for Deskshade, from the makers of Espresso (a Coda competitor). A simple hotkey combo (for me it's command+return) triggers the show/hide. http://macrabbit.com/deskshade/ http://macrabbit.com/deskshade/ I'm a cheap bastard and it's one of the few pieces of software I've paid for, which also feels good because it's an indie developer. Totally worth it, I feel like I can breathe again with the desktop hidden.
- alabut 18y ago
  Ack - Megazoomer requires SIMBL and I've been burned by that in the past. The Wikipedia page says the problems are in the past but I'd still be hesitant to install it. I had some kind of app that dimmed the menu bar on command and had to install SIMBL in order to get it to work, which ended up being a bit of a nightmare after a few OS X updates.
ja2ke 18y ago
I used Plainview a few weeks back for a small temporary kiosk setup at a convention we were doing. Worked really well. Obviously having a separate app is a little more cumbersome than just being able to grab a kiosk plugin to lock out basic browsing when F11'd in Firefox or whatever, but Plainview does do what it does more elegantly than a Safari or FF plugin would do, so I'll be using it again. Also, the milkshake icon is a nice touch.
misterbwong 18y ago
This is pretty cool but, as others have said, some of its functionality can be replicated using FF3 (on Windows). Examples: 1. Fullscreen mode - hit F11 in firefox. Address bar/tabs/buttons are all hidden 2. Hotkey sites - Use tab hotkeys in firefox. Ctrl+1 is the first, Ctrl+2 is the second, etc. This doesn't break out of fullscreen and would work well in a presentation. That said, the other functions of Plainview, such as presentation recording and popup handling, are quite appealing.
- ryanwaggoner 18y ago
  Good thing this is for OS X, then, and not Windows.
adammarkey 18y ago
Full-screen browsing really helps to stay on task when browsing the web. Usually after 15 minutes of browsing I have 8 tabs open and no idea why I started the browser in the first place :) Kudos.
mdonahoe 18y ago
how long before my entire OS is just a fullscreen web browser?

39 points by grinich 18y ago

...no Mac browser supports F11? Seriously, I've been taking advantage of browser built-in fullscreen for years now. I mean if this fills a need, that's all well and good, but I have a hard time believing this is actually a problem.

jawngee 18y ago
Well, believe.
cschep 18y ago
Also, and please correct me if I'm wrong, when you hit F11 in Firefox or IE7 you can just hit escape and do whatever you want. I think part of the value is that you can "lock" it in full screen, asking for a password to exit that mode. Maybe you could modify Firefox to do that, but I don't think the functionality exists as of 3.0.8, or whatever is current.
- Zev 18y ago
  Plainview is a Mac app. By default, F11 is an Expose keyboard shortcut on OS X, it sends all windows to the nearest screen edge and shows the desktop. However, even when you remap the Expose key to be triggered by a separate key, Firefox still doesn't go into full screen on Mac when you hit it. Not without a plugin at least. And since its a Mac app, IE7 isn't a real option (short of virtualizing, Wine/Darwine or not running OS X on the Mac)
  - thwarted 18y ago
    On my Mac, F11 is Volume Down. They keep changing this based on machine model and keyboard model, it seems.
    - seren6ipity 18y ago
      This is a default setting. I believe you should be able to modify it on System Preferences>Keyboard and Mouse>Keyboard : Use F1, F2 as standard keys.
      - thwarted 18y ago
        Yes, I know. I was responding to "By default, F11 is an Expose keyboard shortcut on OS X", which is not the case with every released Mac or keyboard.
        Zev 18y ago
        Sorry about that, I checked the box in the settings that reversed function in relation to F11 being pressed. My primary point, that it doesn't make Firefox go full screen, still stands.
    - IsaacSchlueter 18y ago
      Every F[0-9]+ key is two things on the Mac. It's a function key, with its definition set by a carefully negotiated contract between the OS and the current application, or it's a non-changeable controller with a pretty picture (volume, screen brightness, etc.) You do one by pressing the key, and the other by pressing it with the Fn modifier key. Which one is default depends on a pref setting in Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts. Personally, I set it to use the F[0-9]+ keys as function keys, and use the Fn modifier to access the volume etc.
bouncingsoul 18y ago
Opera supports fullscreen browsing on Mac. But, yeah, that's it.
Raphael_Amiard 18y ago
Well i checked and to my surprise, at least FF3 can't fullscreen on macs ! On a pc you could probably do the same thing with firefox and a few plugins : https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4650 https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4650 for the slideshow abilities and https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1659 https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1659 for full-screen locking. Also : [From the Plainview FAQ] How much does Plainview cost? Plainview is free. Enjoy. Really? Yup. [End] Well, seriously, what is that surprising about a free browser ? Besides that, the browser just looks very nice. I like the multi-windows approach, it could certainly have it's charm on bigger screens

speek 18y ago

I love the barbarian group. Everything they touch turns to awesome.

PStamatiou 18y ago
agreed. not only can they throw a good SXSW party but they can come up with a slick browser. loving the completely unique interface so far. might use it when making a screencast showing off my startup

wheels 18y ago

Or you can just use Megazoomer which will make any Cocoa app fullscreen: http://ianhenderson.org/megazoomer.html http://ianhenderson.org/megazoomer.html Combine that with "Hide Statusbar", "Hide Toolbar", "Hide Bookmarks Bar" and you've got a chromeless Safari. I use Megazoomer a lot with Terminal.app.

ruby_roo 18y ago
I would pay dollars for something that could hide my OS X menu bar in the same way that I can hide the dock. An added benefit would be to hide all my desktop icons (which I right-align) until I move my mouse to the edge of the screen. Having tried a few isolation apps, I now wish more of that stuff was built into the OS itself.
- Zev 18y ago
  Have you ever looked into Visor by Blacktree (Same folks that did Quicksilver)? http://code.google.com/p/blacktree-visor/ http://code.google.com/p/blacktree-visor/ - It allows you to show/hide a terminal with a key combo. Not the exact thing you want, but closer to it then any other plugin/app I know of.
- alabut 18y ago
  I agree that the desktop is annoying, so that's why I forked out cash for Deskshade, from the makers of Espresso (a Coda competitor). A simple hotkey combo (for me it's command+return) triggers the show/hide. http://macrabbit.com/deskshade/ http://macrabbit.com/deskshade/ I'm a cheap bastard and it's one of the few pieces of software I've paid for, which also feels good because it's an indie developer. Totally worth it, I feel like I can breathe again with the desktop hidden.
alabut 18y ago
Ack - Megazoomer requires SIMBL and I've been burned by that in the past. The Wikipedia page says the problems are in the past but I'd still be hesitant to install it. I had some kind of app that dimmed the menu bar on command and had to install SIMBL in order to get it to work, which ended up being a bit of a nightmare after a few OS X updates.

ja2ke 18y ago

I used Plainview a few weeks back for a small temporary kiosk setup at a convention we were doing. Worked really well. Obviously having a separate app is a little more cumbersome than just being able to grab a kiosk plugin to lock out basic browsing when F11'd in Firefox or whatever, but Plainview does do what it does more elegantly than a Safari or FF plugin would do, so I'll be using it again. Also, the milkshake icon is a nice touch.

misterbwong 18y ago

This is pretty cool but, as others have said, some of its functionality can be replicated using FF3 (on Windows). Examples: 1. Fullscreen mode - hit F11 in firefox. Address bar/tabs/buttons are all hidden 2. Hotkey sites - Use tab hotkeys in firefox. Ctrl+1 is the first, Ctrl+2 is the second, etc. This doesn't break out of fullscreen and would work well in a presentation. That said, the other functions of Plainview, such as presentation recording and popup handling, are quite appealing.

ryanwaggoner 18y ago
Good thing this is for OS X, then, and not Windows.

adammarkey 18y ago

Full-screen browsing really helps to stay on task when browsing the web. Usually after 15 minutes of browsing I have 8 tabs open and no idea why I started the browser in the first place :) Kudos.

mdonahoe 18y ago

how long before my entire OS is just a fullscreen web browser?