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This was one of the things that made OSX horrible for me when switching from Windows and Linux. I have since learned the tricks to get around many of OSX's wind

This was one of the things that made OSX horrible for me when switching from Windows and Linux. I have since learned the tricks to get around many of OSX's windowing quirks, but I do wonder how things like this have not been fixed. I love my OSX setup now, but if I was a "non-power-user", I think it would be completely unusable. Watching a typical Windows user try to maximize a window in OSX is pure pain. Hit the + button: window gets a bit bigger, but not full screen. Drag the window to the top: nothing happens. Try to get to the edge of the window, and drag it out: RSI inducing frustration. Windows seems to dominate as far as basic user usability goes on the windowing front. I would still find it completely unusable without the help of a windowing app like spectacle[1] or slate[2]. [1] http://spectacleapp.com/ http://spectacleapp.com/ [2] https://github.com/jigish/slate https://github.com/jigish/slate

ghshephard 12y ago
10 years later, and what I would consider a "power user", and I still spend time every day trying to maximize windows on OS X. It's usually a game of hitting the "+" button to see what will happen, and usually being disappointed by the results. Does anybody know how to maximize a window with OS X?
- Walkman 12y ago
  The author mention a great little app in his previous blog post called Moom [1] I just tried and it's awesome! You can resize, full screen, put windows left and right immediately without the mouse. [1]: http://manytricks.com/moom/ http://manytricks.com/moom/
  - mh- 12y ago
    +1 for moom; I have cmd+period set to activate moom, then just period (when moom is activated) set to maximize. I use that key sequence dozens of times a day (I also have many others, and custom layouts, configured.. but that alone makes it worthwhile.)
- reviewdbysteve 12y ago
  https://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/ https://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/ works well, but costs money.
- skierscott 12y ago
  Check out Optimal Layout[0]. It's a wonderful cross between a tiling window manager and the normal GUI and something I wish every computer had. You can bind a single keyboard shortcut to cycle through different possible positions for a single window size. For example, let's say you want a window to take up half the screen. In my case I press F2 once or twice depending if it's on the left or right half. Another tool to script the GUI is Keyboard Maestro[1]. Almost any GUI action is possible such as closing a specific application on open or moving mouse to x,y. In my case, I set up a keyboard shortcut to activate iTerm (a almost terminal.app) and enter %run<up arrow><enter> to run a python script. Both cost money but I couldn't live without it after the free trial ended. [0, 1]:(I'm on mobile otherwise I would post a link; use google).
  - ciniglio 12y ago
    [0]: http://most-advantageous.com/optimal-layout/ http://most-advantageous.com/optimal-layout/ Agreed. Optimal layout is great, I can't recommend it highly enough. Watching the video on the site gives you a good idea of all the things you can do with it. Also the developer is very responsive to support questions and feature requests.
- olalonde 12y ago
  BetterTouchTool lets you snap windows at the top to maximize. http://www.bettertouchtool.net/ http://www.bettertouchtool.net/
- ihuman 12y ago
  I use Spectacle. Full screen is Command-Alt-F. you can also make the window take up a half, third, or quarter of a screen with 1 shortcut. It takes some getting used to, but I find it hard to go without it. http://spectacleapp.com/ http://spectacleapp.com/
  - Smirnoff 12y ago
    Do mention that this is a FREE app, which just works! The most of the other suggested apps here are paid.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
  - taude 12y ago
    I tried EVERY OS X window management app, spectacle was the one I settled on. I don't remember if I changed my short-cut keys to match Windows arrow snap or not. But OS X window management, especially on multiple monitors was one of the biggest pains when I switched from Win to OS X. At least multi-monitor support by default on OS X is better now days, but they could use some default window management tool improvements.
  - morganherlocker 12y ago
    I use Spectacle with alt+cmd+up mapped to 100% window, which I tend to prefer to actual "fullscreen" (OSX is weird with fullscreen on multiple monitors).
  - stygiansonic 12y ago
    Here's another vote for Spectacle; shortcuts/key bindings are configurable and the ability to segment your available screen into grids is something I can't live without anymore.
- nielsbot 12y ago
  Well, classically at least, the + button should enlarge the window to the largest size that fits the content... Hence no Windows-style maximize feature.
- titaniumdecoy 12y ago
  Yes - Hold shift when clicking the maximize button.
- bane 12y ago
  Like most things with OS X, the built-in tools and behaviors are horrible and broken and is fixed by installing any one of a few dozen community built fixes (there seems to be a category of roughly equivalent utilities like this for virtually every single piece of the OS). Apple simply refuses to fix this basic stuff and I avoid interacting with the GUI bits of OS X as much as possible. At least you can finally resize windows from more than just the bottom right corner, that's a win I guess.
mukmuk 12y ago
I think Slate has been abandoned. Check out Phoenix: https://github.com/sdegutis/phoenix https://github.com/sdegutis/phoenix
archagon 12y ago
I used to be really frustrated by the inconsistent + button, but recently I realized something interesting: especially for text-heavy applications such as browsers, you often don't want to maximize them to the full width of the screen. This is because the optimal reading width is actually relatively narrow compared to our widescreen monitors, and going past that makes documents frustrating to read. As a result, whenever I hit + and the application expands to the full width of the screen, I very often have to grab an edge and drag it back to the center a little bit. There's definitely some things Apple got right with the design. Additionally, I think the need for maximization and edge-snapping in Windows is something that OSX handles very elegantly with Spaces.
- WorldWideWayne 12y ago
  > you often don't want to maximize... No, I always want to maximize when I want to maximize. When I want to make text more readable, I have other options like zooming, snapping to an edge (in Windows or with an add-on to OS X) or using an application specific function such as "reading mode" or "print layout" (in Word). Apple got window management completely wrong in my opinion. I mean, here's an example of a situation where an open window is orphaned from keyboard access of any kind: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/128720/how-to-switch-to-windows-that-dont-belong-to-any-running-application http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/128720/how-to-switc...
donutdan4114 12y ago
I use Moom for window stuff: http://manytricks.com/moom/ http://manytricks.com/moom/
snowwrestler 12y ago
The maximize button is always dragged out in discussions of OS X usability. But you only need it if you're constantly resizing windows--which is not something most people do. Most people just set the window size they want once, because OS X remembers it per app. Or, if the user wants the app full screen, they use the "full screen" button.

ghshephard 12y ago

10 years later, and what I would consider a "power user", and I still spend time every day trying to maximize windows on OS X. It's usually a game of hitting the "+" button to see what will happen, and usually being disappointed by the results. Does anybody know how to maximize a window with OS X?

Walkman 12y ago
The author mention a great little app in his previous blog post called Moom [1] I just tried and it's awesome! You can resize, full screen, put windows left and right immediately without the mouse. [1]: http://manytricks.com/moom/ http://manytricks.com/moom/
- mh- 12y ago
  +1 for moom; I have cmd+period set to activate moom, then just period (when moom is activated) set to maximize. I use that key sequence dozens of times a day (I also have many others, and custom layouts, configured.. but that alone makes it worthwhile.)
reviewdbysteve 12y ago
https://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/ https://www.irradiatedsoftware.com/sizeup/ works well, but costs money.
skierscott 12y ago
Check out Optimal Layout[0]. It's a wonderful cross between a tiling window manager and the normal GUI and something I wish every computer had. You can bind a single keyboard shortcut to cycle through different possible positions for a single window size. For example, let's say you want a window to take up half the screen. In my case I press F2 once or twice depending if it's on the left or right half. Another tool to script the GUI is Keyboard Maestro[1]. Almost any GUI action is possible such as closing a specific application on open or moving mouse to x,y. In my case, I set up a keyboard shortcut to activate iTerm (a almost terminal.app) and enter %run<up arrow><enter> to run a python script. Both cost money but I couldn't live without it after the free trial ended. [0, 1]:(I'm on mobile otherwise I would post a link; use google).
- ciniglio 12y ago
  [0]: http://most-advantageous.com/optimal-layout/ http://most-advantageous.com/optimal-layout/ Agreed. Optimal layout is great, I can't recommend it highly enough. Watching the video on the site gives you a good idea of all the things you can do with it. Also the developer is very responsive to support questions and feature requests.
olalonde 12y ago
BetterTouchTool lets you snap windows at the top to maximize. http://www.bettertouchtool.net/ http://www.bettertouchtool.net/
ihuman 12y ago
I use Spectacle. Full screen is Command-Alt-F. you can also make the window take up a half, third, or quarter of a screen with 1 shortcut. It takes some getting used to, but I find it hard to go without it. http://spectacleapp.com/ http://spectacleapp.com/
- Smirnoff 12y ago
  Do mention that this is a FREE app, which just works! The most of the other suggested apps here are paid.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- taude 12y ago
  I tried EVERY OS X window management app, spectacle was the one I settled on. I don't remember if I changed my short-cut keys to match Windows arrow snap or not. But OS X window management, especially on multiple monitors was one of the biggest pains when I switched from Win to OS X. At least multi-monitor support by default on OS X is better now days, but they could use some default window management tool improvements.
- morganherlocker 12y ago
  I use Spectacle with alt+cmd+up mapped to 100% window, which I tend to prefer to actual "fullscreen" (OSX is weird with fullscreen on multiple monitors).
- stygiansonic 12y ago
  Here's another vote for Spectacle; shortcuts/key bindings are configurable and the ability to segment your available screen into grids is something I can't live without anymore.
nielsbot 12y ago
Well, classically at least, the + button should enlarge the window to the largest size that fits the content... Hence no Windows-style maximize feature.
titaniumdecoy 12y ago
Yes - Hold shift when clicking the maximize button.
bane 12y ago
Like most things with OS X, the built-in tools and behaviors are horrible and broken and is fixed by installing any one of a few dozen community built fixes (there seems to be a category of roughly equivalent utilities like this for virtually every single piece of the OS). Apple simply refuses to fix this basic stuff and I avoid interacting with the GUI bits of OS X as much as possible. At least you can finally resize windows from more than just the bottom right corner, that's a win I guess.

mukmuk 12y ago

I think Slate has been abandoned. Check out Phoenix: https://github.com/sdegutis/phoenix https://github.com/sdegutis/phoenix

archagon 12y ago

I used to be really frustrated by the inconsistent + button, but recently I realized something interesting: especially for text-heavy applications such as browsers, you often don't want to maximize them to the full width of the screen. This is because the optimal reading width is actually relatively narrow compared to our widescreen monitors, and going past that makes documents frustrating to read. As a result, whenever I hit + and the application expands to the full width of the screen, I very often have to grab an edge and drag it back to the center a little bit. There's definitely some things Apple got right with the design. Additionally, I think the need for maximization and edge-snapping in Windows is something that OSX handles very elegantly with Spaces.

WorldWideWayne 12y ago
> you often don't want to maximize... No, I always want to maximize when I want to maximize. When I want to make text more readable, I have other options like zooming, snapping to an edge (in Windows or with an add-on to OS X) or using an application specific function such as "reading mode" or "print layout" (in Word). Apple got window management completely wrong in my opinion. I mean, here's an example of a situation where an open window is orphaned from keyboard access of any kind: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/128720/how-to-switch-to-windows-that-dont-belong-to-any-running-application http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/128720/how-to-switc...

donutdan4114 12y ago

I use Moom for window stuff: http://manytricks.com/moom/ http://manytricks.com/moom/

snowwrestler 12y ago

The maximize button is always dragged out in discussions of OS X usability. But you only need it if you're constantly resizing windows--which is not something most people do. Most people just set the window size they want once, because OS X remembers it per app. Or, if the user wants the app full screen, they use the "full screen" button.