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I might have a workaround for you! I use a launcher for OS X called 'Quicksilver'. It's free and absolutely changed the way I approach computing (at the speed o

by err4nt 12y ago

I might have a workaround for you! I use a launcher for OS X called 'Quicksilver'. It's free and absolutely changed the way I approach computing (at the speed of thought, not the speed I can aim and click icons on my screen) and one of the handiest features Quicksilver let's you configure is called 'triggers'. Triggers are system-wide shortcuts that run a quicksilver command. So I have a quicksilver trigger for EVERY application I use. Any time I hit my special trigger key combination, it will 'launch' that app. If it is open it gives it focus, and if it is not running it opens the app. This means I can rearrange my apps and desktops however I like and I always instantly travel to the app I want next. Terminal is command-shift-I anywhere. Chrome is command-shift-c for example. Firefox is command-shift-f. Let's say I'm editing an HTML file over ssh and I want to test it. It doesn't matter whether chrome or Firefox are running, full screen, on the same virtual desktop, if I strike command-shift-c Chrome is instantly in front of me. I flip between programs all day and don't use my dock except to empty trash (and yes I know command-option-shift-delete but that is living on the edge!)

klausa 12y ago
I do the same with spaces and Divvy. I have 8 spaces. Space 1 is full screen browser. Space 2 is full screen terminal. Space 3 is full screen music app. Space 4 is full screen mail. Space 5 is full screen code editor. Space 6 is IM/Twitter. Spaces 7-10 are used as needed. It works just fine, I know where every app is, so I just go directly to that space with ctrl-$SPACENUMBER Now, note that I say full-screen, I mean "with menu bar visible, maximized using Divvy." I can't use system-provided full-screen API, because I lose ability to use only keyboard to navigate around.
enoch_r 12y ago
Yes! This is almost exactly what I do, except s/command/control/, and I'm using Alfred instead of Quicksilver. Not sure if Quicksilver has this, but one nice feature is that if, say, Chrome is currently active, and I hit its key-combo (control-shift-c), Chrome is hidden (the equivalent of command-h). This is great if you're installing something in the background and want to see if it finished without reverting back to the dark ages of command-tab. It's especially nice on a laptop, because I can expand all my windows to fill the screen while still having near-zero overhead when switching between apps.
goblin89 12y ago
> Any time I hit my special trigger key combination, it will 'launch' that app. If it is open it gives it focus, and if it is not running it opens the app. This means I can rearrange my apps and desktops however I like and I always instantly travel to the app I want next. What if I have 6 full-screen Terminal windows (connected to SSH servers, tmux sessions, and so on), and I need to switch between them? Your comment prompted me to install Quicksilver, but it doesn't seem like it can handle that. I'd be glad to hear if I'm wrong.

by err4nt 12y ago

klausa 12y ago

I do the same with spaces and Divvy. I have 8 spaces. Space 1 is full screen browser. Space 2 is full screen terminal. Space 3 is full screen music app. Space 4 is full screen mail. Space 5 is full screen code editor. Space 6 is IM/Twitter. Spaces 7-10 are used as needed. It works just fine, I know where every app is, so I just go directly to that space with ctrl-$SPACENUMBER Now, note that I say full-screen, I mean "with menu bar visible, maximized using Divvy." I can't use system-provided full-screen API, because I lose ability to use only keyboard to navigate around.

enoch_r 12y ago

Yes! This is almost exactly what I do, except s/command/control/, and I'm using Alfred instead of Quicksilver. Not sure if Quicksilver has this, but one nice feature is that if, say, Chrome is currently active, and I hit its key-combo (control-shift-c), Chrome is hidden (the equivalent of command-h). This is great if you're installing something in the background and want to see if it finished without reverting back to the dark ages of command-tab. It's especially nice on a laptop, because I can expand all my windows to fill the screen while still having near-zero overhead when switching between apps.

goblin89 12y ago

> Any time I hit my special trigger key combination, it will 'launch' that app. If it is open it gives it focus, and if it is not running it opens the app. This means I can rearrange my apps and desktops however I like and I always instantly travel to the app I want next. What if I have 6 full-screen Terminal windows (connected to SSH servers, tmux sessions, and so on), and I need to switch between them? Your comment prompted me to install Quicksilver, but it doesn't seem like it can handle that. I'd be glad to hear if I'm wrong.