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You are here: MacNN Forums > Software - Troubleshooting and Discussion > macOS > Closing windows via expose

Closing windows via expose
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toffe
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Dec 1, 2005, 01:31 PM
 
Hi.
I sometimes i have lots of windows open, mostly in finder or perview.
Is there a way to close winows that are open via expose,
it would be nice to be able to hold down some magic option-closewindow button and just click on the windows i want to close.
is there such a feature?
if so, how.
     
Horsepoo!!!
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Dec 1, 2005, 03:41 PM
 
In theory, this all sounds great...but in practice, you'd have to deal with documents windows with unsaved changes. This would defeat the purpose of a fast way to close windows.

There's also value in not allowing fast ways to close anything. A trigger-happy user that wants to close a few windows but misclicks and closes windows he didn't want to close can lead to frustration.

Those that use tabs in Safari may know what I'm talking about...how many of you have accidently closed a window full of tabs (either through the instinct of pushing the red button to remove what you're currently seeing in a window and forgetting the whole concept of tabs hiding other content *or* by wanting to hit the 'back' button and hitting the close button instead?) Don't be shy.

Normally, a message should pop up when performing a destructive command...something to the tune of "Are you sure you want to do this?" or "There are unsaved changes. Save?"...sure, it might be annoying to some of us but it's like numero uno HIG rule! Take it away and you got a pretty shitty GUI that can't cope with human mistakes.

Yes...I *am* saying Safari sucks when it comes to tabs and window closing. And yes, I am saying it would suck to have such an easy way to close windows via Exposé.

Buuuut...I don't mind if there's a 3rd party add-on/haxie that does it...just as long as it doesn't come from Apple. I don't know if such a utility exists. It would have to somehow circumvent the OS X document saving code when closing document windows.
     
Chuckit
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Dec 1, 2005, 03:46 PM
 
Originally Posted by Horsepoo!!!
There's also value in not allowing fast ways to close anything. A trigger-happy user that wants to close a few windows but misclicks and closes windows he didn't want to close can lead to frustration.
Then we should probably get rid of the red button.
Chuck
___
"Instead of either 'multi-talented' or 'multitalented' use 'bisexual'."
     
Horsepoo!!!
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Dec 1, 2005, 04:57 PM
 
Originally Posted by Chuckit
Then we should probably get rid of the red button.
In a lot of cases, I'd agree.

Although times are changing (thank god) and things like Core Data can allow apps to retain every change in a document or app without the need to save...so perhaps the idea of closing things rapidly and not worrying about losing data accidently is coming.

If apps or documents can retain the state of the last time it was used after being quit or closed, then I wouldn't mind having 'quick close' buttons or key combos in Exposé.

Edit: something interesting I noticed only a few minutes ago while testing the cmd-tab's cmd-q behavior while writing my previous message: you can start composing an e-mail in Mail and quit Mail...it won't ask you if you want to save...it won't pester you...if you reopen Mail, it remembers that you were writing an e-mail.

Sure this makes sense since e-mail programs have for a long time allowed for draft e-mails...but it's this kind of behavior that all apps should eventually get.

Mail even remembers draft e-mail window positions. That's good.
( Last edited by Horsepoo!!!; Dec 1, 2005 at 05:07 PM. )
     
monkeybrain
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Dec 1, 2005, 09:04 PM
 
I think a modifier key could work well. We can quit using command-tab, so why not extend this to Exposé as well?

For instance, while in exposé mode, holding down x and clicking the window would close it rather than brining it the foreground. Or perhaps holding down option (alt on my keyboard) since that generally reverses behaviour. If there is unsaved changes the window simply comes to the foreground as before with it's normal dialogue sheet.

I think Apple certainly needs to add more features to Exposé to keep it ahead of the game, as it were. And if they had those functions like Mr Horsemanure suggests it would work even better.
     
fisherKing
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Dec 1, 2005, 09:25 PM
 
command-option-w

??
will close all open windows...
"At first, there was Nothing. Then Nothing inverted itself and became Something.
And that is what you all are: inverted Nothings...with potential" (Sun Ra)
     
SSharon
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Dec 1, 2005, 10:39 PM
 
There is an app that displays the names of every open app and window when you hit option-tab and it will let you close windows. When I am back at my desktop I will look up its name.
AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
toffe  (op)
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Dec 2, 2005, 03:53 AM
 
Originally Posted by Horsepoo!!!
Although times are changing (thank god) and things like Core Data can allow apps to retain every change in a document or app without the need to save...so perhaps the idea of closing things rapidly and not worrying about losing data accidently is coming.
Sure this makes sense since e-mail programs have for a long time allowed for draft e-mails...but it's this kind of behavior that all apps should eventually get.

Mail even remembers draft e-mail window positions. That's good.
I totaly agree with that. Save is actually quite non intuitive and shold be taken away (as it works now in most programs).
The problem is that you have one instance of te document on the drive, and another in memory, and they are different from each other if changes have been made. This messes up new users. We can manage with it because we have learned to cope with it. How many of you hit command-s every time you have edited something? Well you should not have to do that.
The program should autosave when you edit, and you could make "milestones" if you were about to make drastic changes. Now we use the save option as such a feature even if that is not the intention of save. We save, edit drastically, are not satisfied, opens it again (if the app does not have a long undo history).

A problem-scenario (for a new user):
you make adocument, save it, continue writing. Now you want to make a backup that you can revert to later if somethings go wrong. you Save As and gives it a temp name. You continue editing. now you edit drastically, but think "i can make drastic changes because i have a backup". You are dissatisfied. then wants to open your backup. But then you realize that it is the backup file that you have been editing.

Here is an example of problems with save. and a solution to it. (read it it is not long)
http://www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/salaakso...-with-Save.PDF
(From our use-interface course here at Helsinki uni)

Apple has implemented lots of these principles that what you edit, changes then, not after you have saved. Think of iTunes, iPhoto, system preferences etc. And that is good.

I still think that exposé should have a quit feature.
imagine that you have lots ot windows open, and you suddenly want to close some of them, to be able to quickly navigate between certain windows. To close the unneeded windows takes a while, and i have been force to do it several times now. than't why i think it needs to be a feature. And those documents that are unsaved wold (sadly) ask "are you sure that you want to do what you seem to be wanting to do?". I actually don't have lots of not-active-documents (those that are somewhere in the background) that are unsaved, because i cmd-s documents automatically when i edit them.
     
toffe  (op)
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Dec 2, 2005, 04:09 AM
 
Originally Posted by fisherKing
command-option-w

??
will close all open windows...
Thanks. i'll use that for my finder & preview windows
     
SSharon
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Dec 2, 2005, 02:58 PM
 
I'm back.
See if this meets your needs.
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/17185
AT&T iPhone 5S and 6; 13" MBP; MDD G4.
     
   
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