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trinko · Dec 5, 2006, 01:23 AM

my son uses a PC at school and he'd like the window bar at the bottom of the screen on the mac at home. while he knows he can put windows into the dock he'd like a list of window names where every open window is added to the list.

is there a utility that does this? thanks for any info!

JKT · Dec 5, 2006, 04:10 AM

For each open app, they will list any of their windows in their own Dock menu:

It would help to know why your son would like to have the windows listed. Is it for switching windows? Is it to be able to see which windows are open? Etc.

Macanoid · Dec 5, 2006, 05:33 AM

could this be an option: Witch

Horsepoo!!! · Dec 5, 2006, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by trinko

my son uses a PC at school and he'd like the window bar at the bottom of the screen on the mac at home. while he knows he can put windows into the dock he'd like a list of window names where every open window is added to the list.

is there a utility that does this? thanks for any info!

What's wrong with Exposé + tabbing through all the different apps. It's a much more powerful approach than the Windows taskbar...especially so when you've got a ton of windows open and Windows truncates the names of your windows and you're left with undescriptive 16x16 icons.

ghporter · Dec 5, 2006, 09:34 AM

The whole "list of open windows" idiom in Windows is part of its user interface AND its user paradigm. Using a Mac is different. While there's a possibility that there's some sort of shell from Linux that's compatible with OS X and emulates Windows' Explorer's behavior, if the kid WANTS the Explorer behavior, why not have him use some software/hardware solution to run Windows on the Mac... Or just become more flexible and get used to switching between platforms.

P · Dec 5, 2006, 10:26 AM

The current setup in OS X - that all windows belonging to one app are listed in the menu you get when right-slicking the icon - is very similar to XP, which will group all windows from the same app (can be disabled).

crazyjohnson · Dec 5, 2006, 01:08 PM

Witch is most certainly the best solution. It also helps to apple-tab through open applications.

lpkmckenna · Dec 5, 2006, 01:12 PM

I'm pretty sure DragThing includes a window-switcher which is similar to the Windows Taskbar behaviour. You can even make that window-switcher look just like the Dock, and pin it to the bottom-left or bottom-right of the screen.

Macanoid · Dec 5, 2006, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by lpkmckenna

I'm pretty sure DragThing includes a window-switcher which is similar to the Windows Taskbar behaviour. You can even make that window-switcher look just like the Dock, and pin it to the bottom-left or bottom-right of the screen.

It does, yes. Great tip, had forgotten al about that.

trinko · Dec 5, 2006, 11:41 PM

While i use Witch and appreciate it my son wants to be able to find a window quickly no matter what app it's from. I use a PC at work and i can see his point. if you've only got a few windows it can be quicker to use the window bar than expose or Witch. i think DragThing will give him what he wants though. thanks for the help!

crazyjohnson · Dec 6, 2006, 09:55 AM

Remember that it is faster to use the keyboard than the mouse. Cycling with Witch is going to be faster than clicking on taskbar items.

analogika · Dec 6, 2006, 09:57 AM

Press F9.

Superior to any solution I've seen so far.

lpkmckenna · Dec 6, 2006, 10:52 AM

Originally Posted by analogika

Press F9. Superior to any solution I've seen so far.

Expose is nice, unless you have apps hidden or minimized. Using Expose as a switcher means unlearning some personal habits. It would be great if there was an option to show minimized and hidden windows with Expose.

Witch is fine, but it's not on-screen. It's nice to be able to see at a glance how many windows are open. I also find that it takes a moment to "parse" all the info that Witch throws at you, particularly if you have many windows open.

I've been using Macs since 2000, but I've always felt that OS X needed an on-screen window-switcher, at least as an option.

trinko · Dec 6, 2006, 11:31 PM

Originally Posted by crazyjohnson

Remember that it is faster to use the keyboard than the mouse. Cycling with Witch is going to be faster than clicking on taskbar items.

Witch takes time to come up. if my son just wants to see what windows are open so long as there aren't so many open windows that the names are reduced to a letter it's quicker to look at a window bar than wait for Witch to come up.

cakey · Dec 7, 2006, 12:06 AM

TaskBar 3.0 - MacUpdate

Switcheroo b262 - MacUpdate

Switcheroo looks promising.

Horsepoo!!! · Dec 7, 2006, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by trinko

Witch takes time to come up. if my son just wants to see what windows are open so long as there aren't so many open windows that the names are reduced to a letter it's quicker to look at a window bar than wait for Witch to come up.

Come on...stop the charades. This isn't really for your 'son' is it? It's for you. Don't be shy.

lpkmckenna · Dec 7, 2006, 11:05 AM

Originally Posted by cakey

Switcheroo b262 - MacUpdate

Switcheroo looks promising.

That's scary! Works good though.

trinko · Dec 8, 2006, 12:45 AM

Originally Posted by Horsepoo!!!

Come on...stop the charades. This isn't really for your 'son' is it? It's for you. Don't be shy.

actually i've been using macs since 1984 and i'm comfortable with the interface. between command tab to switch apps and witch to look at windows in an app i don't really want a windows bar. sorry.