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From: Jim Gibson on 10 Feb 2010 15:04
In article <4b7304f0$0$19698$c36e2926(a)unlimited.newshosting.com>, David
Rogoff <david(a)therogoffs.com> wrote:

> On 2010-02-10 09:57:21 -0800, Jim Gibson said:
>

> >
> > In addition, you can use Command-Tab to cycle through applications, and
> > Command-` to cycle through the windows of a single application.
>
> Yeah - the cmd-tab functionality of OS/X is another thing that makes no
> sense to me. Why would I want to switch to an app but not display any
> of its windows???

Using Command-Tab to select an application DOES display its windows, so
I am not sure what you are talking about.

> I would argue that the Window functionality is much
> more useful. Like the clicking-for-focus, this seems to be an area
> where Apple went for elegance and logic in design vs useability.

In general, logic and consistency lead to greater usability. The only
thing about Windows I like better than Mac OS X is the ability to
resize a window by dragging on any side or corner.

>
> Anyway, Expose pretty much makes this moot.

Yep, forgot about Expose. I never use it. My keyboard doesn't have the
fancy labels on the function keys, so I can never remember which key is
the Expose key, and I prefer keeping my fingers on the keyboard, so I
don't use the mouse-squeeze method. I use the Command-Tab keys for
switching between applications. If Expose works for you, that is great.

--
Jim Gibson
From: nospam on 10 Feb 2010 15:17
In article <4b7304f0$0$19698$c36e2926(a)unlimited.newshosting.com>, David
Rogoff <david(a)therogoffs.com> wrote:

> Yeah - the cmd-tab functionality of OS/X is another thing that makes no
> sense to me. Why would I want to switch to an app but not display any
> of its windows???

of course it displays the app's windows when you switch. how else would
it switch?
From: David Rogoff on 10 Feb 2010 21:23
On 2010-02-10 12:17:42 -0800, nospam said:

> In article <4b7304f0$0$19698$c36e2926(a)unlimited.newshosting.com>, David
> Rogoff <david(a)therogoffs.com> wrote:
>
>> Yeah - the cmd-tab functionality of OS/X is another thing that makes no
>> sense to me. Why would I want to switch to an app but not display any
>> of its windows???
>
> of course it displays the app's windows when you switch. how else would
> it switch?

No, that's not true. If the app had had all of it's windows minimized,
then cmd-tab switching to it doesn't open any of its windows - just
switches the focus/title-bar.

From: nospam on 10 Feb 2010 21:26
In article <4b736a2d$0$30349$c32e2966(a)unlimited.newshosting.com>, David
Rogoff <david(a)therogoffs.com> wrote:

> >> Yeah - the cmd-tab functionality of OS/X is another thing that makes no
> >> sense to me. Why would I want to switch to an app but not display any
> >> of its windows???
> >
> > of course it displays the app's windows when you switch. how else would
> > it switch?
>
> No, that's not true. If the app had had all of it's windows minimized,
> then cmd-tab switching to it doesn't open any of its windows - just
> switches the focus/title-bar.

that would be *very* annoying if it did that. they're minimized for a
reason.
From: David Empson on 10 Feb 2010 22:04
David Rogoff <david(a)therogoffs.com> wrote:

> On 2010-02-10 12:17:42 -0800, nospam said:
>
> > In article <4b7304f0$0$19698$c36e2926(a)unlimited.newshosting.com>, David
> > Rogoff <david(a)therogoffs.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Yeah - the cmd-tab functionality of OS/X is another thing that makes no
> >> sense to me. Why would I want to switch to an app but not display any
> >> of its windows???
> >
> > of course it displays the app's windows when you switch. how else would
> > it switch?
>
> No, that's not true. If the app had had all of it's windows minimized,
> then cmd-tab switching to it doesn't open any of its windows - just
> switches the focus/title-bar.

Some ways around that:

1. Don't minimise windows unless you REALLY don't need them for a while.

I tend to hide applications instead (Cmd-H is the almost universal
keyboard shortcut). When you switch back to an application you hid, all
its windows which were visible will reappear. Alternatively, just leave
all the windows open and ignore applications in the background while
working on something else.

2. If you are running Snow Leopard, there is a keyboard shortcut to
bring up Dock Expose. Hold down Command, then tab to the application you
want, then while still holding down Command, press '1'. You can let go
of Command now.

Dock Expose will show you all windows for the target application. Active
windows are shown in the top half, minimised ones in the bottom half.

Pick a window using the arrow keys and press Return, or click on the
window with the mouse. If you have lots of similar looking windows open
in the application, you can use the space bar to enlarge the currently
highlighted window to normal size to check you have the right one.

(The regular way to activate Dock Expose is to click and hold on the
application icon in the Dock. For those running Leopard or earlier, Dock
Expose is a new feature in Snow Leopard.)

--
David Empson
dempson(a)actrix.gen.nz
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