My three MacOS X wishes I can't find software for

[Gerard McLean]

Three things I wish Apple would do for OS X:
1. When working with files on the desktop, an Expose key that works like this; "Show me the top most application AND the desktop" Big deal if I can clear all the windows and only see the desktop OR see just the topmost app windows. Typically, I want to drag a file on the desktop into an FTP window or open a file on the desktop by dragging it onto an app icon in the dock or even, heaven forbid, throw a doc away by dragging it to the trash.. stuff like that... is there ANY software that does this?

2. Scale the fonts and title bars. Please, please let us reduce some of that extra graphic stuff like fat title bars... I want control of my list views smaller than 10 pt. Really, Apple, there are some of us who are over 40 with really good eyesight! No, really, the demographic exists!

3. Zoom OUT! Expose does is with the F9 (well the default F9 key.. I use the Fn) and you can watch everything work, but you can't INTERACT WITH the windows. It seems if I can ZOOM IN using Universal access at 20 TIMES!!!, I should also be able to zoom OUT at the same negative magnification and do work... Maybe Apple figures if it allows us to do that, nobody would buy their honking huge screens.... yeah, maybe, but I just want the equivalant of WUXGA on my PowerBook that my friends have on their lower priced Dell notebooks.

If anyone knows of any software solutions (or hacks I have to do in Terminal, holler.) Apple, if you're reading, please pay attention to at least one of your customers who has been buying Mac exclusively since 1984... )

Thanks

G.

[Darkshadow]

Well, for #1 above, you can hit F11 (default) to switch to the desktop, start dragging a file, then hit F11 again and drop it where you want it. Not as easy as your example above, but it works.

If you really want Apple to know about this stuff, go to http://www.apple.com/macosx/feedback/. Even if Apple employees happen to read the board, they can't act upon anything here. It has to go through "official" channels.

[Gerard McLean]

Darkshadow,
Thanks for the F11 tip.. it does work. Though I usually keep zillions of windows open and all of them whipping back into place at the same time I'm dragging a file is a little nauseating at first.... it gets the job done. Now for #2 and 3.. *sigh*

I posted on the Apple link, but if their customer service track record with iPhoto orders is any indication, not holding my breath. Don't get me wrong; great workflow integration, great photos, hardly ever goes bad, but when it does, it would be nice to be able to pick up a phone.... as it is right now, I just grind my teeth, curse and reorder because paying twice is less painful than trying to resolve an issue....

We'll just keep hoping for a really smart third party solution.....

G.

[Arden]

I can pass your requests on to Phil Schiller, senior VP of marketing at Apple in case you don't already know, but I don't know if he can do much about it. As for your issues:

1) You can drag a file, a graphic, a snippet of text, or anything, and switch applications any way you like while holding the mouse button down. Useful for: showing the desktop, dragging a file from it, hitting F9 to show all windows, finding the one you want, hitting space to select it (or F9 again), and dropping the file. I've been doing this recently with screenshots. You can also Command-tab while dragging.

2) Most definitely. Agree 100% with you on this one — even if I never used it, there should be the option.

3) There's nothing to zoom out to! What did you wish to do with this? If you could zoom out beyond the normal resolution, there would be nothing out there. It's like when you expand a window in Photoshop without changing the zoom level — you get a big gray area surrounding the image. Sure, this can be useful in Photoshop, but what would you do with it when applied to the whole computer?

[Gerard McLean]

Hi Arden,

1. Ok, that drag thing kinda works. If I F11, then select the docs(s) on the desktop (move them slightly) and then press F9, drag to the window, hold down the space key to eliminate the spring-loaded folder delay(or wait or set lower) then I can drop the file onto a window, like an FTP dir, etc... I concede, this works... BUT I don't buy Macs to give my brain and digits that much contortion (exercise?) (OS 9 reference warning In OS 9, you could set a key to hide ALL except front application and still work with the desktop. Now that the Finder is an app, it behaves like an app, which means it hides on F11, F10, etc.... Maybe I can map a key to do all this....

3. I understand the zoom out and the gray box concept. This feature wish is not a "true" zoom.. it is a scaling. I would like to see AND INTERACT WITH everything on my screen at 50%, for example, thereby increasing my PB 15 screen to an effective 2560x1708. The graphic engine renders well enough for this to be a reality.. think of the MARKETING impact Apple could have if they could go into the marketplace and say their screens on a 15" notebook are an effective 2560x1708

If we could have my #3 wish, it might even make #2 moot....

G.

[Arden]

First of all... the Finder's always been an application.

About point 3... I think I see what you're saying. You'd like to be able to see everything at one-half the size so you have more space, even if you can't read anything at that size. That's an interesting idea, but know that Windows has had virtual resolutions for a while. The only difference is you have to scroll around to see anything not shown in your screen's resolution; you effectively have a window to the larger picture, much like zooming in on OS X.

[Freiheit]

Originally Posted by Gerard McLean

1. Ok, that drag thing kinda works. If I F11, then select the docs(s) on the desktop (move them slightly) and then press F9, drag to the window, hold down the space key to eliminate the spring-loaded folder delay(or wait or set lower) then I can drop the file onto a window, like an FTP dir, etc... I concede, this works... BUT I don't buy Macs to give my brain and digits that much contortion (exercise?)

What I did was set one of my screen corners (lower-right in my case) to the Display Desktop effect of Espose. I don't have to play with all the F-keys, I just start dragging a file, drag it to the lower-right corner, Expose clicks in to show me the desktop (or if already at the desktop, to bring all my other windows back) and I move the file to where I want it. Much, much easier than using both hands and remembering which key combination does what.

As to your second point, personally I find MacOS X 10.3 to be lacking in many ways related to setting colors and fonts. My background is in IBM's OS/2 which had phenominal support for dragging and dropping both colors and fonts onto any window to change the window's display. If I wanted one window's title bar to use a cursive font, I dropped the font onto it (from OS/2's convenient Font Palette tool). If I wanted ALL windows to use the cursive font, I held ALT and dropped the font onto one of the windows from the Font Palette. And what's more, the user could setup Schemes with their own default fonts and colors for all items (title bars, menus, folder background color and image).

Windows has some small bit of this functionality but MacOS X seems to have none of it. It's something I really miss from my old OS/2 days, and something I can't imagine why MacOS X couldn't be made to support -- Quartz has got to be at least 5 times more modern and with more funding than OS/2's old Workplace Shell.

So I totally agree with you that OSX needs some user options for stuff like fonts and colors and title bar sizing, etc.

[Decado]

"In OS 9, you could set a key to hide ALL except front application and still work with the desktop"

just apple-alt click in the dock on the application you want to "be alone" with the desktop". or apple-alt-h to hide all others.