Hide applications bug

M

moot

Registered
The gist:
Occassionally, an app won't hide immediately when told to, but switching to another app and then back will cause all the windows in the app to disappear and never come back.

In detail:
1. Trying to Hide AppX results in nothing happening. AppX menu bar and windows all remain visible.
2. Switch to AppY (any other app), AppX windows are still visible beneath.
3. Switching back to AppX results in AppX windows all disappearing. The menu bar is still visible, and the Dock says you're looking at an open file window.
4. AppX invisible windows/files can be closed. But if there is an option to save changes, it gets tricky: an invisible dialog box opens, and if the shortcut keys for Save or Don't Save work (or if Enter does the trick), the file can be saved and is closed. Quiting the app works once all files close nicely.
5. If clicking or typing does anything, Force Quit (or Relaunch for Finder) will close/relaunch the app.

I have noticed this behaviour in Fireworks MX & MX 2004, Dreamweaver MX 2004, Safari, Camino (and Firefox, I think), and the Finder.

This happens on my G4 and my dual G5 (I can't remember about the G3 iBook).

Does anyone have a clue what I should look into? Any suggestions at all appreciated. This problem is making me crazy.
 
You don't need the third party application if you want to hide application windows. Just hold down the Option button while selecting another application, including selecting the Finder icon in your Dock.

If you want more control, then look at this hint.
 
It's not a problem with a third-party Hide app. I'm saying that the apps I'm using (Finder included) are behaving oddly when I try to Hide them.
 
Yes I have. But since the effect happens intermittently and sporadically, I've never been able to "make" it happen. If I knew the conditions that led to it happening, I'd be halfway to being able to fix it. And fixing the permissions (if that's what's responsible) is a solution after-the-fact. I was hoping to do be able to prevent it from ever happneing again.

If no one else has ever seen this happen, I'm wondering if it has anything to do with a third-party app (like a haxie).
 
Well the haxie system preference Ape Manager does have a suspend button (for trouble shooting) under the Information tab. You can check it through that.
 
Wow, I've never seen this happen. When you say "an invisible dialog box appears," do you mean a rectangle appears with no window or do you mean that you're assuming the window has "appeared" and is accepting input even though you can't see it?

Would you also mind listing the particulars of your setup, incl. hardware, peripherals, os version, software you typically run, utilities you use, anything unusual?

Never know, we might find something. . .

Doug
 
Re: Invisible dialog box
There is no visual indication of the dialog box itself, but I know it's there because the menu bar is visible, and when I [Cmd-Q], the app will quit if none of the (invisible) files need to be saved; but 'File' will remain highlighted if the open file needs to be saved -- as though the dialog box has appeared and is waiting for input. If I hit enter, I can hear it writing to disk, and the app quits. But depending on the app in question, hitting enter may not work, and so I'm stymied by having to deal with a dialog I can't see. Force Quit works, but every indication is that the app is still responding.

The weirdest thing is having to relaunch Finder when the Finder windows disappear.

Below are my set-ups. I run the same programs on both. And when I look at it all listed out like this, my first thought is I don't have nearly enough RAM on the G5.

Thanks, Doug.
M


Set-up 1:
Dual 2GHz G5
512MB RAM << This could be the problem ?!
Wacom Intuos 2 tablet

Set-up 2:
733 Mhz G4
768MB RAM (or could be 1GB, can't remember now and it's at home)
no tablet

Currently running OS 10.3.8 on both (but problem has existed since at least 10.3, might've been 10.2); Finder exhibits anomalous behaviour frequently

Usually running some combination of the following apps (exhibiting anomalous behaviour in brackets):
Camino 0.8.1 (yes)
Firefox 1.0 (don’t recall)
Dreamweaver 2004 MX (worst offender, since MX)
Firworks 2004 MX (worst offender, since MX)
BBEdit 8.0.3 (don’t recall)
MacCVSX 3.3a2 (don't recall)
CVL 3.4.7 (no)
Transmit 2.6.0 (no)
FirstClass Client 8.031 (recently upgraded from 7.x; don't recall behaviour here)
QuarkXPress 6 (yes)
Illustrator 10 (don't recall)
Photoshop 7 (don't recall)
Acrobat 6.0Pro (yes)
Timbuktu 7.0 (no)
Safari 1.2.4 (yes)

DragThing 5.0
FruitMenu 3.2.1 (APE 1.4.4)
LiteSwitchX 2.1
 
"Only" 512 MB by itself probably wouldn't cause this kind of thing.

My best guess is APE is messing with you. Why? APE is an unsupported hack, as I understand it. It's one of those things that can wreak havoc with OS upgrades because it messes with stuff it shouldn't.

I made the choice a few years ago not to install any of the APE stuff.

Having said (typed) that, since I've never seen mysterious disappearing windows, this is only conjecture.

Doug
 
Bet your problem is with LiteSwitch, based on comments on both VersionTracker and MacUpdate (and not because of APE. I run just about all of Unsanity's modules, with no problems.) Then again, 512 MB does seem a little low for all those very demanding apps.
 
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