Scaling down from a three screen setup used for work, writing, and everything else in between, to a 13” MBP for a month, or so kinda gnaws at you. Albeit, there’s mission control, and multiple desktops enabled, and working on the MBP; it simply cannot compete with having multiple screens to work with.
Let’s take my email workflow as an example. I use Airmail as my email client. It’s small, fast, and in some ways solves a lot of problems for me, as compared to Apple’s Mail. Now consider a scenario where I am reading an email, which is about as long as an email can get. This email is filled with tons of information; all branching, and what not. Now to reply to this email I did have to keep changing (swiping) to the desktop where I am writing a reply or use the handy alt-tab of old. Were it possible for me to have a working multiple screen setup with the MBP, this wouldn’t have been an issue. Not to mention writing a reply back from a cafe, or simply out of the reach of a multiple screen setup can be filled with more alt-tabs than the actual number of characters in my reply to this said, long hauled email…no offense meant to the sender.
Replying to really, really long emails...like a boss!
After alt-tabbing my way while writing code, or an email it dawned on me to look up screen splitter / window management apps for Mac OS X. I found several! All of them required purchases. Now, I am not a miser but with that being said, I do try to look for a free, freemium, or open source solution first. That’s exactly what I did; I searched for something that would work, and wouldn’t require me to pay for it. I found a couple, but most of them were overkill to be honest, until of course I stumbled on to Spectacle Window Manager.
Enter Spectacular Spectacle App.
Spectacle is screen splitter, and windows manager for Mac OS X. It’s open source, and free. Has ton’s of options, and I love the shortcuts! I found myself loving, and using it so much that I decided it deserves a mention here on this blog. I am going to be installing it on the hackintosh too! Not for splitting windows, God no. For window management - like shifting apps from one screen to the next, and so on.
Windows Management Made Easy With Spectacle For Mac
Spectacle app is a great window manager, and it does exactly as it promises. It’s simple, well maintained, open source, and free! What’s not to like! Apart from being all that, it took away my tabbing problems, and increased the productivity with my current possible workflow!
Spectacle app is written, and maintained by Eric Czarny . Thank you Eric!
Installing Spectacle Window Manager
Installation is quite straight forward. Download, and move to Applications. Then bring up the System Preferences->General->Privacy. Click on Accessibility, and Add Spectacle to the list (see the screenshots embedded below), and you’re all done.
Setting up Spectacle in the Accessibility pane.
The app guides you too!
If you happen to open the app before adding it to the Accessibility list, the app will prompt you do so.
A free, open source mac app for managing, and resizing windows. It's easy to use. The keyboard shortcuts are easy to remember, and you can always customize them. Maintained, and developed by Eric Czarny
