Application based windowing

[Jay]

One of the things I liked most about Mac OS 9 and earlier was how it treated all windows associated with an app as a group. You could click on any background window and all of the windows/panels for that app come to the front. It makes so much more sense than independent windows. I wish this were at least an option in X.

[ecco]

In the meantime you could use Yapasu, a free little preference pane.
You can download it under http://yapasu.vercruesse.de/
It offers you the possibility to regain classic window handling in OS X.

ciao
ecco

[percy]

Or if you've got DragThing, it offers that functionality.

[Cadre]

I wish this were at least an option in X.

I hope this is ever at most an option in Mac OS X. While it may mean that you're less likely to get lost, it really limits those of us who like the freedom of the current system. There are instances were if you're referring to another window in another application, it is much easier to bring that one up right under the window your working on.

This also leads back into my rant about the need for sloppy cursor focus. Unfortunately, sloppy cursor control is not currently an option like pre Mac OS X windowing grouping.

[Marcwic]

The new system is because Mac OS can multitask, apps shouldn't be to seperated if they don't need to be - after all this is Unix and all apps are running as one, not one app with the rest in the background.

[percy]

Marcwic, your post was totally irrelevant. An application is a process. The process is definitely separated from other processes. This too, is irrelevant for the discussion.

An application in MacOS and MacOS X consists of several parts. One part is the menubar, which tends to confuse new users (that applications can stay open without any windows open). The other part is the application's windows. An argument for application level grouping of windows is that the windows, as being parts of that application, is related to each other in a way dissimilar and greater to their relation with other windows.

While I agree that it should be up to the user to choose which window grouping model to employ, I believe that, for new users, the application level grouping is much more intuitive.

In any case, my only point was that it has nothing to do with being based on unix, or the ability to multitask.

[Marcwic]

I don't think my post was irrelevant, the idea that you can only be in one application at once is old fashioned, and Mac OS X, being a modern OS embraces this.

In Classic OS, having all the windows grouped gives the impression I am stuck in that app, having to hide it to get back to my other applications. OS X lets me command-click an application's controls while staying in the current application's menu set, this would be hard to do if all the windows from the current program were on top.

Programmers can individually make certain windows come to the front if they want, and it can be helpful (Fire does this), but it shouldn't be a standard, but I can see how if you are used to it you might feel a bit strange without it.

Cheers, Marc :cool: