The regular user has learned to cope with countless windows spread throughout their desktops — a combination of Quicksilver and Exposé has made this battle tolerable for the most hardcore user. Looking for better alternatives, Sticky Windows was found. Learn how this wonderful app might make window management for you quite easier — and where it can be improved upon.
Design. In general, it lives as a Preference Pane — but with style. As you open it, you’re not greeted by a square settings window — instead you get the fantastic screen shown below. And from there on, Sticky Windows just lives on as the tabs you’re going to start creating on the edges of your screen. And you still get a pretty cool color effect when opening/closing these tabs which may or may not get old according to your taste.
Functionality. The premise is quite simple: windows clutter your screen, and no app — not even the Dock — works for you when trying to manage them more efficiently. Then Sticky Windows comes and saves the day, as it allows you to transform any window into a Safari-esque tab on the edge of your screen. You also get two flavored tabs: Automatic and Manual. The Automatic ones are open as long as they’re the window you’re using, otherwise, if you go to another, they’ll automatically close. The Manual ones are always open unless you minimize them, and stay that way until re-opened. To see a cool video demo as for how this system works, head over to the app’s website, which is worth more words than I can count.
Limitations. There’s basically no customizing the app besides choosing whether the default tabs are Automatic or Manual, choosing which edges of the screen work with the tabs, and what color the opening/closing effects are. What could be changed? The biggest omission is an auto-hide option for the tabs, like the Dock has. That is essential since many power users (those who use every last pixel of screen space!) will find themselves troubled with the tabs. Also, when, for example, you’re browsing on Safari, having it as a tab, and the window name changes, the tab will change its size according to the name. While it’s good that the tabs actualize themselves, it can be distracting. An option for them to be updated only when closed also would’ve been great.
Final thoughts. While there’s no question that Sticky Windows will help your window-cluttered desk be more efficient, the lack of an auto-hide option is fatal to the app on the most part. But an app that makes you a more efficient when on the Mac is worthy to at least be checked out — to be fair, it’s even worth the $15.95 price tag.
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[tags]Apple,Mac,Software,Sticky Windows[/tags]
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