replacement Windows Manager for OS X?

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replacement Windows Manager for OS X?

Hi, i love my Mac for only two reasons -- digital video editing with iMovie and it's unix core -- i've probably used FreeBSD longer than any other server OS.
I also love keyboard shortcuts.
I've had extreme problems with tendonitis, and carpal tunnel/ulnar tunnel syndrome.
Menus without lots of keyboard shortcuts are very frustrating since it forces me to use the mouse. The more I use the mouse, the worse my condition gets.

#1 - With that background in mind, I need a Windows Manager (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windowmanager#X_windowmanagers ) that would give me more keyboard shortcuts than OS X currently does.

I love all the keyboard shortcuts available in practically every program built for Microsoft Windows as well as the default apps in it such as Windows Explorer, etc.

I really, really need keyboard shortcuts like that or like they have in the Window Managers of KDE or GNOME.

If I could get that here on my Mac then I think I would cease to be frustrated with it.

#2 - One other thing, I would love a Windows Manager with a "taskbar" or "dock" or "menu bar" -- i don't care what you call it -- but I need a bar at the top or bottom of the screen that shows me ALL of my open windows.

#3 - It also must let me Apple-Tab through all of my open windows, not just the applications.

So... 🙂 anybody know of a drop-in replacement Windows Manager that would let me still run native apps that I love like iMovie yet get the keyboard functionality that I need to prevent me from further exacerbating my medical condition?

I've researched this for at least a few hours and the System Preferences tweaks don't even come close to what I need. Those of you that use both KDE/Microsoft Windows/GNOME && OS X every day will at least partially understand the big difference between the two camps of Windows Managers(again see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windowmanager#X_windowmanagers if necessary).

Thanks so much to anybody that can even give me at least half of a solution -- i surely would appreciate it!!! 🙂

G4, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Apr 27, 2009 6:27 PM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

245,393 points

Apr 27, 2009 6:49 PM in response to Roger Brown

Hi Roger,

#1 Search these 2, not sure what it is you want/need, but there are many close things...

http://www.versiontracker.com/

http://www.macupdate.com/

#2 Quite a bit different implementation, but I think Expose serves that purpose on the Mac end, and it's built in.

#3 same as above.

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Answer 2

Apr 27, 2009 6:53 PM in response to Roger Brown

#3 - It also must let me Apple-Tab through all of my open windows, not just the applications.

Apple-` (the key above Tab) will move though all the windows of an application. Shift-Apple-` for the reverse direction.

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Answer 3

Apr 28, 2009 12:24 PM in response to Roger Brown

Mac OS X is not X-windows. I doubt that there is a "drop-in Windows manager".

Keyboard shortcuts are controlled on an application basis. But you can define your own shortcut for any menu command. See System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > Keyboard Shortcuts.

Also, virtually anything you can do with the mouse can be done from the keyboard. See Mac Help, search for "Full keyboard navigation". For example, to navigate to a menu item, type Control-F2, then use the arrow keys to move to the menu item you want. Return activates the selected item, ESC cancels the operation. Control-F3 gives the same kind of access to the Dock.

Navigating open windows is easy: Command-Tab to the application, Command-` (back quote:forward/tilde:backward) to the desired window.

In dialogs, most buttons have a keyboard shortcut, although it is not always obvious what they are. The Blue button = Return, the Cancel button = ESC. Other buttons are typically Command-(first letter of the button name). For example "Don't Save"=Command-D, usually.

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