Possible to float an app window over all Spaces?

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Level 1

18 points

Possible to float an app window over all Spaces?

Hi Folks,

I'll give you a couple of examples.

1) I use a small countdown/stopwatch app that I would like to float over everything, no matter which Space I might be in at the time.

2) I use Entourage to remind me of appointments, events, things to do etc. It would be mighty handy if the little "Office Reminders" window would come to the front of everything I have open in whatever Space I'm in so I don't have to go hunting for it each time the reminder alert sounds.

Is making a window float over all the Spaces one of those tricky behind-the-scenes Unix command things? I know nothing about all that, but maybe it's time I learned! 🙂

Cheers!

Chris

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.7)

Posted on Jul 6, 2009 12:47 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 6, 2009 1:06 PM in response to onemac

onemac wrote:
1) I use a small countdown/stopwatch app that I would like to float over everything, no matter which Space I might be in at the time.

In the Spaces tab of the System Preferences "Expose & Spaces panel, you can add an application and assign it to "all spaces".

2) I use Entourage to remind me of appointments, events, things to do etc. It would be mighty handy if the little "Office Reminders" window would come to the front of everything I have open in whatever Space I'm in so I don't have to go hunting for it each time the reminder alert sounds.

I'm not sure you can assign specific windows of an application (such as those "Office Reminders" to "all spaces" without affecting all windows of that applications.

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Answer 2

onemac Author

Level 1

18 points

Jul 7, 2009 8:53 AM in response to William-Boyd-Jr

William,

Thanks for the info. I'm a bit embarrassed since all I had to do was to look more carefully at the list of possible spaces. I never did see "every space" before.

Anyway, it has indeed worked for the little timer app which now floats proudly above everything else in every space, but unfortunately it hasn't worked for the "Microsoft Office Reminders.app" which supposedly is a separate app from Entourage, and, as you can imagine, I use it all the time.

It's rather annoying, actually, as what happens is that the little reminder window opens in whatever space you're in at the time, but if you don't happen to "snooze" or "dismiss" a reminder and then you move on to another space, any new reminder gets added onto the reminder window but in the original space. Then you have to go looking for the reminder window which, if you're using a lot of different spaces, can be well buried. And unfortunately, pressing Fn-F8 or F9 doesn't help because the little reminder window then disappears! Aaarrgghh!

Oh well. I assume the problem could be fixed by Microsoft or Apple, but it's such an obscure problem that it won't be dealt with.

But thanks again, William. Very helpful.

Regards,
Chris

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