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Don't like Mission Control and miss Spaces!

I just upgraded to Lion, and am very disappointed with Mission Control. I am a spatially thinking person, and I loved the organization of my 6 Spaces, each with specifically assigned apps. I could write in one space, do spreadsheet work in another, have my mail in a third, iTunes in the fourth etc. And all along, I knew where each space was relative to any other. Additionally, combining Spaces with Expose, I could see all apps (and their windows) within each desktop space, open any app, or move it from one space to another.


In Mission Control, apps are assigned to different desktops without my control, and these desktops seem constantly reordered. Furthermore, when looking at Mission Control, it is impossible to see apps covered underneath other apps in all desktops besides the one currently in full view. Consequently, it is impossible to see all open apps and their windows at the same time, open them, or reorder them.


Mission Control has thus defeated the brilliant idea of Spaces, which created spatially ordered, potentially app-specific, desktops. From a neatly, spatially organized computer I now have an unordered and uncontrollable pile.


I see how Mission Control forces simple users to become more sophisticated. It is, however, at the cost of already more demainding users. I sincerely hope that Apple will make Spaces available again for people like me who rely on them for logical, spatial organization of their many computing tasks.

Posted on Jul 21, 2011 1:49 PM

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67 replies

Aug 18, 2011 8:59 AM in response to NorrinRadd

The more i use Mission Impossible, sorry control the more i dislike it.

In fact i think it's utter sh1te and ineffectual when compared to the excellent Expose and Spaces combo.

Apple wake up, and give us an option. In fact now actually prefer using Win7 in a VM.


Lion is losing it's USP - usability !!!!!


In fact, now i get dispondent thinking about finding my windows - gee it's so cr@p.


Sorry i just had to get that vent out.

Aug 18, 2011 2:54 PM in response to Johannes Aequalis

Throwing my two cents into this discussion, and hoping Apple reads it...


I was a heavy user of Spaces for work, I am a photojournalist and primarily used 4 spaces, in a clockwise order. Space 1 was set up for Safari, Space 2 was set up for Photo Mechanic, my editing software, Space 3 was Adobe Photoshop, and Space 4 was Transmit, my transmission software and iChat, where I could talk with my editors to make sure that it was received properly and the caption made sense. I had it set up so when the application was launched, it would open in the proper space, so my workflow was always the same. To access each space all I had to do was use the Option key and the arrows to navigate to the proper space. It was in a clockwise workflow, get the image in (Space 2), color correct, crop and caption (Space 3), transmit the image and confirm it's arrival (Space 4) and finally check it on the web (Space 1). Repeat if necessary. It was simple, clean, and straightforward. It was Applesque. But most of all it was fast, and for me speed of transmission is important. Now with Mission Control, I have to open numerous desktops, launch the app and move it to the desktop I want because it will not allow me to assign a desktop and have the app open there, then assign it to that desktop so it doen't move so the workflow stays somewhat consistant. And instead of my four corner configuration it is in a straight line, which is not nearly as fluid and smooth to navigate. Mission Control does have promise, but Spaces was much more fluid and useful...


My two cents.

Aug 18, 2011 3:17 PM in response to Timothy D. Easley

Timothy D. Easley wrote:


(...) it will not allow me to assign a desktop and have the app open there, then assign it to that desktop so it doen't move so the workflow stays somewhat consistant. (...)

Right click an application's Dock icon to assign a Desktop to it in the menu.

Automatic rearranging of Desktops can be turned off in System Preferences.

(MC made me stay with Snow Leopard.)

Aug 18, 2011 3:28 PM in response to RobBT

Poor description on my part Rob... What I meant to say was...


(...) Now with Mission Control, I have to open numerous desktops before I start doing anything. Then launch the app and move it to the desktop space I want and assign it there so it will stay there because now under Mission Control, I can't tell it beforehand that I want that app to open on a particular desktop at a designated space location. And I have to do this for each app I use so the workflow stays somewhat consistant (...)

Aug 18, 2011 3:52 PM in response to RobBT

Doesn't work that way for me. I have to create a desktop in Mission Control, launch the app, launch Mission Control again, drag the app to the new window I just created, then right click to lock it to that desktop. Now I guess that I could just always have the computer keep those desktops open all the time by telling the computer to keep the desktops open when I shut down, but I feel (and maybe incorrectly) that having all of those desktops open is a waste of processor time, but I may be wrong.

Aug 18, 2011 5:23 PM in response to Timothy D. Easley

...Now I guess that I could just always have the computer keep those desktops open all the time by telling the computer to keep the desktops open when I shut down, but I feel (and maybe incorrectly) that having all of those desktops open is a waste of processor time, but I may be wrong.

You're manually deleting the desktops before you shut down? Otherwise how have you setup so that the desktops are not still there on restart?


Regardless of how and why you removed desktops on each shut down, if they do use more CPU cycles (I seriously doubt it) it appears to be negligable. I had 9 desktops and recently changed to 4 due to various workflow changes. There was no difference in performance. If anything, having all those desktops meant I often had more apps running, which of course, the apps use more RAM so would more likely cause performance issues, rather than the amount of resources the addition desktops themselves use.


I have apps pinned to specific desktops on my Lion machine and they do open to the desired desktop as expected. (And as I infer, I do NOT reduce the number of desktops on each shut down.) I did the same in SL and Spaces so continued the practice with Lion. The only change I did on my SL machine was to change the spaces to a single row, rather than a square, so that it would match my Lion machine. But otherwise apps will open on the designated desktop on my Lion machine as expected.


So if I'm interpreting your posts correctly, it would seem that if you stop removing the desktops, your issue of apps not going to specific desktops will go away.

Don't like Mission Control and miss Spaces!

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