I have 2 monitors and, on one of them, I have 3 Spaces with different applications arranged in specific locations. During the day I can move some of them from one monitor to another etc. but every morning I would like a simple way to reset to this configuration.
I see that people are using a mix of applications but before purchasing any of them I would like to get some help about how best to achieve what I want to do.
I see people using:
KB Maestro (I tried but managing Spaces is tedious and not working great )
Bunch + Moom (but I’m not sure if Moom supports Spaces)
Stay
For now I have only one configuration but I can see several others if I find the right tools.
Bunch doesn’t do window management, hence the use of Moom (not “Moon”), but I’m pretty sure Moom still doesn’t support moving things between spaces. So if that’s your requirement, that’s a no go. If it’s not moving them, then I think, like for Stay, you should be okay. I do use Moom, but I don’t use spaces - I’m more of a context switcher and I keep my workspace pretty dynamic based on my focus anyway.
Keyboard Maestro is the one I hear most about when managing spaces and windows together, but that’s not to say it is necessarily the best option. I certainly use Moom for its convenience, but use Keyboard Maestro for a lot of other stuff.
Whle that probably doesn’t help all that much, what I would say that if you are starting to get into Mac automation and do not already have Keyboard Maestro, do also consider the other automation doors this might open up.
Keyboard Maestro is a lock picking set. Moom is a key. The key is quickest and easiest to use, but the lock picking set will let you open a lot more locks
I have three monitors and ten spaces. I use Bunch and Moom to load applications and windows in specific spaces.
First I open the applications in the space I want them in. Then I right click on the app’s icon in the dock and select the open in this space option. This forces the app to open in a specific space.
I then open the windows and apps for each space in turn, and save a Moom snapshot for each space. And I assign a keyboard shortcut to each Moom snapshot. The shortcut is needed to call it from Bunch.
Then I use Bunch to open everything. I had to experiment with delays for opening the apps to ensure the windows open in the desired space. And I call the Moom snapshots to arrange everything.
There is one caveat, I close everything down when I’m done. If you’re looking for something to reset after you move things this won’t work. This only works for the initial setup of my workspaces.
Good luck if you try it.
A slight update: I now call Moom in the Bunch via ApplesScirpt calling the Moom setting by name. In the Bunch it looks like this (for my photography context):
* tell application "Moom" to arrange windows according to snapshot "Image Workflow" ~5
Not to add any doubt to your decision, but I really like Keyboard Maestro for window/context management.
Being able to automate setups and change application status, in addition to its window placement ability, makes it the choice for me. I have an example set up for my morning coffee macro:
Keyboard Maestro is a lock picking set. Moom is a key. The key is quickest and easiest to use, but the lock picking set will let you open a lot more locks
Ps, I purchased and like Moom a lot. I recommend it to everyone I know (who is not on the Automators forum) when they first buy a mac.
Hi, all. For those interested in this topic, I thought I’d share the Keyboard Maestro tools that I use to manage positioning and sizing of application windows (and Keyboard Maestro gui elements) with and without Desktop Spaces.
Like many of you, I’ve used other third-party tools to manipulate windows, but I tend to use Keyboard Maestro if the window management is a portion of a KM macro(s) (and especially if I plan to share the automation with others).
I’ve mentioned the spaces macros elsewhere on this forum (and also on MPU Talk). Today I spruced up and shared the window management ones. Both reside on the Keyboard Maestro Forum.
