Mac-Wide Worskpaces

Miscellaneous
1

Hey! I have just discovered DT Workspaces feature and is a total game-changer in my workflow! Is there any app that does the same outside DT or can somehow replicate this? At the hit of a button, it should be able to: (i) open all the apps/files that compose the Workspace; and (ii) arrange the windows in the Workspace layout.

Workspaces by Apptorium seems to achieve the first, but not the second. Keyboard Maestro perhaps?

Thanks!

2

Some other apps have implemented this. Of note are some of the apps in the Adobe Creative Suite, e.g., Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. They’ve had workspaces for a very long time.

3

Good to know! I am looking for something across the board though, allowing me to mix different apps. For example, left half of the screen a PDF in Preview/DT + right hand of the screen a Word document.

4

Maybe make a suggestion to the Apptorium team.

5

Keyboard Maestro can undoubtedly do it – and a lot more, of course.

6

Switchem achieves both (i) and (ii) and is available through Setapp, if you happen to have a subscription to that service.

7

Not according to my subscription to Setapp. I’m not sure the app is still in development. Last update was in 2017, and I can’t find the dev’s website.

8

My apologies, @mbbntu. You are quite correct. The app was withdrawn from Setapp on 13 April. It had slipped my mind because versions installed via Setapp prior to this continue to work as normal. The company gave no reason for leaving Setapp, but you are right that the website seems to have disappeared, so I guess Keyboard Maestro is the only option after all. What a shame. I use Switchem every day and find it incredibly useful.

9

Switchem is exactly what I am looking for! Thanks Claire. Too bad their site is down, they seem to have gone out of business. The dmg can still be downloaded from this link and it has a free trial but I can’t find a way to buy a license code. I will try to reach the developers.

10

You want to use Keyboard Maestro for that. Works like a charm.

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Move to left/right is a built-in command in KM:
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11

Thank you! It does work pretty well. I just hope there was a way to update existing or create new workspaces with an instant snapshot of the specific files and window-layout I am seeing, just like you can in DT. Will play around and see if there is any shortcut to achieve so!

12

DT is the only app i know that includes a snapshot of specific docs in its workspace feature. In the Adobe Suite, for example, workspaces lay the tools out, but does not bookmark the contents.

13

I was just noting it’s a feature in other apps, not necessarily all the same implementation.

14

I know. Was just precising the difference.

I came to DT with Adobe Workspaces in mind and found the DT ones useless until I understood it wasn’t for tools layout for different types of work as much as for snapshotting a precise work situation to come back later to it.

15

There’s a neat little app called “Moom” that takes a snapshot of your current desktop and saves the window locations for each application (not specific document) you are using. It does a lot of other tricks to arrange and tidy up windows and is very customizable. Find it at manytricks.com.

3 Likes
16

Brett Terpstra’s Bunch is free, configured with text files, and does most of what the OP asked. It’s not as sophisticated with the window layout as Moom or Keyboard Maestro, but I find it useful for this use case.

2 Likes
17

This is a winner! I bet I can figure something for the windows with Bunch’s scripting/Automator features. Also, the roadmap includes a “Save as Bunch (save currently open apps as a Bunch)” feature. Thank you!

18

I have been using moom for years and it is really a very helpful tool. Clear recommendation.

19

The old OmniWeb had this feature, it was fantastic. Still the best Mac browser, too bad it was retired.

20

If you’re up for a hacked together but customisable (e.g. loading specific folders in Finder, specific URLs in a browser, specific files in specific scriptable applications etc.) approach:

I use Better Touch Tool to define custom buttons on my Macbook Pro touch bar, and then link the buttons to custom Applescripts for each workspace, such as:-

    on run

	tell application "Finder" to set screenResolution to bounds of window of desktop
	set screenWidth to item 3 of screenResolution
	set screenHeight to item 4 of screenResolution

	tell application "Finder" to close every window
	tell application "Todoist" to activate
	tell application id "DNtp"
		activate
		close every window
		load workspace "Project Review"
	end tell
	tell application "Google Chrome"
		activate
		close every window
		open location "https://app.asana.com/#####"
		delay 2
		set bounds of window 1 to {screenWidth / 2, screenHeight * 0, screenWidth * 1, screenHeight}
	end tell
	tell application "System Events"
		tell application process "Todoist" to tell every window to set {size, position} to {{screenWidth * 0.5, screenHeight}, {screenWidth * 0, 0}}
	end tell

end run
1 Like