Clicking an Application icon in the dock always brings a docked window to the front.

zouniczounic
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
Suppose you have Photoshop opened.

You placed an opened document temporarily in the dock.

Each time you re-select Photoshop in the dock, that window is brought to the front.



This is the case for each Application, and this is sometimes very annoying.



So is there a terminal trick to stop that "Systematicaly bring a window to the front when a user clicks an app dock icon" ?



Thanks if you've got an answer !

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    Actaully, that should only happen where there are no other windows open.
  • Reply 2 of 20
    zouniczounic Posts: 53member
    Exactly.



    But this...



    1 - Should be something we should be able to disable via a Finder pref



    2 - When Command-Tabing in the dock to an application it just doesn't happens. So it IS already possible, and maybe it's ajustable via an already existing com.apple.dock.somethingIdontKnow ?
  • Reply 3 of 20
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by zounic

    1 - Should be something we should be able to disable via a Finder pref



    I don't see what this has to do with the Finder.
  • Reply 4 of 20
    zouniczounic Posts: 53member
    Well... a 'general' pref ;-)
  • Reply 5 of 20
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Yeah that is annoying. In OS 9, bringing an application to the front didn't un-windowshade any windows that were collapsed... Windowshade is so much better than minimizing but they should at least fix minimizing so it's somewhat usable.
  • Reply 6 of 20
    zouniczounic Posts: 53member
    And it's logical:



    If I docked it, it's because I don't want to see it !
  • Reply 7 of 20
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    OTOH, take newbie user that clicks on the app in the Dock, and...



    Nothing happens.



    Well, it *does*, since the menu bar changes, but do you have any freakin' idea how many people *miss* that?



    They're trying to make sure that the user sees *something* happen when they do the obvious by clicking on the Dock icon. "No windows active to bring to front? Then grab one from the Dock that's been minimized. None there? Then create a new empty document." <-- Always make sure the user sees *something* happen that seems like a response.



    If you're using Cmd-Tab to switch apps, then you're a *cough* power-user, so presumably you don't need such visual feedback, you know what's going on.



    Yeah, I don't particularly like it either, but it makes a lot of sense from the new user point of view.
  • Reply 8 of 20
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Kihaha is right. If the choice by that logic is to either open a new untitled document or just bring up the last-minimized one for that app, I'd take the latter. Of course, they could also indicate that you've activated the app more clearly in the Dock, but even then you might wonder if it's frozen or something.
  • Reply 9 of 20
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Well, then have it behave like now as a default, and an option in the dock prefs to change it. After all, most noobs never even change anything in the preferences, do they? Anyway, I'm not a new user, so I don't see why Apple should assume that EVERYONE is a new user.
  • Reply 10 of 20
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    They don't. That's why you have Cmd-Tab.
  • Reply 11 of 20
    zouniczounic Posts: 53member
    It should definitely be a Dock Pref for power users.



    When you're working on a project with Photoshop, GoLive, BBedit and Illustrator all opened at the same time, exchanging stuff between each applications with some elements docked for later use, IT SUCKS to have those windows brought in your face when you didn't asked anything !!!
  • Reply 12 of 20
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    OTOH, take newbie user that clicks on the app in the Dock, and...



    Nothing happens.



    Well, it *does*, since the menu bar changes, but do you have any freakin' idea how many people *miss* that?



    They're trying to make sure that the user sees *something* happen when they do the obvious by clicking on the Dock icon. "No windows active to bring to front? Then grab one from the Dock that's been minimized. None there? Then create a new empty document." <-- Always make sure the user sees *something* happen that seems like a response.



    If you're using Cmd-Tab to switch apps, then you're a *cough* power-user, so presumably you don't need such visual feedback, you know what's going on.



    Yeah, I don't particularly like it either, but it makes a lot of sense from the new user point of view.



    i agree, that is why numerous others but safari and things open a window so u can tell that program is open, haha i literally spent a min before explaining to a PC user that because they close a window to the program its not closed (PC user's dont understand the menu bar)
  • Reply 13 of 20
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Yeah that's so annoying! It's really bad in my school's computer labs. I'll go up to one of the Macs (it's about 1/3 Quicksilvers and 2/3 Dells) and there will be Netscape, IE, Launcher, Acrobat, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SimpleText, and sometimes more open. All with no windows on the screen.
  • Reply 14 of 20
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Luca Rescigno

    Yeah that's so annoying! It's really bad in my school's computer labs. I'll go up to one of the Macs (it's about 1/3 Quicksilvers and 2/3 Dells) and there will be Netscape, IE, Launcher, Acrobat, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SimpleText, and sometimes more open. All with no windows on the screen.



    yup, I routenely have to close all the apps on the eMacs at the lab that I work at. Very few people (even a lot of mac users) quits the apps when they are done I'd say 1-30. They just close all the windows and they assume everything is back. Now, it shouldn't really make a difference because memory management on X should be good. But being my anal-retentive self, I quit all the apps...
  • Reply 15 of 20
    chuckerchucker Posts: 5,089member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Paul

    yup, I routenely have to close all the apps on the eMacs at the lab that I work at. Very few people (even a lot of mac users) quits the apps when they are done I'd say 1-30. They just close all the windows and they assume everything is back. Now, it shouldn't really make a difference because memory management on X should be good. But being my anal-retentive self, I quit all the apps...



    Make the machine log out automatically about n secs (where n is, say, 180).
  • Reply 16 of 20
    zouniczounic Posts: 53member
    Right,

    But those docked windows poping-up are driving me crazy.

    Really annoying ! Needs a solution... Hope I'll be heard ;-)



    By the way, quitting all apps is an old OS-9 habit. You don't have or need to do that now. The only difference it makes is removing the black little triangles in the dock. (re)Launching an application is annoying and is a loss of time.
  • Reply 17 of 20
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Chucker

    Make the machine log out automatically about n secs (where n is, say, 180).



    they have that script, but it is inactive because the people at the lab can't seem to read either... see on the Dells in the lab they use an LDAP server so people have to log in with a username and password... the macs arnt hooked up to the server so the login is a generic student with no password... of course the information is taped right above the CD drive, but people don't see it. if all the macs were logged out, we would get 50 people a day asking how to login on the mac... morons... (both the admins and the users.... )

    hopefuly they will have a better system in place next year...
  • Reply 18 of 20
    hobbeshobbes Posts: 1,252member
    I understand the philosophy behind click on an app, new window should always appear, but the behavior of bringing up minimized windows still needs to be refined. I've had docked windows pop up when I want them to stay docked, and it's utterly maddening when this happens -- I've minimized a window because I want it out of the way until I call it up.



    It's got to be my absolute least favorite thing, interface-wise, about using OS X.



    The command-tab excuse doesn't exactly hold up, either. Sure, experienced users often use command-tab to switch apps, but not all, and not in every case; in my use, I find myself (much too often) command-tabbing in a forced march across the Dock when mousing would actually be easier, because I dread windows being belched up from the Dock. (It's a little better using tabbed windows in Safari.)



    I'm not sure what the solution is... I hope Apple will re-examine the issue with Panther, and whatever new window management method it brings. I'm not a fan of ever-expanding preference dialogs, but a global preference for "Docked windows always stay docked until clicked" would sure make me happy. Document-based apps with docked windows would just open a new document window -- exactly the way OmniWeb does it.
  • Reply 19 of 20
    zouniczounic Posts: 53member
    Thanks ;-)

    I felt I was the only one...
  • Reply 20 of 20
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    actually, microsoft apps DON'T bring the windows back up, and lemme tell you, it pisses me off to no end. like when i minimize my mail window at work, but then my dock icon starts bouncing up and down to tell me i have mail. so i click on it... and... nothing. entourage does 90% of its work in that one window. what the hell does it THINK i want to do when i click the icon???



    anyway, there's my rant.
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