New Alfred (and Mac!!) user looking for window manager

[cjn]

Hi everyone

 

I'm new to this forum and I'm new to Macs (2 months) having spent 40 years with PC's. I've gone all in and have ditched all my windows PC's and servers so that I'm not tempted to go back. I didn't find much on window managers in a forum search here but I have Alfred with the extra pack and would like a window manager that works well with:

 

1. Macbook Pro 16 inch
2. a connected apple studio display for dual screens
3. Alfred

 

I have Setapp and have installed mosaic but I'm not getting on too well with it (which may well be my lack of mosaic / Mac understanding or my brain fog from long covid). Mostly I want windows type functions like a simple way to maximise (not full screen though) on one or both displays plus a simple way to tile. Mosaic's idea of maximise seems to change when I switch from dual to single or vice versa. 

 

In the main I use spreadsheets a lot, aim to restart development and I do research which entails a notebook, PDF's and browser tabs

 

any thought s appreciated

 

Thanks

Chris

[Stephen_C]

The Alfred workflow Automation Tasks action allows you to create a workflow in Alfred that will manipulate window placement to some extent. Personally, I use Moom which I find straightforward and easy to use with my MacBook Pro 16" and Studio Display.

 

Stephen

[cjn]

Thanks Stephen

 

I've now looked at workflow with a view to window management but it does seem like it's probably easier and more effective to use a dedicated window manager. I'll take a look at moom which seems reasonably priced and also check that I'm not misusing mosaic too.

 

Chris

[Stephen_C]

What I like about Moom (and doubtless other dedicated window managers) is that you can save specific setups (i.e., for a number of open windows)—either on your main machine or on a separate display—and it's quite easy to do.

 

Stephen

[jjchamberlain]

Another endorsement of Moom. it's easy to use and configure / personalize to your specific needs. I have a number of saved layouts of apps that can easily access with mouse or keyboard shortcuts i've created (such as putting Finder in one half of screen and another app in other half when need to drag files from Finder into another app). I think there probably are some Alfred workflows that tie into Moom. Keyboard Maestro also a useful app for sizing windows. i use that as well as Moom for sizing windows.

[Stag]

If you are new to Mac there are some good tutorials on YouTube look for MacMost.

I find his videos very good and reasonably short. I have found a lot of very useful info from them over the years and have no problem in recommending them.

 

Peter

[raguay.customct]

My favorite is [Hammerspoon](https://www.hammerspoon.org/) it takes a little work to use, but is highly configurable and free. Along my my [Hammerspoon Workflow](https://github.com/raguay/MyAlfred/blob/master/Alfred 4/Hammerspoon Workflow.alfredworkflow) makes using it easier.

Edited September 12, 2022 by raguay.customct

[cjn]

thanks everyone - so much to learn but I'm really enjoying the switch so far.

 

I'm trying out the free trial of moom and also looking again at mosaic as I think rtfm might apply to me.

 

Keyboard maestro looks quite something although it seems to overlap a bit with Alfred - I'll take a look through the forum to understand a bit more

 

took a while to finish this post as I got hooked into macmost tutorials - thanks for the tip

 

Hammerspoon looks a little too much for me as I don't want to learn a new language.

 

thanks again

Chris