Knockout Dock: Extra screen space for free
Every now and then, something comes along like Paparazzi (grab a screenshot of a whole web page) which has
Knockout Dock is such an app. It gained me an inch of
Read about it and how to survive in a
Knockout Dock is an
It requires no interaction, no logging in and out to see your changes and no copying of plist files.
Running the app sends a series of commands to Terminal that
Poof, it’s gone! The extra space at the bottom of my screen is mine to enjoy.
Actually, the Dock has been moved and hidden just underneath the
Running the app again offers you the option of undoing the changes, no damage done.
Launching apps and bringing apps into focus — the two most common things that I used the Dock for when it was at the bottom of my screen — are easily replaced.
The Trash can is still only a Command-Click away.
Command-Tab brings up the Application Switching window that allows you to switch quickly between your open apps. It also shows me at a key stroke the unread
But there is a still more excellent way.
After installing it, Option-Tab (the configurable default key stroke combination) brings up a
Hitting Option-Tab again cycles through the individual windows, allowing you to jump to the exact thing you want. Or you can use your mouse.
Further options in Witch’s preference pane provide for even smarter sorting and selection.
What do I miss? Nothing.
What do I gain? An extra strip of screen real estate and an strong incentive to get off my lazy butt and explore the rich capabilities of QuickSilver more carefully.
It’s a win-win situation.
No money was paid in achieving this result. All the apps mentioned (except LaunchBar – USD 19.95) are freeware or donation-ware.
Links
Knockout Dock – Minimize and hide your Dock.
QuickSilver – Everything is an Easter egg.
Witch – Quickly jump to the exact window you need.
[I read about this on the QuickSilver forum]
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Tags: applescript, Dock, Dock preferences, Expos?ɬ©, extra screen real estate, mail.app, menubar, minimize and hide, nothing to do with Mail.app, notification badges, quicksilver, smoked glass interface, Witch
January 24th, 2006 at 3:48 am
There are several other utilities (Tinkertool, for example) that will move your Dock to the top of the screen. It doesn’t have to be miniature, either; you can still control the size with the little separator bar to the left of the trash, or with the Dock Preferences in System Preferences. You can still show or hide the dock as well, using the usual Command+Option+D hotkey or, again, the Preferences or menu item (under the Apple Menu).
I’ve had the Dock at the top of the screen for a year or so now, and it’s great. Like you said, I just use Quicksilver to launch apps, and Command+Tab to switch between them. I keep the Dock at it’s largest magnification, with no apps in it. That way, when I make it appear, I can see only those apps which are running, and easily click on them if I need to.
Witch looks pretty cool; I’ll have to give it a try.
January 24th, 2006 at 6:54 am
Another thing you can use to gain more desk top real estate, without pegging resources is using something like Desktop Manager. I usually keep it configured for three new desk tops, with a hidden pager on the lower left of my screen. a quick option+command+left or right arrow switches my desktops fast enough.
Using this with expose really helps increase my work flow as a network and unix engineer/administrator. I can access all of my applications (most are run on terminals on other machines), keep my email running along with my rss, web, iTunes, Adium and what ever else I’m running.
January 24th, 2006 at 7:37 am
Thanks for the extra ideas. I didn’t know about Desktop Manager, or that Tinkertool could do that. Excellent!