WindowDragon

hot logo by Eric

v1.1b2, (BSD license) Released October 22, 2007.

Universal Binary (compatible with Intel Macs -- for real this time!)

Requires Mac OS X 10.4

WindowDragon SourceForge.net project page

What is WindowDragon?

WindowDragon was created because it is often inconvenient to click on a window's title bar or resize button to move and resize windows. WindowDragon allows a window's entire structure to be used as move or resize zone. In other words, WindowDragon makes it possible to move or resize a window by clicking anywhere within that window.

Additionally, WindowDragon allows you to resize a window from any corner, and it allows you to drag all of an application's windows in tandem.

Installing WindowDragon

YOU MUST LOG OUT OR RESTART YOUR COMPUTER AFTER HAVING INSTALLED WINDOWDRAGON. Any applications running while WindowDragon is installed will not be patched by WindowDragon

WindowDragon requires Unsanity's Application Enhancer in order to function. If you do not have Application Enhancer installed on your system, it can be downloaded from http://www.unsanity.com/haxies/ape.

To install WindowDragon, make sure that the latest version of Application Enhancer is installed (2.0 at the time of writing, so your version should be >= 2.0), and then double-click the WindowDragon icon from the Finder. Alternately, you can drag WindowDragon to the Application Enhancers folder in ~/Library or /Library.

Configuring WindowDragon

WindowDragon is configured from the APE Manager preference pane. To access the WindowDragon configuration window, choose System Preferences from the Apple Menu, click on the APE Manager icon, and choose WindowDragon from the Application Enhancers list on the left side of the window.

Clicking the "Drag Anywhere" checkbox toggles the feature on and off. To set the desired mouse and modifier key combination to be used for Drag Anywhere functionality, hold the modifiers down and click the box next to the "Drag Anywhere" text with the appropriate mouse button. The box will be updated to reflect your new settings.

Clicking the "Bring Window to Front" checkbox allows you to toggle between WindowDragon's two window dragging behaviors. If "Bring Window to Front" is enabled, the window that is being dragged will become the front window. If the feature is turned off, the window will not be brought forward. Holding down the command key while using "Drag Anywhere" will use the alternate behavior.

The "Drag All" and "Resize Anywhere" features are configured in the same fashion.

If you are having difficulty assigning a mouse/modifier combination to a particular function because another function has been assigned the same combination, temporarily disable the function that currently has the desired mouse/modifier combination by clicking the checkbox next to its name. When you are done making the new assignment, re-enable the disabled function. For example, if the "Drag Anywhere" feature is currently bound to Mouse 3 and you want the "Resize Anywhere" feature to use Mouse 3 instead, disable "Drag Anywhere," assign Mouse 3 to "Resize Anywhere" (this will cause "Drag Anywhere" to reset its mouse/modifier combination), and then re-enable "Drag Anywhere" and give it a new mouse/modifier combination.

Note: to prevent your computer from becoming unusable, WindowDragon prevents you from using the first mouse button with no additional modifiers keys to invoke any of its functions.

Clicking the "Applications" tab in the preference window will allow you to specify applications that you don't want WindowDragon to affect.

Version History

1.1b2 (October 22, 2007)

- Re-released under a BSD license

1.1b2 (June 24, 2006)

- Should actually work with Intel Macs now

1.1b (June 3, 2006)

- Compiled as a Universal Binary, compatible with Intel Macs

- Updated to Application Enhancer 2.0

- WindowDragon disables itself inside Skype to prevent the application from crashing

1.0:

- WindowDragon is out of beta, which means no more annoying expiration dates! Rejoice!

- Fixed a "Resize Anywhere" bug that caused windows from occasionally continuing to resize after the mouse button had been released.

- Fixed a bug where drawers in windows that had been resized or moved wouldn't always respond correctly to mouse clicks.

- The "Bring Window To Front" option cannot be disabled for the Resize Anywhere and Drag Anywhere functions if Mouse 1 is used. This is because I haven't figured out a way to prevent Cocoa apps from coming forward when mouse 1 is used to click on a window.

- Removed some unneeded console output.

- Macromedia Flash 7 apparently doesn't like the Resize Anywhere function, so it this function has been disabled for the app.

1.0b4:

- Added "Resize Anywhere" functionality.

- Carbon windows now remain completely below the menu bar while being dragged.

- Certain applications now have dragging or resizing selectively disabled (QuickTime Player has resizing disabled, Microsoft Word has both dragging and resizing disabled). If there are other applications that respond strangely to dragging or resizing with WindowDragon, please let me know.

- OS 10.2 users should now be able to see the WindowDragon configuration controls in the APE pref pane.

- Expire date extended to March 15, 2005 (hopefully for the last time!)

1.0b3:

- Sheets and drawers in Cocoa applications can now be dragged.

- Menu shortcuts are now disabled while dragging windows in Cocoa apps. This prevents a window from being closed while being dragged (which would crash the app).

- Microsoft Word excluded from patching until a fix is worked out (dragging Word docs causes problems with the application).

- Expire date extended to February 25, 2005.

1.0b2:

- Added "Drag All" functionality.

- Allow user to choose whether dragged windows are brought to front by default.

- Performance increase for Cocoa apps.

- Fixed a bug that could cause windows in Carbon apps to jump to a new location when initially clicked on.

- Carbon windows can no longer be dragged above the menu bar (on the main screen) or the top of the screen (on all other screens).

- Expire date extended to January 10, 2005.

1.0b1:

- initial release

Known issues

- It is not currently possible to use WindowDragon with windows in Apple's X11 program.

- Drag All can act kind of funky if a sheet is being displayed in one of the dragged windows.

- WindowDragon needs an installer (still!)

License

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

* Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

* Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

* Neither the name of Tim Conkling nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS

"AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT

LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR

A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR

CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,

EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,

PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR

PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF

LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING

NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS

SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Contact

WindowDragon was created by Tim Conkling. Contact him with complaints, praise, and bug reports at windowdragon@gmail.com

This product uses Application Enhancer system

http://www.haxies.com/ape/