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Do you use Stage Manager?
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I keep it on most of the time. I like it. It makes multitasking easier and cleaner.
No. Didn't like it when I first got access to it in one of the betas, then forgot about it.
It's probably a lot better now than it was back then, but I use desktops/spaces a lot and am happy with my workflow as it is.
It's probably a lot better now than it was back then, but I use desktops/spaces a lot and am happy with my workflow as it is.
Honestly, I had forgotten about it until this thread. I don't even know what to use it for.
I watched a few minutes of the video out of curiosity. I still don't understand what it is for, sorry (and I always have tons of apps and windows open). Plus Stage Manager eats a HUGE part of the valuable screen estate. No thanks. Not for me.
Continue watching. You can hide Stage Manager like you can hide the Dock. Only shows up when you move your mouse towards the left side of the screen.
Yes I saw it and I knew about this feature.
But first, when he recorded the video it was probably only half-true. I remember trying SM when it was first introduced, and at some point it shrank the app windows back to reveal SM even after you enlarged them manually. I tried it now and it appears that Apple fixed it by now. Windows remain at their full size (although they initially all shrink when you activate SM).
Second, this doesn't work in many Adobe apps (SM doesn't appear when you move the mouse to the screen side). It doesn't work in InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Dreamweaver - and who the hell knows what other apps it doesn't work with.
Third, this auto-reveal feature is kinda finicky. If you move your mouse beyond certain point (even if it's still over a SM window), SM can disappear on you and you need to reveal it again.
Fourth, all use-cases in the video are based on SM being revealed anyway, which reduced the usable screen estate dramatically.
So yeah I personally still don't find SM useful for anything whether it's revealed or hidden.
However, I do realize that some people find it useful and if it does help someone then obviously I can only be happy. Sure Stage Manager maybe annoys me more than it should lol.
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I have used it for about 2 months, I like it. It seems to streamline things for me, I used to have about a dozen windows open behind the window with focus. Seeing the recent 5 with a couple of easy ways to get to other open apps works great for me.
I use it because I find windowing on the Mac awkward but I'm too lazy to evaluate the many window utilities out there and pick one. So I basically just use the Mac like a big iPad, having one window at a time and autohiding the "stage."
I wish I could choose to have stage manager active on one desktop but not another.
That would be the best option for it I'd think for Mac users.
I don’t have an iPad capable of using it and I’m excited to try it day to day when I do, but on a the Mac every time I turn it on I turn if off within like 5 minutes.
No, it feels like it was designed more in mind for the ipad. Though I don't use it on there either.
Tried it for a while. Not very useful on a MacBook screen. Mission Control does the real work.
I used it few days, then disabled forever. Stage Manager is not for productivity. For what? Who knows…
Better take Rectangle.app or alternatives, it will speed up your window management a lot.
Better take Rectangle.app or alternatives, it will speed up your window management a lot.
I have been using for years a 10 "spaces" or virtual desktops, plus two or three full screen applications. When Stage Manager was introduced, I tried and forget about it. Now with Sonoma I gave it a new opportunity, and I love it.
I still using the 10 virtual desktops, but now the ones that has more than one application running in there are controlled by the Stage Manager, instead of having their windows displayed. Quite a difference!
YMMV, and how the people in Spain use to said: "Para gustos, los colores".
I still using the 10 virtual desktops, but now the ones that has more than one application running in there are controlled by the Stage Manager, instead of having their windows displayed. Quite a difference!
YMMV, and how the people in Spain use to said: "Para gustos, los colores".
This is why I'd like to enable Stage Manager on a "per desktop" basis. I only use 3 virtual desktops but on two of them I have at least 2 and sometimes 3 apps running simultaneously and need to be able to see all of them at once. I know I can drag 2 or more apps to make them all show together but I have to do this every time I start the apps. I would find it really useful to limit the use of Stage Manager to one or more specific desktops.
