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Full Screen Fixed in Mountain Lion?
- Thread starter graytrees
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Yep you comprehended it correctly. A bummer, since I usually show QuickTime videos to my classmates on the secondary monitor (projector in this case)...
So long as Quicktime 7 continues working we can at least keep watching videos on a secondary screen, but it's annoying that fullscreen support isn't being fixed, as it's like multi-screen users have essentially been ignored when Lion was made.
It would have taken no effort at all to just have an app full-screen on whichever monitor it is currently on, while leaving the other monitor unaffected. Then it's just a case of allowing full-screen on multiple monitors, possibly requiring a dummy menu-bar for apps on secondary screen(s).
It's another example of users needing to post their thoughts on http://bugreport.apple.com, it seems like enough support allowed a change to Mission Control to sneak in (ungrouping of windows), maybe we can get the same for Fullscreen. It's another one of the features that feels very much like it was intended for laptops, forgetting about everyone else.
It would have taken no effort at all to just have an app full-screen on whichever monitor it is currently on, while leaving the other monitor unaffected. Then it's just a case of allowing full-screen on multiple monitors, possibly requiring a dummy menu-bar for apps on secondary screen(s).
It's another example of users needing to post their thoughts on http://bugreport.apple.com, it seems like enough support allowed a change to Mission Control to sneak in (ungrouping of windows), maybe we can get the same for Fullscreen. It's another one of the features that feels very much like it was intended for laptops, forgetting about everyone else.
I'd love to have this, as my 13" MBP can be small for certain tasks. Having extended desktop mode for Airplay from the Mac would be amazing as well, but I think it only supports mirroring at the moment.
I made a quick movie about how I think Multi Monitor support *should* work in Mountain Lion and Lion for that matter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDnyH_abV7E&feature=youtu.be
Basically, the full screen apps are on a carousel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDnyH_abV7E&feature=youtu.be
Basically, the full screen apps are on a carousel.
I like that. Could actually work very well.
But we should also have the option of switching one display off. E.g - When watching a Quicktime vid full screen on monitor 2 (projector), we should have the option of disabling the primary display.
Mad Mac Maniac
macrumors 601
Looks very nice
Although it would be nice to have the option of having one monitor in full screen mode, and the other not... running independently of each other. In that case, whichever screen the cursor was currently on would be the "active" screen for multi-finger gestures. That may be a bit non-intuitive for Apple, but I think it's the best way to do it.
I like this idea. Have the default behavior as a "carousel" but give the option to have each monitor cycle independently from each other.
Thanks for posting this. That is exactly as I thought it should have been with Lion. "Why doesn't it " Let's hope Apple gets the hint.
http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html
Send this along to Apple OS X feedback. You'll have to describe it as you cannot attach it, but a link in the comments to your video should be helpful.
If not, as a developer, I can file this suggestion to Apple engineers and even upload the video. This would be a great start in the right direction for 2+ displays in OS X.
This is probably going to be news to a whole lot of people but multi-monitor support in Lion and Mountain Lion while in full screen mode actually does work. Yes you can already use a second monitor in full screen mode in Lion.
Let me explain...
The intended purpose of full screen mode is to give you distraction-free and focused workspace for whatever application you are currently working on while allowing you to easily swipe to other apps for multitasking. But yes, full screen mode does allow you to use a second screen while full screen mode is active. It just works differently.
While it's true that other apps can't show on the second screen, the developer of the app can make the panels for the current app/document show on the second screen. For an example of this, take a look at Apple's Keynote and Numbers apps. If you open their inspection panels and move them to your second display and then go into Lion's Full Screen Mode, the inspection panels all show up on the second monitor on top of the gray linen background.
In this way, full screen mode still serves it's purpose of being distraction free and focusing on the particular app but at the same time it utilizes your second display for secondary windows and panels produced by the current app you're working on.
The problem currently is that most app developers have yet to fully make their apps work as intended by Apple in Full Screen Mode.
You already have the ability to fill up one screen with one app while filling up your other screen with another app without using full screen mode. So full screen mode gives you yet another entirely different option. If it instead worked the way some people want it to work, that would be rather redundant because it is already possible to do that without going into Full Screen Mode and you would therefore lose the option Full Screen Mode now gives you (provided that the developer supports it in their app of course).
Let me explain...
The intended purpose of full screen mode is to give you distraction-free and focused workspace for whatever application you are currently working on while allowing you to easily swipe to other apps for multitasking. But yes, full screen mode does allow you to use a second screen while full screen mode is active. It just works differently.
While it's true that other apps can't show on the second screen, the developer of the app can make the panels for the current app/document show on the second screen. For an example of this, take a look at Apple's Keynote and Numbers apps. If you open their inspection panels and move them to your second display and then go into Lion's Full Screen Mode, the inspection panels all show up on the second monitor on top of the gray linen background.
In this way, full screen mode still serves it's purpose of being distraction free and focusing on the particular app but at the same time it utilizes your second display for secondary windows and panels produced by the current app you're working on.
The problem currently is that most app developers have yet to fully make their apps work as intended by Apple in Full Screen Mode.
You already have the ability to fill up one screen with one app while filling up your other screen with another app without using full screen mode. So full screen mode gives you yet another entirely different option. If it instead worked the way some people want it to work, that would be rather redundant because it is already possible to do that without going into Full Screen Mode and you would therefore lose the option Full Screen Mode now gives you (provided that the developer supports it in their app of course).
Interesting, I did not know iWork windows can be seen on the second display while in full screen mode. While this is better than nothing, it still would make more sense if Apple engineers eliminated the unnecessary linen background of the second display and allowed it to remain a desktop for anything. Yes, I understand that full screen mode is meant to pull focus on one application, however for those who like use of their full screen for desktop real estate, it would make sense to allow each display desktop to have the ability for two full screen applications.
Checked Adobe CS MC 6, as there's no full screen mode apps such as Photoshop 6 haven't taken advantage of this option. Shame.
Like I said previously, you can already allow each display to have different apps. Lion's Full Screen Mode gives you a different option. You can switch between apps and allow their panels to take up the second screen and not worry about clutter all behind the panels because the gray Linen background blocks everything else out for you.
And you brought up a great example with Adobe. If they ever get around to implementing full screen mode in Lion for apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, Indesign, Dreamweaver, and Fireworks they can make their panels show up on the second monitor just like Apple and some other 3rd party developers have done.
That would be huge. Then you could just swipe between the CS apps with all of them taking up the full screen with their panels on the second screen and no clutter from other apps showing behind the panels for your current app.
What if I have a MBP and a Cinema Display, can I put keynote in full-screen on the Cinema Display and the panels on the MBP linen? No? So the bigger better screen is reserved for linen while the small one is for the main presenation? That sounds backwards to me. The problem doesn't sound like it is limited to developers. Maybe I am just uninformed though. Is there a toggle to make the external display the primary one? If not, that's missing with the current implemenation.
Of course there is. Just drag the menu bar to the display that you want to use as the primary one.
i've been waiting for this to happen with your ipad for AGES>
Imagine Logic synth controls on your ipad.
While that is OK for apps that support it, it is not how I want it to work all of the time.
I don't want the second monitor relegated to extra panels of whatever is running fullscreen on the other monitor.
I want to run one monitor full screen and then anything else of my choosing on the second monitor--even another full screen app. I don't care if the intent was to give me a "distraction-free and focused workspace." If I want that I can simply choose to not run anything on the second monitor.
Michael
^This. Exactly what I attempted to describe as another suggestion. It's great you can use toolbars, et al for the fullscreen app you are in on the second display, but what if I want something else unassociated with that app? I sometimes have EyeTV running on my second display watching the news or such while I work on my primary display (usually I am working on both). Currently, you can't.
You already have that option. I don't see why people don't understand this but let me explain one more time. If you don't want a distraction-free, single app focused workspace then don't turn on Full Screen Mode. Just maximize the window like you did in Snow Leopard and let your apps work the way the always have in Snow Leopard. Lion's full screen mode isn't taking anything away. It's an additional feature that allows for a distraction-free workspace and as explained previously it supports dual monitors.
If it worked the same way maximizing the windows has always worked, what would be the point of it? Wouldn't that just be a redundant feature since you can already do this without Full Screen Mode?
Full Screen Mode works the way it does because it is intended to be an entirely different option and way of working. There is no point in duplicating a way of working that already exists in the OS without Full Screen Mode.
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Again, obviously if you want EyeTV running while you work you aren't looking for a distraction-free app focused work environment at that time. So then don't enable Full Screen Mode in that situation. It's as simple as that. If Full Screen Mode works like you want it to work, then where is the option to work in a distraction-free app-focused environment? Why duplicate an option that already exists?
The problem is I don't want an app deciding for me whether it will consume both monitors or not. If I click to fullscreen an app I do not want it's default behavior to take away my second display which may have a collection of other windows or more preferably even an entirely independent fullscreen app running. I'd much prefer to have a toggle that allows me to expand a fullscreen app's space consumption across both monitors as I see fit. It allows me to configure apps or even a collection of apps to meet my workflow requirements. Different apps will require different configurations and a blanket setting to consume both monitors across the board is unsatisfactory.
The fact that very few developers have utilized the built in multidisplay functionality is further proof that most apps don't need that second display and if they do then I want to be the one that makes that determination.
Not all the time, only when I am working on one display/project and it's more for background noise (plus I am darn good at multitasking
).Fullscreen mode isn't simply for a "distraction free" work environment. As an ADC member its primary focus was making the most desktop real estate usage on OS X systems with one display such as notebook's and iMac's. Apple's target market with this feature is the consumer market. Apple engineers requested focus on fullscreen app's primarily with 1 display. Yet many of us filed UI reports since Lion DP1 regarding fullscreen implementation on 2+ displays. The reported bugs are acknowledged by Apple engineers, however that doesn't necessarily equate to remedying the situation.
It's a great feature but engineered for 1 display systems (iMac's, MacBook Pro's). Apple engineers weren't concerned at the time with implementing it on more displays even though fullscreen mode can be used well for multiple monitors, and not because it's a distraction free work method. I can easily be distracted when using fullscreen mode, I mean it's not - what was that? Was that a plane? I need coffee, sleepy - oh, where was I? Oh yeah, fullscreen mode