Why was OS X designed this way?

[steveyo]

Valuable work space? Seriously? The Menu Bar is less than 3% of the height of the screen. What can you possibly do with 100% that you can't do with 97%? You can't hide title bars in Windows, so why would you expect to do that in OS X?

I like 16:10 aspect ratio vs 16:9 which is found in like every notebook now. That menu bar eats away at the available vertical space.

Try reading same PDF file (side by side view) at 1920x1200 using bootcamp then with OS X. That top bar gets in the way

Even Windows displays the menus all the time.

Not true you can hide the start menu and it goes away

 

[GGJstudios]

I like 16:10 aspect ratio vs 16:9 which is found in like every notebook now. That menu bar eats away at the available vertical space.

Any application that would make use of the entire screen area can be operated in fullscreen mode, hiding the Menu Bar. There is no application that requires use of the entire screen that can't be viewed in fullscreen mode. It sounds like you're grasping at straws, looking for some excuse to justify your dislike of the Menu Bar's presence. There is simply no logical reason why it's a problem, especially since fullscreen mode hides it, for those applications that require that minuscule sliver of space.

Not true you can hide the start menu and it goes away

The Start Bar in Windows is equivalent to the Dock in OS X. That's not the same thing as the Title Bar in Windows, which you can't hide.

 

[steveyo]

Any application that would make use of the entire screen area can be operated in fullscreen mode, hiding the Menu Bar. There is no application that requires use of the entire screen that can't be viewed in fullscreen mode. It sounds like you're grasping at straws, looking for some excuse to justify your dislike of the Menu Bar's presence. There is simply no logical reason why it's a problem, especially since fullscreen mode hides it, for those applications that require that minuscule sliver of space.

When you're using multi-monitor setup with various apps you can't be running everything in full screen mode -_-".

Example.

Screen 1 has WORD / PDF reader side by side
Screen 2 has email client and web browser
Screen 3 has something else

Hidden menu bar gives you more vertical space = more amount you can read like a real book . And you use keyboard shortcuts when you can and when you need finder you hover up top and it pops up...

 

[GGJstudios]

When you're using multi-monitor setup with various apps you can't be running everything in full screen mode -_-".

Example.

Screen 1 has WORD / PDF reader side by side
Screen 2 has email client and web browser
Screen 3 has something else

Hidden menu bar gives you more vertical space = more amount you can read like a real book . And you use keyboard shortcuts when you can and when you need finder you hover up top and it pops up...

44 pixels out of 1600 is not going to make a noticeable difference in viewing. I constantly view documents this way on a 13" MBP and it works just fine. If you're that much in need of every pixel, it's clear you need a bigger display.

The bottom line is the functionality doesn't exist in OS X, so it's pointless to complain about it. You can send feedback to Apple, but I wouldn't hold my breath, waiting for them to customize OS X to your particular liking.

 

[dyn]

It’s a good question. The Dock can get out of the way, why not the menu bar? It is hidden in fullscreen mode too.

Because a menu is crucial for any app to operate whereas the dock is not. Fullscreen mode is a different kind of mode where the focus lies solely with the content itself. Both dock and menubar aren't needed in that mode thus will both be hidden.

Not everything has a good explanation.

True but in this case it does. Quite a lot of things in OS X (and also iOS) function the way they do because Apple looked at how users are using them.

If you take a look at business software you'll notice that a lot of them will allow keyboard operation. Most users use the keyboard to move through the software because it is quicker and easier than using the mouse. Those apps have changed the way they work to allow for such operation. Lots of shortcut keys and lesser used/known/common options are put in a menu (if you need/require it, it's still there, just not in most peoples way). That's also the idea behind Microsofts ribbon interface.

 

[TETENAL]

No menu bar on Microsoft Windows, so clearly it maximizes the vertical screen real estate.

 

[GGJstudios]

Image

No menu bar on Microsoft Windows, so clearly it maximizes the vertical screen real estate.

Not true. It's still there, just in a different location, using the same amount of vertical space.

​

 

[Pushpaw]

Not true. It's still there, just in a different location, using the same amount of vertical space.

View attachment 528176​

Exactly this. In Windows the menu bar is across the top of every window, and even when in fullscreen mode the menu bar is still there. In OS X the menu bar is across the top of screen and showing the menu items for the application with focus, and has the advantage of being hidden when an app is in fullscreen mode unless you need it, in which case point the mouse at the top of the screen and it will slide down.

 

[chown33]

Exactly this. In Windows the menu bar is across the top of every window, and even when in fullscreen mode the menu bar is still there. In OS X the menu bar is across the top of screen and showing the menu items for the application with focus, and has the advantage of being hidden when an app is in fullscreen mode unless you need it, in which case point the mouse at the top of the screen and it will slide down.

I took TETENAL's post as satire (irony and exaggeration). There clearly IS a menu bar in the window, but it's hardly a great consumer of vertical space. It's all the other crap that consumes huge tracts of vertical space.

 

[steveyo]

Image

No menu bar on Microsoft Windows, so clearly it maximizes the vertical screen real estate.

Meh example since the software comes with built in options to hide the ribbon from factory.

Thanks for the app suggestions! Will look into it

 

[lowendlinux]

I agree OP you ought to be able to hid it and have it come back with a keyboard shortcut or a mouse over, options are not Apples or MS forte.