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WindowShade X by Unsanity, LLC
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WindowShade X by Unsanity, LLC
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Introduction
As a Linux user, I used the GNOME environment using the Sawfish window manager - which I was quite used to. Having used Linux as my primary operating system for the last seven to eight years I got very accustomed to "window shading." Mac users using anything older than MacOS X know this handy feature too. Basically being able to double click on the titlebar or on a titlebar icon and having the window "roll up" into just the titlebar itself until you repeated the action.
What shocked me most about MacOS X was that this feature was missing! After getting used to it, regardless of previous platform experience - you really miss it when it's not there anymore. Some people minimize their windows, others clutter them one one top of the other... I use a combination of all these techniques, but sometimes window shading is really handy. For example, when using Photoshop, it's nice to shade all but the images you're working on at the moment - and yet have many, many images open. Same thing with BBEdit - you could have a lot of documents open, but have them shaded for ready access without cluttering up the entire screen.
To the rescue, Unsanity, LLC offers a product that they call "WindowShade X." Specifically, it's what they call a "haxie" (mix "hack" with "X" from MacOS X, and you'll get a haxie). No matter what you call it, it was exactly what I was looking for. WindowShade X will give you the choice of 3 different window shade styles: WindowShade, Make Transparent Window, and Hide Application.
Review
The software is downloaded from their Website - the full program is the same as the demo but you must register it to unlock it. There's just one file and it's the installer - which you just double-click. Once installed, you'll find the WindowShade X preferences in your System Preferences application under, "Other." Complete integration into MacOS X.
Your options are plentiful and you can adjust the program to suit your needs. You can enable or disable it and sounds (which I find distracting, even in MacOS) and whether or not you want to enable it for auto-launch at login. Once that's taken care of you can tune the behavior of various actions such as the minimize button, double-clicking in the window title with or without the control key and finally, how transparent you want your windows if you use that option. See the screenshot below for a snapshot of the preferences panel.
Now, all you have to do is double-click on your titlebars just like you're used to:
...and you've got window shading! :)
I don't use the control-double-clicking feature as much (which makes windows transparent but is configurable). It's useful if you have a window open with reference information, say - and you want to keep it aside, but refer to it from time to time. This will make it blend away quite nicely:
That's about it. Nothing too deep or convoluted - just a nice, simple drop-in preference panel. The speed of WindowShade X seems to be instantaneous, at least on an 867MHz G4. No odd screen redrawing problems or anything like that. When you use Classic/MacOS 9 applications, they naturally window shade, so with WindowShade X you've got a consistent solution.
Conclusion
I think the screenshot below speaks for itself. You'll notice that the software is registered to me! It was definately worth the $7 for it as it did what it's supposed to, well - and restored a feature of the OS that I really missed.
We don't know if Apple plans on putting this feature back into MacOS X, or when. If you're not a big fan of window shading, then you might want to wait and see. For the rest of us that can't wait - this is the answer right here. I don't think you'll be disappointed!
Screenshot
