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TouchSwitcher — Switch between apps with just the Touch Bar
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@nivo0o0 Thank you. Wish I could get rid of the mouse pointer in the video. Looks stupid in the Touch Bar.
@pointum @nivo0o0 check this one out https://itunes.apple.com/app/upo... -- at least you can turn your pointer into a circle, similar to the click representations in the xCode Simulator. Still not the best solution but probably a good option to keep in mind.
@pointum @nivo0o0 I use ScreenFlow for demos and it allows you to change your cursor to a circle that change gradient to show clicks. You can see what I mean at www.ntwrkapp.com
I've had this installed for approx 45 mins and its already leveled up my touchbar. (I'm actually using it for something other than volume)
@juanbuis care to share how you actually get an item surfaced in the control strip? Is that private API? Seems like there are a lot of cool opportunities for this.
@badeen @pallav_agarwal I spent a lot of time tinkering with how to make it work properly system wide. For now the private API is the only secret sauce of my app and I want to enjoy this exclusivity for a bit.
The problem with this API is that it only works for a single app at a time and it's not intended for continuous use, like I do. Even Apple's own apps fight for this spot. I wish apple would open up proper API to let users pick third party icons to show in the control strip. I've filed a couple enhancement requests for this. Please bug them with it too: https://bugreport.apple.com
@pointum @pallav_agarwal well congrats & good luck. I hope you get what you want out of the exclusivity. If you want to talk to somebody about more things you can do with this or perhaps collaborate, I'd highly recommend talking to my good friend David Keegan (@iamkgn) of Acorns. He's made some handy macOS utilities like CopyPath on the Mac App Store. Very talented designer and developer.
@pointum @badeen @pallav_agarwal This is awesome! Nice work, would love to have a customizable set of global actions. Awesome to see something like this is possible, hope you share soon ;)
@sprockett please use Activity Monitor to quit "Control Strip" system app. I've noticed this happens when using Xcode too (without ever launching my app). Might be their bug, might be my fault.
@juanbuis ironically I don't have the Touch Bar and I've developed a "touch bar envy" of sorts while working on this app. The beauty of it is that it's contextual and all software. Developer apps and Apple updates will make it essential.
I'm into this. It's an intuitive next step for the touchbar, and certainly gives us a look into where it can go from here.
Question: i'm a Spotlight and Cmd-Tab master - how does it compare in terms of speed?
@oplante here's a mental exercise: imagine that F9 is TouchSwitcher icon and F8 thru F1 are the recent app icons. Two taps and you're in the app. TouchSwitcher could be faster than Spotlight or Cmd+Tabbing in search of a particular app. Switching between two recent apps, though, is faster with Cmd+Tab, hands down.
Is it possible to keep it always "visible/open"? I think that could be quicker and super straight forward to change between apps... I need the touch bar to test, sadly I don't have...
Hi, fellow hunters! This little thingy adds app switching as a new system-wide button to the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. I know, I know – there’s Command+Tab and Dock and Spotlight and Mission Control and good old pixel hunting.
What’s different about this app is that for the first time on Mac it lets you pick an app by tapping it directly. Tap - show the app list, tap - pick the app. The most recent apps are right next to the button. Switching to a particular app with Command-Tab would require additional presses or moving a hand to the trackpad. Don’t forget – Touch Bar is basically a part of the keyboard and it’s right below the screen. It would not hurt to glance an inch below the Dock, I promise.
I don’t mean to convert hardcore keyboard gurus, but still give it a try. At the very least it’s a fun novelty.
@pointum @mcelhearn Could you partner with Andreas Hegenberg (https://www.boastr.net)? He has developed better touch tool. One of the most useful apps ever made for Mac! Hoping for that to have amazing touchbar tweaks too!
Can't wait to see more features.
Pros:Adds that touch you felt the bar was lacking
Cons:none so far
Great app @pointum - please add: 1) Possibility to show TouchSwitcher permanently 2) Possibility to remove programs from the list, and to drag them to permanently re-arrange them 3) support for TouchSwitcher to be shown in Settings > Extensions > TouchBar, this way, it will become much more useful and easy to configure, and can for example also be shown at the press of Fn 4) When TouchSwitcher is permanently shown, and the strip switches off due to timeout (cannot be prevented), make the first touch of the Touch Bar (the tap that switches it on) an immediate Esc press. This way, you have a huge practical escape button while it's not shown. If you want to do something else than pressing escape, move the mouse pointer first, so TouchSwitcher appears. This would be a very easy and amazing solution to have a huge escape button available at all times, that's really missing.
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