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Short videos and tips to get more out of TabLauncher.
TabLauncher Pro
It is the same TabLauncher, distributed outside the App Store, so it can do the things a sandboxed app is not allowed to do.
A special tab that lists the windows of every running app, so you can jump straight to a window instead of hunting for it. Click one to bring it forward; right-click to minimize or close it.
With Accessibility access granted, Pro raises the exact window through the system’s Accessibility API: instantly, even when the window is tabbed away behind another one (Merge All Windows), or sitting on a different desktop. A sandboxed app cannot do this, which is why the Windows tab is no longer offered in the App Store versions.
An option for the Windows tab: each window shows its app’s icon instead of a live thumbnail. No screen captures at all, so the tab opens instantly and the screen-recording indicator stays off.
Right-click an app’s icon to quit it (or force quit it if it hangs), or right-click a tab and quit every running app on it at once.
An icon that remembers where all your windows are. Click it once to take a snapshot; click it again whenever things get messy and every window moves back to its saved place: position, size and desktop. Right-click it for a new snapshot.
Pro does not come from the App Store, so it updates itself: right-click a tab and choose Check for Updates…
To use it, TabLauncher from the Mac App Store must be installed on your Mac. On first run Pro offers to take over your existing tabs and settings, so you carry on where you left off. Keep the App Store version installed, but run only one of the two.
The Windows tab asks for Screen Recording (to read window names and draw the thumbnails) and Accessibility (to move windows around). TabLauncher points you at the right System Settings pane when it needs them.
Some screenshots below show an earlier version of TabLauncher.
Right-click a tab and choose Add Custom → Trash → Trash. Clicking this Trash icon shows the Trash’s contents in the Finder.
There are some right-click options as well, and more can be added to the menu with AppleScript. You can also add icons that empty the Trash when clicked, instead of showing its contents.
In this example we add an icon that makes the Finder show hidden files. A script for this is already included, so simply add it from the menu Add Custom → Finder → Show Hidden Files.
A new icon appears, and it already works. But it has the default script icon, which is not very pretty, so let’s add our own personal touch.
In the preferences you can drag in any image or file to use as the icon’s image, or make your own icon. Here we make one ourselves: start by picking an image from the templates and change its color.
The button with the smiley shows Apple’s emoji and symbols. We’ll use the eyes, which seems right for an icon that shows hidden files.
Use the font options to adjust the size.
And here is our new icon that makes the Finder show hidden files.
Want more? The Add-ons page has ready-made scripts.
You can drag the Finder to any tab. It lives at /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app. But maybe it’s easier to drag the folders you use the most onto a tab.
TabLauncher grows to fit the biggest icons you have on all your tabs.
Shrink the icons on only one tab, and the width goes down while the height stays.
Shrink the icons on all tabs, and the height goes down too.
Adjust the Appearance slider in the Tabs preferences. Some styles include a smaller tab.
Still stuck? See the FAQ, or write to us at info at oktoid.org.
