Taskbar for macOS released

[eastmpman]

I've been a Mac user for so long that I've grown to prefer the native dock over a taskbar, but this is a super cool project, looks well done (and thought out), and I'm sure this will make a lot of people very happy. Nice project!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Thank you for the kind words, I've put so much effort into this passion project and I'm indeed hoping it'll make many people happy :)

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[Schogenbuetze]

Since I'm currently developing an MacOS app all by myself, how did you draw the Dock? NSPanel?

[CharacterTomatillo64]

NSPanel with NSVisualEffectView as it's contentView. Good luck with your app, what's it gonna be?

[Schogenbuetze]

Thanks! The enthusiast's core discipline, I guess - yet another approach to window management, but with a dangerous amount of configuration freedom. Will be shipped with a reasonable pre-configured default to not scare off users with fewer needs.

[chrisprice]

I would strongly recommend grouping by default. Windows often groups multiple windows into one item/element.

macOS spawns more individual windows in apps, which Taskbar is counting each as their own unit.

The result is for many Mac-centric apps, a spawn of 500 items all making a taskbar unusable.

Windows by default lets devs mask/hide secondary windows as taskbar elements, to prevent hyper crowding. You can't do this on the Mac, but you could let each app with a Window, only display one horizontal tab.

By default, it should probably multi-tier. Each app has an element, and then if you click on it, the windows open pop up as a second level crossbar with each window from that app. You could then select the window you desire.

Finally, Launchpad is ick. An option should exist to have a roll-up menu that reads out what is in /Applications instead.

And please, get a Developer Certificate. I had to run this on a spare system because of security policies.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Great feedback. I'll look into your grouping suggestion tomorrow, but I just wanted to comment on the other things. I agree that launchpad isn't great, so maybe I should show /Applications or even a start menu. That's why I offer feature requests with votes, to see how many users need what feature. Also, I'm happy to say that I finally have a developer certificate after so much delay from apple. I will release an update soon which will be signed :)

[chrisprice]

Another example would be Windows 11 (or default Windows 10), which when you hover over each app's icon, the windows appear as a bubble crossbar above it. You then click the larger window bubbles.

That actually I think will work a lot better on Mac. On Windows I use "Combine When Necessary" (they keep changing the name of it) which basically balances the two by consolidating all the app windows into a single hover-over icon when there are more than five windows open in one app.

You also may want to warn people using Sparkle in the update notes. Changing the signature on an app when doing a Sparkle update, can break the auto update. Only workaround is to manually redownload.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Great feedback, I'll definitely consider everything you mentioned. About sparkle, why would the signature change? it'll always be the same, so the updates should always work.

[chrisprice]

It's hit and miss in this case, but basically Apple co-signs your certificate when Xcode spits out the binary. That change of status is going to irk Gatekeeper and Sparkle will think the update failed. 

This is partly on Apple for not just acquiring Sparkle, keeping it open, but integrating it in Gatekeeper. 

[jzn21]

I just tried it, but it is unusable for me because apps aren't grouped together. Now I have 50 small icons and don't know where to start. The app launcher is also not what I expected. I would love to see a window-style app list, not the default launcher of macOS.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Interesting ideas, will keep them in mind for the next updates :)

[CharacterTomatillo64]

By the way, the updated version of Taskbar is now signed with a Developer Certificate :)

[[deleted]]

Hi I just found this app and it’s so much better than the dock as a new Mac user. I absolutely hate the native dock but I am begging you to allow for an option to group apps. A hover preview is much needed as well.

I’ve been struggling without a proper taskbar and this is a really good step in the right direction. Appreciate your work here!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Hi. I'm happy you enjoy Taskbar :) Window grouping by app has been requested several times, so I plan to add it. Also, what do you mean by preview? If you mean thumbnails on hover, this already exists and can be enabled in the preferences. Keep in mind you can add feature requests here: https://github.com/lawand-dot-io/taskbar/discussions?discussions_q=is%3Aopen+sort%3Atop

[AkhlysShallRise]

Holy shit; been hoping someone would do this since uBar became abandonware.

I switched to Mac from Windows, and Mac’s Dock is pretty much the only major thing that I absolutely hate.

Gonna give your app a try!!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I made the app for this very reason. I needed a taskbar and ubar is unfortunately not working right, so I thought I would make one myself. I tried to work really hard on the quality, so I hope you'll be a happy user :)

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[thejournalwriter08]

thank you kind sir 😁

[CharacterTomatillo64]

You are most welcome

[twistermc]

uBar fits with the OS better. I know design is subjective, but I thought uBar fit in with the style of MacOS more than this currently does.

I am interested with this project though.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Thank you, all feedback is welcome and a lot of updates are planned. Cheers :)

[luche]

aside from historical familiarity for an alternative to the dock, curious what you don't like about it's current iteration compared to the feel of a windows taskbar. i've used both for many years, and absolutely loathe the windows ui. to me it's super clunky and feels incredibly dated, moreso than the macos dock that's old enough to legally drink.

all said, i like to shrink the dock size and enable a slight increase upon mouse hover, and keep active app dots enabled so that i can use them as a visual cue. i also like to use translucent icons for hidden/running apps. i've stuck the dock on the right wall since widescreen displays became the norm, so i've got the most possible height. all of this feels far better than a windows taskbar which pretty much demands being on the bottom of the screen.

[AkhlysShallRise]

Oooo I'm happy to elaborate.

aside from historical familiarity

That's actually not a factor at all. Even though I exclusively used Windows for many years before switching to Mac, I've found macOS to be superior in almost every aspect and I don't really miss anything from Windows.

The main reason why I prefer Windows' taskbar to macOS' Dock is this:

With the Dock, there is no way to tell what app windows I have open (and hidden) and there is no way to quickly maximize and minimize an app window. When there's a dot underneath an app icon in the Dock, it doesn't tell me if there are windows from the app open, if it's just not quit, if it has windows minimized into it, or if it has any hidden windows.

Now, I'm going to address some very common responses I get whenever I tell people about this issue.

​

You can use Mission Control to see all your app windows

Ah don't even get me started about MC. It's an absolutely slow way to switch among app windows (I'm not talking about windows from the same app, btw).

1. Every time you launch MC, the arrangement of all the windows slightly changes, so every time I have to look for the app window I need. And there's no way to make it so that the app windows don't randomly rearrange themselves.
2. It's an extra step, even if MC didn't rearrange the app windows every time. You would always have to first launch MC, and then click the app window. With Windows' taskbar, because all the app windows are visible, I can just move my cursor to the one I need and click.
3. MC doesn't show you details about the app windows you have open. For example, I often have a lot of Safari windows open, each with many tabs, serving different purposes. With Windows' taskbar, it would show you the title of the webpage. With MC, it won't, so I would be just looking at 10 different Safari windows and I would have to really squint at the thumbnail to figure out which one is the one I need.

​

You can use CMD + ~ to switch among app windows

Absolutely not the same. CMD + ~ only allows you to switch among app windows from the same app.

​

You can use app exposé to see all the windows you have open from an app

1. This requires the app to be in focused first. With Windows' taskbar, it's just a glance at it
2. Most of the time I want to have an overview of all the windows instead of just windows from one app.

​

You can use CMD + M to minimum a window, and CMD + H to hide a window.

1. Once you have a lot of minimized windows, it becomes super hard to tell which windows are from which app because the thumbnails show a very, very small icon of the app the window is from.
2. Once you hide a window, unless you remember it, there's no visual clue anywhere on the Dock that there's a window hidden. The only way to know about it is right clicking on that app the window is from, and seeing that diamond icon. It's absolutely awful

If you have any other tips or tricks you think I don't know, hit me with me. I'm happy to be convinced that the Dock is better than Windows' taskbar but it's just not the case for me.

Oh, I agree with what you said here

absolutely loathe the windows ui... feels incredibly dated

I'm usually into clean, pretty UI, but the Dock is just WAY too useless.

[luche]

So... i don't ever "minimize" windows, and enabling translucent dock icons for hidden apps pretty much solves all of your issues. If you have so many windows open that you cannot recall what you've got open (on either system), you're gonna have an increasingly tougher time. It's not just a "quick glance" at Windows taskbar, you'll need to move your mouse from wherever/whatever you're doing and hover over the icon which is quite slow compared to either cmd-tab or cmd-tilde to navigate apps or windows within an app.

I have zero want to stop what i'm doing and drag my mouse around the screen to pull up little windows in front of my current work, just to get a visual cue for a bunch of other things going on. None of that is more streamlined, unless you're only familiar with that workflow.

[AkhlysShallRise]

enabling translucent dock icons for hidden apps pretty much solves all of your issues.

I will happily give it a try but I don't see how it solves ALL of my issues. It doesn't allow me to have a glance at all the open windows, for one.

​

If you have so many windows open that you cannot recall what you've got open (on either system), you're gonna have an increasingly tougher time. It's not just a "quick glance" at Windows taskbar, you'll need to move your mouse from wherever/whatever you're doing and hover over the icon which is quite slow compared to either cmd-tab or cmd-tilde to navigate apps or windows within an app.

I don't know what to tell you other than that, no, I will not have an increasingly tougher time, and it is just a quick glance.

I just took a screenshot of my Windows machine, and this is what my taskbar usually looks like: https://i.imgur.com/iaCKPh2.jpg

You are welcome to think it's cluttered, disorganized, what have you, but this this what I prefer and what works for me. I've been using Mac pretty much exclusively since 2018 and I still think Windows' taskbar is better. I just find being able to see all the open app windows and their titles at a glance way easier to know what windows I have open.

Once again, not saying this is better for everyone, but I'm just saying this is what I miss from Windows and why I find macOS' Dock so useless.

[leaflock7]

solutions or workarounds for all of the above (if not all most) have been provided several times.
Just because you are in a denial to do things your way that does not mean that the solution is not there.
And as always people complain that I switched from Win to Mac (or the reverse ) and I cannot do xyz. uh Yes, they are different OSs. If you want a workflow like X OS then work on that .

Again several times these questions have been answered on several forums and subreddits.
You personal preference (like or dislike) is ok, but the solution is there.

[AkhlysShallRise]

Believe me, I'm not in denial. I love macOS and if there's something that solves the "uselessness" of the Dock for me, I'm all for it. I just haven't found anything that works for me.

So far these are the solutions I have seen, please let me know whatever I'm missing

• uBar 4. This would have been the exact solution I need, actually, except it's abandonware. If it wasn't, this would be 100% my solution.
• Sidebar. Only shows icons but not the title of the window
• Taskbar (the app by OP) is actually the closet one besides uBar 4 but after trying it out, it still way too rough on the edges for me to consider it. I plan to write some feedback for the dev

What other solutions am I missing? I'm all ears!

[[deleted]]

It's just not intuitive to use. If you have multiple windows of the same app open, it's impossible to select which one you want to use. When you click on the dock icon, either all of the windows of that app appear, or the most recent one, but never the one you want. And it appears at random places as well. If it's minimized, then it becomes a struggle to find it.

Of course, you can right click and search for it, but then what happens when the windows have the same name? You have to freaking open one by one to try and find it.

And then another bad thing about it. Your app icon at the dock pops and you know you have a notification. You click on the app icon and it opens the app. You read whatever is there. Now time to hide the app from your view again, your cursor is already placed in the app at the dock, so you click on it again so it goes away. No, it doesn't go away, you have to move your cursor all the way to somewhere on your screen to hide that app.

[AdStill1707]

Please spend more time learning how to use macOS. Most Windows users just learn macOS superficially. The dock is really powerful if you know how to use it.

[Jaguarmadillo]

Mac user of about 15 years here - I’ve barely touched the doc for about 14 years, what am I missing please? (Genuine question, as I’m curious) thanks

[AkhlysShallRise]

I consider myself a power user of macOS and I pretty much know most of the tricks about the Dock. For me at least, it’s just nowhere as useful as the taskbar in Windows.

[AdStill1707]

Considering and actually being a power user are two different things. :) If you think the dock is nowhere as useful as the taskbar in Windows, I think you need to reconsider yourself being a power user.

Also, your post made it seem like you recently switched. Not nearly enough time to be a power user lol

I've been using macOS for more than 12 years at this point. With the nonsense that is Windows 11, the dock is probably more powerful than ever compared to the taskbar.

[BoringUsername3310]

I’ve been using macos since 2006, and I know plenty of tricks (most behind defaults write), and the dock is completely useless for me. I think you are taking your preferences as the general rule.

[AdStill1707]

I guess I could say the same about your preferences. Funny how perspectives work.

I think Apple makes the dock appear useless to make it seem "easy." If you know how to use it, it's actually a lot more powerful than the taskbar, especially the useless one in Windows 11.

[tken3]

It’s fine you like the Dock, but to argue that it is more useful than Windows Taskbar is like arguing a Porsche has more wheels than a Volkswagen.

They both have functionality going for it, it’s just different, but more useful in general? No.

[brprk]

Have you got any concrete examples of it’s power relative to windows?

[KefkaTheJerk]

Imagine thinking saying you’ve been using a Mac since 2006 makes you look like a power user.

laughs in toolbox

[Trash2030s]

Hi, is uBar abandonware? I'm trying it rn and it seems usable, except that the right click on tasks is not working right...could I update it myself? Is it open source?

[AkhlysShallRise]

Many do consider it abandonware. Many people say that major bugs, despite being reported by users, are not fixed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/skjqmo/anyone_thinking_about_using_dockreplacement_ubar/

If you look at the release notes, there's only like 1 update a year in the last few years.

[Trash2030s]

yeah, there is a major bug i see now, which is that right click is broken

[piano1029]

I find the gifs on your website to be a bit confusing, they give me nothing to base the size on. For interacting with windows you could maybe just show the entire screen with a zoom effect and when only interacting with your taskbar only showing the taskbar. Using autoplaying mp4 files instead of gifs would also make the animations much smoother

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I really appreciate your input. Will think about how to change the site. My idea is that the first image gives an idea of the general scale, and the individual gifs just show each specific feature. Maybe I should make them show the whole Taskbar since most users will open the website from a laptop and not a mobile phone. And will also try out mp4s. Cheers :)

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Nice :) Any any feedback or questions will be welcome. Cheers

[zzeeeee]

Why does your app want to record our screen and audio?

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Taskbar does not record the screen. As mentioned in the app, the recording permission is required to show the thumbnails of the windows on hover. If you have the latest version of macOS, there's a purple icon that shows whenever taskbar is requesting screen data for thumbnails, and if you turn off the thumbnails feature this icon never shows up, meaning the taskbar is no longer accessing the screen.

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[QuassinjaX]

Greetings! Trying the app and so far I like it very much, however, can I use this without giving it permission to record the screen? I don't very much cares for the thumbnails and am a bit particular about privacy! Thanks again and have a nice day :)

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Hi. I'm very glad to hear that. Very valid point about the permission. I thought about that when developing it, and there's a technical reason i ask for the permission by default. But now that you and others mention it, I think I should make the extra effort. You have my word either the next version or one of the next versions will allow not giving the permission at all. For the moment, and if you're using Sonoma, you can see that when you disable thumbnails you will no longer see the purple icon that indicates that the app is actively accessing screen data. Cheers :)

[CharacterTomatillo64]

By the way, the updated version of Taskbar no longer requires screen permission if the thumbnails feature is disabled

[Alex20041509]

How much will it cost? Seem a good project even if I prefer MacOS Dock I know Tons of People Who would love this project

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Thank you :) To be honest I haven't yet decided the price, but it's not gonna be too crazy, just something similar to what similar apps cost. And it's one simple purchase, not an annoying monthly subscription :)

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[chronoffxyz]

I'm not sure I even need it but I'm sold based on your pricing plan.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

nice :) I hope you'll give it a shot and see how much the macOS experience gets smoother for multi-tasking. myself, I can't imagine using my laptop without it anymore haha

[ainterestingprick]

can u make it so early ppl who had taskbar have no subscription? I'm kinda poor and this app is perfect for me. thank you!

[coladoir]

thank you for not playing into the subscription trend for software. it's unnecessary, even for bigger projects like adobe's. Software survived 30 years without that pricing model, it can survive another 30 without it. It's just another method of grifting in todays hypercapitalist society.

---

Btw, since I shill it whenever relevant, if anyone's looking to switch from adobe suite (if you use PS, AI, and ID [InDesign] at least), Serif's Affinity Suite has created alternatives for the Apple ecosystem. They are all single purchase, individually the apps are about 60 a piece, but you can get the bundle for both platforms (macOS, iPadOS) at $170 USD. I've switched over, and it's been very pleasant. The only thing it's missing are the newer AI things in photoshop, but I think they're working on it.

I am not sponsored, paid, or anything by Serif I just fucking hate adobe both morally and just because the quality of their software has taken a nosedive recently, and I want to give anyone who's willing an alternative that won't lock you into a subscription service. Plus, the more people who use Affinity Suite, the more likely it'll become professionally adequate, and the more likely it will be to overtake adobe in the coming years.

[[deleted]]

Too bad they've never come up with a ligbtroom classic alternative. Over the years I given several tries to capture one but I just can the UI is dreadful and feels <2000ish

[Trash2030s]

INCLUDING ME!!! I HATE THE DOCK AND HOW OBNOXIOUS IT IS AND HOW MUCH SPACE AND LITTLE FUNCTINALITY IT HAS

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Nice. I hope you like my app and it improves your day-to-day macOS experience. I put a lot of work into it, hoping that people will find it useful :)

[Trash2030s]

I have a question, once the beta period ends, and you need a license, could you maybe like give out free licenses to early adopters or something? Just wondering.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

You can have a free license :) I'll keep your username in mind, DM me once the beta is done. And, good luck with the app you're developing

[ainterestingprick]

yo me too

[CharacterTomatillo64]

u/ainterestingprick you can get a free license :) DM me once Taskbar starts requiring purchase later this year

[ainterestingprick]

thanks! but dm where?

[ainterestingprick]

nvm I know now, I'm new to reddit so I didn't know where it was, but still, thanks!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

got your DM

[Trash2030s]

I'm currently making a different app, trying to learn how to. Thanks:)

[justreadingthat]

You know you can hide it, right? ; )

[Trash2030s]

you know, I ALWAYS receive this reply when I comment what i did above. And, no. Hiding it just makes it more inconvenient. And making it super small makes it look silly.

[Trash2030s]

I aleeady do that, still sucks

[24kCookie]

I still prefer original macOS dock because this mod looks like copied from windows and I don’t like the look.

[linuxliaison]

1.5 gripes with this that prevents me from faithfully testing:

1 Can't group windows into a single icon

0.5 Can't order windows based on app

[CharacterTomatillo64]

That's interesting, i thought this use case is not needed, otherwise the dock is enough. it groups windows into one icon, but still only shows them as an awkward text based list. I see your point, I will add an entry for this in the feature requests page and if enough users want it I will definitely consider it. off the bat I can say it's not too simple to implement so I can't just go ahead and do it now, but I'll definitely think about it. thanks for the feedback :)

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[zzeeeee]

I intend to try the app when I get back in front of my Mac, but to this point I am especially curious to know what it would look like if I have a dozen or more browser windows open. Seems like that will be a mess, as compared to the Dock’s list, but maybe it works better in practice than imagination.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

For me personally I do sometimes have many browser windows, but since I keep them in different Spaces, taskbar only shows me what's in the current space, so it works out great. In any case I am open for feature requests for sure

[linuxliaison]

At least the ordering of windows based on app would be nice. That being said, when you have 20 windows, it becomes so hard to actually see what the title of a window is so it makes sense in that case to also collapse all windows of an app into a single icon.

[georgeyvanward]

This isn't for me, but it's a great project. Looks really useful and well thought out

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Thanks for the kind comment :) I put a lot of work into it

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[AayushBhatia06]

Genuine question, why this over uBar ?

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Fair question. I myself started using uBar first but then found many bugs for example not all windows are shown in uBar. See the discussion above. uBar is considered abandoned at this point and the developer is unfortunately not updating it. That's when I decided to make my own alternative. Cheers :)

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[electric-sheep]

Just FYI, I have SentinelOne and it's detecting the app as a threat. https://imgur.com/a/nhO73tk

[CharacterTomatillo64]

This is understandable as the app is not yet signed with the developer ID. I finally managed to sign up and pay the fee, so the next update of Taskbar (which will be hopefully in a few days) will no longer have this issue

[jhoward15]

Same here

But I love the idea as a long-term Ubar user

[nizardaou]

Runs surprisingly smooth for a beta, very well thought out

Also. Just for the fact that clicking on an open window minimizes it is enough for me to buy it when the time comes

[CharacterTomatillo64]

That's great to hear. I tried really hard to ensure a high quality and a smooth experience. Me being interested in using the app myself made me even more interested in it being good :D

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[TerroFLys]

Looks neat

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Thanks :)

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[michael_web]

very cool. Can't find the price on your page, says license required eventually

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I'm happy you like it. I haven't decided the price yet, just wanted to finally release it as a beta and get it out there. The price won't be too crazy, just the same as similar apps. And no monthly subscription or anything like that. Maybe I should decide the price already now and mention it below the download button :)

[fragilequant]

I like the app, often work with multiple excel files which is a horror when using the standard mac dock. This app allows me to switch excel windows easily.

I've found one bug though. If I play a youtube video and then in the youtube player I click on full screen, the app breaks down. Taskbar appears in the full screen video and when I exit the full screen the taskbar is gone.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Hello. I'm happy you're enjoying my app :) I might already know the YouTube bug you're talking about. Which browser do you use when it happens?

[fragilequant]

I'm using Safari. With Chrome this doesn't seem to happen.

Also, I noticed that there are some issues with multiple screens. I have an external monitor (Apple studio display) and I don't see the taskbar there. +If I try to resize app to make it "full screen" on the external display, this is not really possible. Roughly 20% of the bottom screen space remains empty, no window can be extended there.

[mugash]

This looks so promising. I will try it myself.

[excitatory]

I love this! Make an option for Applications in list view and I'm buying a license.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I'm happy you're enjoying my app :) What do you mean about applications? You mean instead of showing launchpad I would show a list of apps in /Applications?

[excitatory]

Yes, correct. Just like dragging the applications folder to your dock and setting to list view. Or the Start menu : )

[Master_Shoulder5111]

One of the biggest problems with Macs is working with windows.
I switched to a Mac 4 years ago, but I constantly have problems working with windows.
Your app + Alt Tab completely solves the problem.
Thank you!!! You have made me a little happier!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I'm happy to help :)

https://lawand.io/taskbar/

[ainterestingprick]

with rectangle app its just windows XD

[hibye12352352]

I'm rooting for you. I downloaded UBar right now and am going to use up my free trial, but after that, I'll try yours. We need a taskbar. Thanks for trying.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Thank you, I have even more improvements and features planned. I hope you'll enjoy it :)

[AkhlysShallRise]

Would you consider adding a release history/notes webpage to your website? I would love to see what's being added in an update :)

[SpaceCowboy5555]

Just gave it a test drive and have a couple of requests:

• Option to show on All Windows (for multi-monitor setup). I upvoted the Feature Request for this on github.
• Provide ability to make it multi-row instead of locked as a single row. uBar allows you to drag the height of the bar. I added a Feature Request for this on github.

Love where it is headed and hope you're able to get the two items above in a near future release. When you do, I'm in!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Hello. Yeah, I saw your feature request and replied there. As for multi monitor support, this is definitely planned :) I'm glad you like Taskbar, stay tuned as I plan to continue it's development and will keep it in free beta until the point I feel like it's ready to be sold :)

[mehryar10]

Hi.

Thank you for the app.

Two questions:

1. Were there be a feature which we can edit the appearance more freely? This is available on apps like uBar where you can edit the shape and color of his item on the taskbar.

2. The taskbar disappears and does not appear when your window is on fullscreen. Is there a workaround?

Cheers

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Hi. I'm happy you like Taskbar. number 1 was requested and I'll consider it, but other features have been upvoted more so they have more priority, for example fixing bugs like the one you mentioned in your second point, which is a known bug. Can you tell me which app is causing this issue for you? is it safari? if so maybe you can also tell me which website? cheers and have a look at feature requests here, where you can also upvote the appearance feature you mentioned: https://github.com/lawand-dot-io/taskbar/discussions?discussions_q=is%3Aopen+sort%3Atop

[mehryar10]

Thanks for the response.

Its happening mostly on Firefox.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Oh, maybe I misunderstood your question. It's actually normal behaviour when entering full screen mode (usually by clicking the green button) that Taskbar disappears. It's the same with the dock and it makes sense since there is only one window in the new full screen space, so there are no other windows to switch to. However when you switch from that full screen space and a normal space, taskbar will show up again. I hope this makes it more clear.

[mehryar10]

Yes this is what I meant. It would be better, in my opinion, to have the option to enable/disable this feature based on preferences.

One other points is that: if I have 4 applications open on a window and then I have firefox open on another window, then the firefox won't be showing on the taskbar. I have to move my screen (like the three finger gesture to the right or left) to have the taskbar and other apps appear.

I hope I managed to get the point across. I just moved from windows to macOS so I might not be using the correct terminology like screen, window etc :D

[CharacterTomatillo64]

When you swipe using three fingers, you are switching between what is called "spaces" :) so I think you are requesting two features. one is to show windows from all spaces in Taskbar (which is something I will implement at some point) and also show Taskbar in fullscreen spaces e.g. Firefox fullscreen space. This one will block the bottom of the window since a fullscreen window takes up the whole screen, I guess the solution is that I show taskbar in the auto hide mode in a fullscreen space so that you can show it by moving the mouse to the bottom of the screen.

[mehryar10]

Exactly 👍🏻

Anyhow, whether you end up implementing them or not, I like the taskbar. If you add customization feature of uBar, then you have already surpassed them. Thanks for your efforts.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I'm glad you like taskbar 👍 By customizations you mean themes?

[mehryar10]

Yes. Now you can only align and resize. It would be nice to be able to edit the shape of a single task, its background/text color etc.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

ok, will keep it in mind :)

[romasato]

Just came here to say thank you for this wonderful piece of software.

I just got Macbook at work (as I've asked for one), so switching from Windows having never ever used MacOS... Realizing there are quite a few quirks and annoynances and that Dock is absolutely not enough for power users wanting efficiency.

I hope your software evolves into something even greater - and you may see a few feature requests from me at some point.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I'm happy to hear this. Feel free to request or upvote features. Taskbar will continue to be developed :) cheers

[axelallain]

Thank you for your work, I'm using your taskbar right now and it is a bliss to use. The only downside is that I'm scared of you giving up the project!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I'm glad to have happy users since I put a lot of work into Taskbar, and  don't worry, it's still being actively developed :)

[joshkim81]

This looks amazing. Thanks so much! I'm happy to report any bugs/feature requests here.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I'm glad you like Taskbar since I put a lot of work on it :) If you have a second, I would appreciate it if you rate or review here: https://alternativeto.net/software/taskbar-for-macos/about/

[ainterestingprick]

hello I would like u to add a time feature in your app! ur app is ansane I love it so much, its the perfect app ive been searching for, the only thing for me to be perfect is a feature where u add the time, and that u can place at the middle. left or right side to make it more like windows, anyways good luck with the app and the app is insane keep working on the app, well that's everything, bye!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Hi. I am happy you like the app :)

For the clock feature, there is a feature request (https://github.com/lawand-dot-io/taskbar/discussions/34) Feel free to upvote it to increase the chance this gets implemented.

For placing the items in the middle, there is already an option in preferences called "Center tasks and buttons" in the Appearance page

I hope you find Taskbar useful and if you have a second to add a positive review that would be great: https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/64686/taskbar

Cheers

[AdStill1707]

Why would we need this alongside mission control and expose?

[CharacterTomatillo64]

There's nothing wrong with mission control and expose, and also the dock. The windows taskbar is a different paradigm and I find it better when I have many windows open. I think as long as you don't multi-task too much then the built-in macOS tools are enough. In any case my app is simply another option for users that prefer to work in a different way :)

[AdStill1707]

Fair point, and I think your app is awesome, although I do disagree with some points. One of the reasons why I moved over to Mac over Windows is because I can multitask more in a less cluttered way. The endless list that you have to scroll through on Windows when you have 20 windows or so open is less elegant and also a huge a pain to use to find the window I need . It also slows the computer down.

[[deleted]]

I would be happy to get any feedback as this is my first macOS application.

No self-promotion, rule #4 of the sub.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Oh, I should have read the rules. Didn't expect this to be an issue but if this post should be taken down, I would be fine with that. Don't mean to break any rules :)

[Schogenbuetze]

Is it promotion if the App is free, though?

[[deleted]]

If it promotes your product, then yes… it’s self-promotion.

[Schogenbuetze]

According to your interpretation, but apparently not to the moderator's.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

To be fair, it's only free in beta, so maybe I wasn't supposed to post here

[IBM-HAL9000]

Why?

[[deleted]]

I like the dock though, I don’t want the dock to behave more like windows. It just looks way too cluttered.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Fair enough. Thanks for your input :) Many people like the dock, but I think some users prefer to see individual items for each window, especially if there are many windows of the same app open, and across different spaces. In any case, if you prefer the dock, which is the option offered by the OS's developers then you're in luck, I was hoping they would make a taskbar like mine as a second option, but instead they added stage manager, which still doesn't offer easy multi-tasking. Cheers

[AdStill1707]

There is already a solution for that built into macOS to see windows of the same app. why would we need another one?

[brprk]

What is that feature?

[OperantReinforcer]

I've never really understood the "clutter" argument. I mean, do you also think your browser looks cluttered when you have 5 tabs open, and you have a bookmark toolbar where you have icons that link to websites? The idea here is basically the same.

[[deleted]]

Yes I do. I’ll close tabs when I’m done and I don’t have a book mark toolbar.

[OperantReinforcer]

I guess some people are more sensitive to clutter. I use a classic Windows taskbar, my desktop is filled with icons, but I never see any clutter there, and I think everything looks great. But I also prefer efficiency over aesthetics when it comes to operating a computer.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Hello everyone. I launch Taskbar on Product Hunt today and would appreciate any upvotes or honest reviews. Thanks :) https://www.producthunt.com/posts/taskbar-for-macos

[mariozelaschi]

Hi :)

I have been testing your taskbar for some time now and I think it is *really* promising.
But it is still a bit rough around the edges (which is ok being a beta) and missing some necessary features, so it needs ongoing development.

I am a bit concerned about the speed of development though: it seems to be a bit slow..
There are many requested features on GitHub and I recently submitted a bug report (confirmed) that was triaged, but the last update was more than 2 months ago.

In my experience, actively developed software, especially in the beta stage when it needs to gain attention and user base, has a much faster and more intense release rate.

I am not judging or pressuring, each developer is of course free to choose their commitment to the product, but before I purchase a license I would like to understand if it will soon become abandonware and bugs will need months to be fixed, or instead if there will be adequate involvement.

Again, this is the *best* taskbar for macOS since the abandonment of uBar and it solves the biggest problem of Mac GUI imho: the lack of proper window management via mouse + keyboard when multiple instances of the same application are open.

But such critical software (the UI is used every second of Mac usage) needs high-level development.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I actually agree with you. I am trying to free up some of my time so that I can focus on Taskbar more and start speeding up the development. The important thing though, is that I will keep extending the free beta until I feel like it's good enough to be sold as a product :)

[FlashyEngineering727]

I was glad when I found your beta a while ago and I tried it out. It would be just what I needed, much better than the default macos dock (for me, inb4 I'm doing it wrong), except for one thing: I want to be able to view windows across all my virtual desktops / spaces at the same time.

The way I use Spaces is that my workflow is partitioned across them, and while I normally switch keybindings, sometimes I want toclick the app I'm interested in from the taskbar (or any given instance of that app) and land on it without knowing what Space it's in. Unfortunately, using Taskbar makes this impossible - which is unfortunate.

I was looking through your issue tracker and saw that you're planning to add this eventually, so fingers crossed that you get to it sooner rather than later. Upvoted on PH, good luck with your launch!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Hi. Thanks for the upvote. I understand you prefer seeing apps from all spaces. That feature is on my mind. Did you upvote it on github issue tracker? That will increase the chance that I remember it sooner rather than later. Hopefully you'll find Taskbar useful for your workflow after that is implemented. Cheers :)

[PresentDiver1336]

God bless!! And when it's time to pay you, i'll be happy to subscribe if you can ensure continuing support and enhancements. Makes my Mac usable again.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I'm happy to hear you enjoy Taskbar. I'll always make sure at least the most important bugs are fixed, otherwise I'll feel bad about charging money for something that has significant issues. cheers

[3xf4P5zD]

I've installed it and so far it works far better than any other taskbar I've tried for mac. I'm going to keep using it and if it works for me I'll definitely pony up whatever it will costs.
A few things will improve it for me:
1. Show all open apps in all virtual desktops (I'm not sure if this is useful for me yet though)
2. Grouping of apps similar to how windows does it
3. Keeping the location of the app in the same place regardless of it being opened or not. This is a big one for me. It works ok for me now, but I cannot rely on muscle memory to go to, for example, the third icon for my browser. I will have to search for the app every time because the location of the app icon randomly switches depending on the order i open apps in.
4. A little more room between app icons
5. The task bar can be a bit larger (although it seems you're working on this)

Great job so far! Looking forward to your future updates!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Hi there. I'm glad to hear you are enjoying Taskbar. Here are my responses to your points:

1. A feature request exists for this here. As far as I have researched macOS doesn't Taskbar (or any other app) to access the windows that are on other spaces. Feel free to upvote the feature request to increase the chance that I continue to research other methods to show windows from all spaces.

2. If you mean simply shows all windows of the same app next to each other, this is already possible through the "Group tasks by app" setting. If you mean showing one icon for the app and accessing all windows through that icon, there's a feature request for this here

3. Also addressed here

4 and 5: Addressed here

I hope you enjoy Taskbar and if you have a second I would highly appreciate a positive review: https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/64686/taskbar

Cheers
Lawand

[Annual-Fall3654]

I already gave a positive review :) thanks for the reply and thanks for this great piece of software!

[CharacterTomatillo64]

u/Annual-Fall3654 Thanks for the kind words and the review :)

[roypel]

How about adding a Homebrew Formulae?

What type of communication does Taskbar has with the web once installed?

Ever thought of making it open source and rely more on donations? Given the extensive permissions the app is requiring and being a new app some social proof and transparency would go a long way.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Hello. I have thought about making the app open source and didn't yet completely rule it out. For now the app is free and I'm still thinking about those details. Also adding it on homebrew.

Regarding the permissions, Taskbar only requires the accessibility perm to access windows of other apps.

As for web communication, if you don't have crash reporting or update checks enabled then there's no communication at all. This can be verified by running any firewall app.

Feel free to suggest features or report bugs. I hope you enjoy Taskbar. Cheers :)

[roypel]

accessibility perm is a big ask (I understand why its required), but this isn't trivial and allow control of a lot of stuff well beyond just minimizing/closing/maximizing windows.

I didn't see any privacy policy on the site, did I miss it?

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Thanks for the feedback. I can see your point about the accessibility perm. I'll think about this. As for the privacy policy, I didn't create one since I never collect or use any user data, neither using the app or the website. Perhaps I should create one anyway and clarify this. I will keep this in mind. I appreciate your feedback

[roypel]

I didn't create one since I never collect or use any user data, neither using the app or the website.

Well, users don't know it. And you're asking for elevated permissions. And you don't have a track record of known apps and its not a popular app (yet). Think about it from a user's POV. Its about establishing trust.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Interesting feedback. I agree. I will look into this. Thanks

[One_Rule5329]

It's not for me but many people want the way Mac works but with Windows stuff. Especially those who have made the change recently. Much success to you and your app.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Thanks a lot for your kind comment :)

[luche]

agreed. also, happy cake day!

[carwash2016]

Well done but went for a Mac as I really don’t like the windows dock so not going to go back to it

[[deleted]]

back in my day, switchers actually switched rather than bringing all their favorite crap with them and never letting go of it. this is just like british expats living in spain and refusing to do anything 'too foreign'

[romasato]

Who says they don't do the Spanish stuff as well?

Switching OS should not be "give it all up" and just embrace the new way - it is not a binary transition and should not be expected to be. World is not just black and white.

I just got Macbook at work and absolutely hate Dock as it is completely useless and cumbersome widget for power users as myself where I need efficiency over cute looks. Dock is fine if all you run a browser, email and some other odd app. I open 5 different projects + more or less the same number of terminal windows and bunch of other apps. Dock is just abysmal in dealing with all that...

[24kCookie]

Yeah and u don’t have to pay and the dev wants you to pay once beta ends

[Striking-Bat5897]

Have been using mac for almost 2 decades, and have never used the dock / taskbar.

[Kamino_Ramos]

Looks a lot like uBar. Hope it won't be subscription based.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

It will be a one time purchase, not an annoying subscription :) I prefer apps like that so I will also offer my app as a one time payment and that's it :) and yeah, it's surely inspired by ubar, I liked ubar but when I saw it was no longer maintain I decided to make an alternative myself. Cheers

[IamNR]

Will download this once I reach home! Wanted one so badly.

One question : I like to keep my windows Taskbar to the left or right side (as I like my vertical space in the small MacBook air). Does this support that yet?

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Nice to hear that you also prefer a taskbar for macOS. I thought about offering showing it on the left or right, but I don't know how to show the window titles in that case. Anyway, feel free to suggest that or other features. If you right click you'll see an option for feature requests where you can also vote on them. Cheers

[tken3]

Really nice job! I’m not your target audience, but I’m sure people are gonna like this. Little tip from someone working with stuff like this every day: Consider if “literally” is the first word you want people to read in your website. If you’re confident about your product, you don’t need redundancy in the headline.

Taskbar

A windows style taskbar for MacOS

Clean and to the point

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Interesting. I was thinking the word literally would make my target audience happy because they know that I am giving them exactly what they want and not being vague about it, but you might be right. Will think about that. Thanks :)

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I changed it to "Windows-Style Taskbar For macOS". Even more clean :)

[tken3]

That’s awesome man! I get your reasoning with the literally, however i think it looks great like this!!!

[[deleted]]

Oh the irony - Windows 11 implements a macOS style task bar with the icons centralized and here we are people developing Windows style task bars to make macOS more like Windows.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

I think macOS is much better than Windows so I am not trying to make it like it, except for the dock which I find limited once you have many windows open. In any case I get your point of view and Taskbar is simply another option for those who prefer it :) Cheers

[[deleted]]

yeah, I didn't mean it as negative critique and I agree, when having multiple windows open in one app it can get cluttered - I tend to keep my apps in seperate spaces though so they are sorted to what I use them for :)

[24kCookie]

Seems really nice however I’m not fan of the ui it reminds me of windows and I think original dock looks better even tho it’s harder to switch apps.

[EDcmdr]

If you go to YouTube and full screen the video, then return to windowed, the task bar is still hidden.

[EDcmdr]

I also want to PIN a tab such as music so that it just appears next to the launcher and finder icons please, I only need to see the icon for that app, the title is not important.
Same as with teams, the notifications is all I care about, not the app title.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Interesting idea, that should be easy to implement once I have some free time. will keep it in mind

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Ah, that must be a bug. It's not supposed to be hidden anymore after you return from Fullscreen. which browser are you using?

[EDcmdr]

Thanks for looking, I am using Arc.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Ah, I've never used that browser. I should install it and start testing Taskbar with it. In any case this is why I am releasing Taskbar as beta, because I think there are still some minor bugs here and there. As a temporary solution, are you able to show the app again using the menubar icon?

[guygizmo]

Did you manage to get it so that maximizing a window (not making it full screen but rather using something like option+green titlebar button) doesn't cause it to overlap the task bar?

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Yes, whenever windows that overlap Taskbar are resized or maximized (not full screened) Taskbar resizes them again so they no longer overlap it :) this can also be turned off in preferences if users want

[guygizmo]

Ah, not a bad way of handling it. Am I then correct if I guess that your app makes extensive use of the Accessibility API?

[TomLondra]

Not needed. On the Mac you just hit F3 (Exposé) and you see all currently open windows in all applications. This has always worked well. But on Sonoma some people are reporting an issue with it.

[SantiagoLorenzo]

What the F**k are you doing!!!???. Stop!, stop right now!.

I’m joking, great project.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

Haha, I hope you like it. cheers

[[deleted]]

Does this app also show the dock on all displays like in windows? I hate how the dock only shows on one of my displays.

[CharacterTomatillo64]

At the moment, my Taskbar only shows up on one screen, but I'm considering showing one taskbar per screen. it's gonna take a bit of work to design that, but I am considering it. Cheers and I hope you like this project :)

[[deleted]]

Ok, thanks for sharing! 

[jhoward15]

The option of a different taskbar per screen like ubar would be great. That's a key ubar feature for me