taskbar icon for each active workspace

[dezren39]

i'm not sure if mac allows this,

i would like each workspace with active windows to be displayed as an icon.

if i have windows in workspaces 1,2,6,9
then the task bar will have

• 4 icons
• one for each workspace
• active workspace is underlined
• left click on non-active will open the workspace on-click
• left click on active workspace will behave like current taskbar icon

[cynicaljoy]

I'm solving this with SketchyBar

of course some people will want this feature w/the standard macOS menu bar, just making sure people know there is an option available right now.

[mickey-doyle]

I am 99% sure this would be possible because Spaceman already exists for native macOS desktop spaces and works exactly how you describe. I'd love this feature as well, would be super awesome if this happened - or at least a little more customization on the indicator we have now. I use a 1440p monitor so the small white number is a bit annoying to visually seek out - would love color & size options one day.

[nikitabobko]

A note: I'm a big UI tinkering hater. I don't care how things look, all I care is how things work - what workflows are provided is the only important thing, UI doesn't matter. And I want AeroSpace users to accept this mantra, I don't want people to waste their time on "ricing" their computer (though they already do that).

So if someone decides to push the initiative with different menubar styles forward (there are a couple of PRs), there are a lot of things you will have to explain:

1. You have to describe a clear, organized and strict mental model of all possible menubar styles
2. You have to describe pros and cons of each menubar style
3. You have to describe use-cases for each menubar style (like for example, it's unclear to me why the indication of the currently active workspace is not enough)
4. You have to take into consideration the fact that MacBook notch doesn't allow the indicator being too wide
5. You have to optimize number of possible menubar styles (make it as small as possible)
6. For every knob and configuration option you provide, you have to explain the importance in terms of workflows and use-cases
7. etc...

Just as an example: on my Linux machine, I could have different dpi for different windows, so that my mouse changes size when I move it from one window to another, and I couldn't care less. It's an extreme example, and I obviously agree that dpi should be the same across windows, nevertheless, it shows how much I don't care about UIs, and I will pushback hard for every knob and additional menubar style, since I'm the one who would need to support the UI configuration madness in the end.

Another example: gaps are useless, and they waste screen estate, period. There are two reasons why AeroSpace provides gaps:

1. It's too much popular request
2. The mental model behind gaps is well-organized and clear as day (which later turned out being wrong, since freaking macbook notch forces to add per-monitor gaps, and some people still ask for per-workspace gaps for reasons unclear to me)

Another observation: macOS native Spaces don't provide any indication of the currently active Space and people even fine with that...

Related: #844, #685

[cynicaljoy]

@nikitabobko thank you for the detailed response.

I could debate the value of UI, but what I'm most concerned about is your time, effort and enjoyment thereof towards making AeroSpace amazing. I think defining the boundary of what AeroSpace is and isn't and then aggressively closing Issues/PRs for things outside of the boundary will keep the project focused and hopefully reduce outside noise. Maybe as a bonus, add a basic suggestion (with a disclaimer that it's not a recommendation) to the Guide for projects people could look at if they want UI stuff.

Aka, I vote you close this issue rather than leaving the door open.

[dssste]

You can name the workspaces however you want I believe. For example

alt-q = 'workspace ●○○○'
alt-w = 'workspace ○●○○'
alt-e = 'workspace ○○●○'
alt-r = 'workspace ○○○●'
alt-cmd-q = 'move-node-to-workspace ●○○○'
alt-cmd-w = 'move-node-to-workspace ○●○○'
alt-cmd-r = 'move-node-to-workspace ○○●○'
alt-cmd-e = 'move-node-to-workspace ○○○●'

would give you a text ui of dots. Not saying this is peak customization, but if you can forgo the clicking part, this is pretty nice already.