Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Tip 100
Resize Windows Easily
You can resize any program window by hovering the mouse cursor over any
of its borders until it changes to an arrow cursor and then clicking and
dragging. However, it can be very difficult to get the mouse cursor in exactly
the right spot.
Tweaking the following secret setting will increase the area in which the
resizing cursor will activate. Open a Terminal window (open Finder, select
the Applications list, and then in the list of applications double-click Terminal
within the
UTILITIES
folder), and type the following:
DEFAULTS WRITE -G APPLEEDGERESIZEEXTERIORSIZE 10
Then log out and back in again for the changes to take effect. You should
now find that the cursor changes to the resize cursor when it's close to the
outside edge of a window and no longer has to be precisely placed on the very
edge.
You can increase the number in the previous command from
10
to perhaps
15
or
20
to make an even larger area in which the resize cursor takes effect.
To revert to the default setting, open a Terminal window, and then type the
following:
DEFAULTS DELETE -G APPLEEDGERESIZEEXTERIORSIZE
Log out and back in again for the changes to take effect.
For easier resizing of windows, you can also hold down either
OPTION
or
SHIFT
(or both) as you click and drag any edge. The latter causes windows to contract
vertically at both sides as you click and drag (a concertina effect), while the
former shrinks the entire window—the equivalent of clicking and dragging a
corner. Used together, they cause the window to shrink into or out of its
center point.
