Filed under: Productivity, Open Source, Leopard
Afloat 2.0 returns window floating to Leopard
Afloat from Infinite Labs was one of my favorite SIMBL plugins, until it was broken by Leopard. It adds some clever features to windows in Cocoa applications, including a mode where the window remains always visible, "floating" above all other windows, an overlay mode where the window floats but clicks fall through to the windows below, and adjustable transparency (including a very nifty mode in which a window will be translucent until you mouse over it and then it pops into an opaque mode).
Thankfully, Afloat 2.0 now works with Leopard. In fact, it works so well with Leopard that OS X 10.5 is now required to run Afloat. The free download includes the Infinite Labs PlugSuit SIMBL plugin manager, but it is not necessary to run Afloat if you already have SIMBL installed.
[via Infinite Loop]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
pacheco said 10:39AM on 4-30-2008
TOTALLY sweet, why have I not heard of this app before? I feel so late.
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Johnny said 10:56AM on 4-30-2008
This is one of those apps that looks really sweet and I want so badly to find a use for it, but after installing it, I can't really find one so I think I'm going to remove it. Can someone tell me how they use it?
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jopari said 11:17AM on 4-30-2008
I'm gonna use it to enable clickthrough abilities in my Adium window, so that I can always see who's online but not hinder my desktop (you could also use it for iChat to achieve the same thing).
Jak Logan said 12:04PM on 4-30-2008
The only thing I use it for is keeping VLC/Quicktime above my Firefox window... Does anyone know how to add/change the keyboard shortcut keys to a preference pane? When I go to the Keyboard/Mouse panel and try to add a custom keyboard shortcut, I can't find how to bring up Afloat. I want to change the shortcut keys to something more memorable.
I also wish Afloat had an option to save the transparency/afloat status to certain apps/windows. As it is now, if you Hide or minimize a window, the effects go away.
mark said 11:01AM on 4-30-2008
Great app:)
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psxp said 11:21AM on 4-30-2008
looks nice.. I may try and use it with CoverSutra to keep my album art or iTunes controls on the screen
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sprint84 said 12:51PM on 5-05-2008
hey! nice idea!
did it work?
psxp said 11:43PM on 5-05-2008
installed it.. didnt see it work on the apps I wanted it to work.. ie. Coversutra, removed it..
Milford said 11:46AM on 4-30-2008
This is quite nice. The one thing I'd like is a control-key sequence that, when pressed, causes all clicks to go through the window to what's below. Then I'd never have to go into the setting menu at all.
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Plug-in Police said 1:20PM on 4-30-2008
Here we go again. Not a plugin. See here: http://www.macjournals.com/news/inputmanagerhacks.html
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Brian said 1:56PM on 4-30-2008
I just wish something like this would include an option that would make windows snap to edges of the screen or other windows like AllSnap does for Windows. That has been the only thing I have been missing on my PC since I made the switch 2 months ago.
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Reuven said 2:35PM on 4-30-2008
Brian -
I don't know what AllSnap is, but I suspect that what you're describing is included in Zooom - what they call "Magnetics". (http://coderage-software.com/zooom/compare/compare.html)
You may want to give it a shot (though it's not a free application, I find it's well worth the price).
MWakey said 6:41PM on 4-30-2008
It says it works with Safari, but I don't see it in the Window menu. It does show up in Preview and a few other apps, so I know it's installed. What am I missing here?
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David Chartier said 10:05PM on 4-30-2008
Have you restarted Safari? You may actually need to restart your machine; I did.
David Chartier said 10:04PM on 4-30-2008
Note that Afloat is not free, it's donationware. I think this is an important distinction to make for authors who are trying to make a living by providing great software.
Every time you don't donate for an app, a kitten (or puppy!) gets blended.
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