Filed under: iTunes, Terminal Tips
Change the behavior of the iTunes zoom button in 9
For me, one of the most welcome new features of iTunes 9 was the restoration of sanity to the way that iTunes responded to the zoom button. I had long been irritated by the non-standard behavior iTunes had displayed, brazenly flaunting the accepted practice of how the zoom button worked by toggling the mini player on and off, instead of zooming the window like a well-behaved Mac app.Never once in all my years of using iTunes have I wanted to use the mini player. Whenever I tried to zoom the app and the mini player appeared, it would be quickly followed by muttering and grumbling. So you can imagine my joy and bliss at discovering that iTunes 9 finally validated what I had known all along. The zoom button was supposed to act a certain way, and if you want to do something different than the standard, then you ought to use the option/alt key.
I celebrated this change. I called friends I had not spoken with in ages to tell them about it. I wrote a sonnet to the proper use of the zoom button. A party was planned. Ok, maybe not all of that, but I was pleased with the change.
Then iTunes 9.0.1 came out and ruined everything. Yes, I said everything! No, you're the one who's overly emotionally attached to a relatively minor UI issue!
Well, apparently I'm not the only only one. Over on Twitter @zadr and @siracusa reported that you could revert iTunes 9.0.1 to iTunes 9.0's behavior through a command in Terminal.app:
defaults write com.apple.iTunes zoom-to-window -bool YESThis tip was then "retweeted" about 50 times and ended up on MacOSXHints.com which is where I first saw it, moments before breaking out into song and dance.
If you would prefer not to get into Terminal.app, you can get the 9.0 standard zoom behavior in 9.0.1 (and presumably later versions as well) by holding down the alt/option key when clicking the zoom button.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
PowerHouse said 10:26AM on 9-28-2009
I rather like the green button/mini player behavior better. I was quite disappointed when they changed it, so I'm happy it's back.
Reply
Doug Adams said 10:27AM on 9-28-2009
The app "Change Hidden iTunes Preferences" toggles this behavior as well as several other hidden iTunes preference settings in iTunes 9.
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=changehiddenprefs
Reply
Sjakelien said 10:32AM on 9-28-2009
Dear TJ, I'm on your side.
I think it is outrageous that Apple allowed this behavior in the first place.
And I would like to file a formal complaint against the Terminal Command.
defaults write com.apple.iTunes zoom-to-window -bool YES
should be
defaults write com.apple.iTunes do-not-break-the-interface-guidlines -bool YES
Reply
CCrosby said 10:35AM on 9-28-2009
Wow, I had the complete opposite reaction to this initial change that you did. Although iTunes has always reacted its own "special" way to the maximize/zoom button, this was something that over the past 9-10 years I've grown accustomed to. As someone who uses the mini player on a daily basis (I like the fact that it takes up the least amount of screen real estate, especially when I'm working in multiple programs) the initial shock of iTunes 9 jolted me a little bit at first attempt. Holding the option key with a click to the zoom was something that I first was annoyed with to get a feature I had long used with just a simple click, but then 9.01 released and all was right with the world again.
Although I agree that the way of going about getting the mini player was for a long time been bizarre, changing it in 9 with no warning shocked me- I think it would be fine to change a long standard feature like this, but it might be best to warn users and perhaps add a new button perhaps in the bottom left hand corner or the top right next to the view buttons that would be exclusively for the mini player. Perhaps a standardization of the zoom button through programs is a warranted, and obviously logical change - just don't seemingly get rid of a long time 'feature' and hide it behind some key commands. One of Apples best characteristics has historically been being more user friendly and intuitive in its software design, lets keep it that way, shall we?
Reply
destructo said 11:15AM on 9-28-2009
Agreed. I also use the min-player every day. The unannounced change in functionality of the green button came as a complete shock and actually made iTunes harder to use. There are a lot of times when I only have one hand available and can't option-click (such as when I'm holding my infant son) or don't want to (such as when I'm holding my coffee). And I don't like to use the menu bar (ugh- how 1994 can you get?). So a single click on the green dot to toggle the mini-player on and off was great for me.
I submitted the issue as a bug report with the suggestion that Apple allow the user to define the functionality of the green button. That way, those who are strict UI constructionists are still happy in their uniformity box and then those of us who prefer to use the interface in a way that works better for us can have it our way, too, much the same way that a user can define what keys he wants to use Expose or Front Row with.
Steven Fisher said 3:36PM on 9-28-2009
Right. Because it's *completely intuitive* that clicking the "zoom" widget invokes the mini player.
You sure you're not poisoned by years of this working the wrong way?
The right thing to do would have been to add a mini player widget to the window title bar, like Safari does with the lock icon on SSL sites.
I was really saddened to see Apple finally throw away a hack from the pre-iTunes days, only to reintroduce it the next point release. Back to having to explain "yeah, the zoom window will resize to show you more of what you want... except in iTunes, where it shows you less."
Dan said 7:02PM on 9-28-2009
Actually, If you look at it from the point of view that the non mini-player is the zoomed or maximized player and the mini-player is the unzoomed or minimized player then it is intuitive.
Ryan said 10:56AM on 9-28-2009
Am I some kind of idiot that I don't even know what the zoom button is? I've been using OS X For like 6 years now!
Reply
Ryan said 10:59AM on 9-28-2009
Never mind.... The green button... I am an idiot. I just never knew it had a name haha
Jesse said 11:01AM on 9-28-2009
This isn't the first time Apple has teased and then ruined my day with an UI change. Tabs on top in the Safari 4 beta were like a breath a fresh air to me. I LOVED THEM. LOVED! And they pulled them out from under us when the full version was released. Except they didn't include a wonderful terminal command to fix it all with Safari (even though in the beta there was one to go back to normal tabs). Then to add insult to injury snow leopard disabled shoddy patch we who loved the feature were using and banned the beta version altogether.
Reply
paul.bianco said 11:08AM on 9-28-2009
AGREED. I was a bit timid about Safari 4's tabs, but after a week of getting used to it, I LOVED THEM. And I'm with the author - I NEVER use the mini player - why should I when there's a slew of iTunes controllers that do more and are better than the mini-player. I just slap iTunes into it's own space and rock CoverSutra/CoverFlow/Bowtie for my music needs.
This is a downside to Apple having to "appease the masses". Everyone freaks out for a few days with some new way to do something, then cry and then Apple sacrifices possible UI improvements for these folks who don't want nor will try out the change and give it a chance.
All of this could've been solved with a simple addition into the preference pane and everyone would be happy.
nerfgun said 11:07AM on 9-28-2009
While it's true that the green + button has always behaved in a "nonstandard" way, in practice the ability to "maximize" iTunes has always been basically a non-issue. Esp. since OS X's maximize behaviour doesn't do full-screen like on Windows, but rather zooms "as big as necessary to contain the window content".
Since practically everyone I know uses iTunes at a size that is confortable as a matter of course, the new Maximize behaviour in iTunes just resulted in a slightly-smaller window of arbitrary size.
I use the miniplayer all the time as it gives info and controls without taking up a lot of screen real-estate. Would have been happy to keep option-click to invoke miniplayer and keep UI purists happy, but I'd like to hear the rationale that the "standard" maximize is better for iTunes. It may be more consistent but it's certainly not more *useful*.
Reply
Allan L. said 12:05PM on 9-28-2009
Fine. But could we please have the mini-player in the location where we put it, and not smack in the middle of the screen? Thank you.
Reply
Mark said 1:55PM on 9-28-2009
What? This has never happened to me. I have iTunes miniplayer set in the lower left corner of my screen. It always reduces there—no matter how often I switch modes. Interesting that you're getting a different result.
jodiaz76 said 11:08AM on 9-28-2009
I agree with PowerHouse. I actually found it irritating and had to program myself to use the "command + shit + m" after using the button for such a long time.
Reply
Tape said 11:19AM on 9-28-2009
I'm more upset that they changed the keyboard command from the amazingly easy to do with one hand ctrl-cmd-Z to the essentially impossible to do with one hand shift-cmd-M, because I rarely used the zoom button to do it in the first place.
David B said 1:42PM on 9-28-2009
Non-standard interface design? Boo! Hack for fixing it? Yay!
Reply
Yoshi1080 said 11:12AM on 9-28-2009
Why do we have human interface guidelines when even their author doesn't care about them? I think the mini player is really annoying and the behavior of iTunes 9.0 was perfectly in accordance with the guidelines and identical to almost any other Mac application. And if you really wanted to use this special mode, you could just press option while clicking the zoom button. Everyone should have been pleased with that.
Reply
Tape said 11:25AM on 9-28-2009
The truth of it is that everyone is NOT happy with that. Just because you don't like or use the mini player doesn't mean that everyone else agrees with you.
Also, guidelines are not hard and fast protocols to be followed above all else. They provide a guide towards a theoretical "perfect" implementation of features, but with the knowledge that there may be occasional exceptions where a different behavior is actually preferable. There's a reason that they're called the Human Interface Guidelines and not the Human Interface Commandments.
ty said 11:14AM on 9-28-2009
It is a *very poor* design decision to use the green zoom button to toggle between mini player status. But i've gotten used to it, so was upset that they took it away. I am glad they brought it back.
Ideally they should have another button that toggles between mini and not-mini. I'm all for minimalist design, but this function deserves a button on its own.
Reply