It seems that so many Windows interface tweaks come from copying the Mac. You may be familiar with the Mac Expose-style replacement for the default Alt+Tab application switching function (we previously mentioned Dexpose and Switcheramong others that do this).
We would like to introduce another free program, “Mission Control / Expose Clone W7”; an Expose-like application switcher that is different from the others in that it copies the new Mac “Mission Control” and piles the windows from a single application together while allowing you to easily mouse over to go through them (see screenshot).
How to use: this one currently is a portable, no-install program. Place the executable in an appropriate place on your hard drive; next, put a shortcut on your taskbar to access when needed (or) you can run it as resident in the background and accessed via CTRL+TAB; however, you will have to run it with the command-line argument “-resident”, in order to do so.
The good:
- A nice Expose style Alt+Tab replacement for Windows.
- Piling of windows that belong together is a nice effect that makes intuitive sense.
- Right click on a preview Window to zoom in, which is a nice effect.
- Lightweight app that consumes only about 5 megs in memory.
What can be improved: this software is still in beta and many things can be done to improve it
- A built in option to add to start with Windows as resident: currently, in order to start the app with Windows and stay resident in the background, you have to manually add it to Windows startup (or use a startup manager like Starter) and make sure to run it with the “-resident” command line argument. This may turn off some users.
- More “Mission Control” elements: which I am sure many readers will appreciate.
- Select app by keyboard: say, via the arrow keys or other keyboard operation.
- Bugfixes: a memory leak issue may cause the application to shut down while running in resident mode and need to be relaunched. This is a known issue to the developer that hopefully will be resolved soon.
The verdict: a nice simple app that delivers exactly what it promises, and makes task switching on Windows that much easier and more interesting. It is still in its early stages, though, and I hope that the developer will keep improving and pushing it forward.
Version tested: 2 beta
Compatibility: Windows. Note that you will need the 32 bit version of Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable package installed, even if you have a 64 bit OS (like I do).
Go to the program page to download (~493K). The readme for this program can be found in the download page.
Samer Kurdi
Memory Leak Fixed: ran the app through a profiler, found and fixed the leak, so it no longer shuts down after 1000 cycles. Readme.txt was changed and revised application is now on sourceforge.net.
Also, take a look at the mc.cfg file. It lets you specify that thumbnails of windows from multiple applications be combined into the same pile — for example, all of the web browsers or editors or performance utilities you use.
The real OSX Mission Control doesn’t do this, but I think that Windows users often use multiple programs for similar tasks, and using this feature can reduce clutter in the thumbnail view.
The link appears not to work – all you get is a readme
Same as above. The link appears not to work – all you get is a readme.