Author: erics, Posted on Saturday, February 8th, 2025 at 7:28:01am
If you’re using macOS 14.7.3 and experiencing an annoying issue where clicking a running app’s icon in the Dock doesn’t immediately make it active for typing, you’re not alone. Instead of the expected behavior—where the app comes to the forefront, ready for interaction—you might find yourself having to click inside the app’s window before you can start working. This extra step is frustrating and unnecessary.
The Problem: App Selection Requires a Second Click
When you select a running app by clicking its Dock icon, the expected behavior is that the app window becomes active immediately. However, on macOS 14.7.3, some users have found that the focus remains on the previous application, requiring an additional click inside the newly selected app’s window before they can start typing. This can slow down workflow and make switching between applications feel sluggish.
The Fix: A Simple Terminal Command
Fortunately, there’s a quick and effective fix using the Terminal. Running the following command will ensure that clicking an app in the Dock makes its window active immediately:
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defaults write com.apple.dock single-app-boolfalse;killall Dock
Step-by-Step Guide to Apply the Fix
1. **Open Terminal:** You can find it in Applications > Utilities > Terminal, or simply search for “Terminal” using Spotlight (Cmd + Space).
2. **Enter the Command:** Copy and paste the following command into Terminal:
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defaults write com.apple.dock single-app-boolfalse;killall Dock
3. **Press Enter:** This will apply the changes and restart the Dock automatically.
4. **Test the Fix:** Click on a running app’s Dock icon and verify that its window becomes active immediately.
Why This Works
macOS includes a hidden setting called single-app mode, which, when enabled, modifies how the Dock handles app switching. Some users might inadvertently have this setting turned on, causing the behavior described above. Running the command above explicitly disables this setting, restoring normal functionality.
Additional Troubleshooting
If the issue persists after running the command, consider the following additional steps:
– Restart your Mac to ensure all changes take effect.
– Check **System Settings > Desktop & Dock** and make sure the following options are enabled:
– “When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application.”
– “Group windows by application.”
– If the issue only occurs with specific apps, try quitting and reopening them or reinstalling them.
Conclusion
By running a simple Terminal command, you can restore the correct app-switching behavior on macOS 14.7.3 and eliminate the need for extra clicks when selecting apps from the Dock. This fix helps streamline workflow and ensures a smoother user experience.
Have you encountered this issue before? Let us know in the comments below if this fix worked for you or if you found alternative solutions!
Author: erics, Posted on Friday, January 17th, 2025 at 9:20:32am
Have you ever found yourself frustrated when copying and pasting commands in the Apple terminal no longer behaves as expected? If you used to work with Bash on older macOS versions, you might recall that pasting a command into the terminal automatically executed it—no extra steps required. However, with the switch to Zsh as the default shell in newer macOS versions, this behavior has changed. Now, pasting doesn’t automatically press return, and that can feel like an unnecessary hurdle.
The reason for this change lies in how Zsh and terminal emulators handle pasted content. Specifically, it’s due to a feature called bracketed paste mode, which prevents commands from executing immediately upon being pasted. While this feature is useful for security and preventing accidental execution, it’s not always convenient. Fortunately, you can adjust Zsh to restore the old behavior and automatically press return after a paste.
If you’d like to go back to the simpler behavior of pasting and executing commands automatically, you can disable bracketed paste mode. This reverts Zsh to behave more like Bash in this regard.
Here’s how to disable Bracketed Paste Mode:
Open your .zshrc file in a text editor:
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vi~/.zshrc
Add the following line to disable bracketed paste mode:
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unset zle_bracketed_paste
Save the file and reload your configuration to apply the change:
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source~/.zshrc
With this change, Zsh will no longer block the automatic execution of pasted commands.
By following these steps, you can bring back the seamless pasting experience you enjoyed with Bash. Whether you’re writing scripts, testing commands, or just trying to save time, this small adjustment can make a big difference in your workflow. Happy coding!
FS_METHOD forces the filesystem method. It should only be “direct”, “ssh2”, “ftpext”, or “ftpsockets”. Generally, You should only change this if you are experiencing update problems, If you change it, and it doesnt help change it back/remove it, Under most circumstances, setting it to ‘ftpsockets’ will work if the automatically chosen method does not.
(Primary Preference) “direct” forces it to use Direct File I/O requests from within PHP, this is fraught with opening up security issues on poorly configured hosts, This is chosen automatically when appropriate.
(Secondary Preference) “ssh2” is to force the usage of the SSH PHP Extension if installed
(3rd Preference) “ftpext” is to force the usage of the FTP PHP Extension for FTP Access, and finally
(4th Preference) “ftpsockets” utilises the PHP Sockets Class for FTP Access.
Author: erics, Posted on Monday, February 5th, 2024 at 4:10:35pm
shell> vimdiff file1 file2
~OR~
shell> vim file1 file2
Create a vertical split window: Control-w v
Enable visual diff on the left side: :diffthis
Move the cursor to the right side buffer: Control-w Right-arrow
Enable visual diff on the left side: :diffthis
You should now see the differences highlighted on both sides.
erics, Posted on Saturday, February 8th, 2025 at 7:28:01am
Categories: Technology 14.7.3, cli, click, defaults, defaults write, Disable, Focus, howto, MacOS, mode, Mouse, single-app, Terminal, tips, write | 
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