Switch Desktop Space Like A Pro [OS X Tips]

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spaces

Did you know you can move a window from one space to another by dragging and dropping it to the edge of the screen? If so you’ll know there’s a delay before the space will switch to the new one, but a simple tweak can speed that up. Read on for more info.

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Here’s another tip from Mac Kung Fu, which contains over 300 tips, tricks, hints and hacks for OS X. It’s available from Amazon as well as other bookstores, and also as an eBook for all eReaders.

If you use more than one desktop space, you might already know that if you click and drag program windows to the far right (or left) side of a screen, you can ‘nudge’ the window into the next desktop space. To do this, drag the window so that the mouse cursor cannot move any further against the screen edge.

There’s a one- or two-second delay before OS X switches to the neighboring desktop space, and you can speed this up using a hidden setting, as follows:

defaults write com.apple.dock workspaces-edge-delay -float 0;killall Dock

The desktop space will now change as soon as you touch the edge of the screen. I find this useful, but if you’d like a split-second delay before the desktop space switches, try the following:

defaults write com.apple.dock workspaces-edge-delay -float 0.15;killall Dock

To revert to the default second or two delay at a later date, open a Terminal window and type the following:

defaults delete com.apple.dock workspaces-edge-delay;killall Dock

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