MacOS – Make application “active” while on another desktop

(I removed the original script, but I couldn't come up with anything better than this either.)

set fw to front window
do shell script "open ~/Notes/todo.txt -Fa iA\\ Writer"
delay 0.1
tell application "System Events" to tell process "iA Writer"
    perform action "AXPress" of (button 1 where subrole is "AXFullScreenButton") of window 1
end tell
delay 1.5
activate fw

WriteRoom has an option to open documents in custom full screen windows. If it's selected, you could use something like open file.txt -Fjga WriteRoom.

If someone else just needs to open an application on the background, you can use open -jg or launch. launch sometimes opens a visible window if an application isn't open and open -jg if an application is open but has no windows.

set b to "com.apple.TextEdit"
tell application "System Events"
    if bundle identifier of processes contains b then
        launch application id b
    else
        do shell script "open -jgb " & b
    end if
end tell

I had problems with my desktop wallpaper after uninstalling Kuvva as well. In my case, removing the desktop plist file solved the problem.

To do this, run the following command from the terminal:

rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Desktop.plist

Then log out and log back in. Be aware that this will also return any other desktop settings to their defaults. If you're uneasy about just outright deleting this plist, you can always make a backup copy first.