MacOS – Maximizing app window while persisting Menu bar on top

macosmojave

I would like to maximize all my app windows, especially browser windows. But I don't want to cover up the Menu bar at the top of the screen.

Right now, when I maximize Google Chrome for instance, it will expand all the way and hide the Menu bar, but when I hover the mouse pointer to the top, the window will jump up and down to reveal/conceal the Menu bar. I find this to be super annoying.

The first step of the dance routine:

The second step of the dance routine:

And, as I move my mouse up/down the view will toggle. I just want the Menu bar to always remain visible, but for my app windows to be maximized. Is that so hard?

Best Answer

You can use the free tool Spectacle App which allows to maximize (but no full-screen) the windows to use all available desktop space with following keyboard shortcut:

Option + Command + F

The keyboard shortcuts are visible in the app menu and can be changed within the app if they interfere with your workflow.

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MacOS – How to make the maximize button behave consistently across applications

If you want it to behave like Windows, the only real answer is to simply use Windows. I know that sounds flippant, but you cannot use one operating system and expect to be able to pick and choose it's behaviour based on your personal preferences of other systems.

The maximise paradigm simply doesn't work on Macs, where the ideal is that the function is to set the window size to best fit the content rather than the screen. The point being that the content is what is important, and that stays the same regardless of if you are on a 11" laptop screen or a 27" desktop behemoth. Now we all know that this isn't always properly implemented, but we also know that it is the developers prerogative to do the implementation, it's not a failing in the OS, and given a choice of "one size fits all full screen" that always does the same thing, or intelligent (when the developer adds it) maximising to meet the needs of the content, then I prefer the existing system.

If maximise as per the Windows system makes sense for a given app (bearing in mind that for many, I would say most, it simply does not), then you really want to be looking into the Full Screen options that are provided from Lion onwards, which are further improved upon in Mountain Lion for external displays etc, as this will provide you with exactly what you need, you just have to use another icon. If your app does not support this yet, then there are a number of workarounds like this one for the time being.

MacOS – In Fullscreen, disable auto-hiding Mac menu bar

So it seems someone found a working solution, at last.

First,

close your VMs
Quit VirtualBox

then as root (or sudo ...)

copy the file somewhere as backup, then edit (eg vi) /Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/Resources/VirtualBoxVM.app/Contents/Info.plist
and add the line shown in the middle

the line <key>LSUIElement</key> <string>1</string> to be inserted between LSCanProvideIMVideoDataSource and NSHighResolutionCapable

<key>LSCanProvideIMVideoDataSource</key>    <true/>
<key>LSUIElement</key> <string>1</string>
<key>NSHighResolutionCapable</key>          <true/>

save, then start VirtualBox again (I didn't have to log out/reboot).

The VM will not show anymore among the opened apps icons, but you can double click the VM in the VirtualBox to switch to it.

The whole post by Maestro is here.

Best Answer

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MacOS – How to make the maximize button behave consistently across applications

MacOS – In Fullscreen, disable auto-hiding Mac menu bar

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