But it’ll be here when you’re ready for it. It’s still what most people would consider an advanced feature, and it’s definitely confusing at first. But the Mac was the first to make it a standard feature of a consumer operating system. Now, virtual screens aren’t a new idea-this sort of software has been available for years.
These desktops are also essential to OS X’s full-screen apps feature, because each full-screen app gets its own Spaces desktop. You can also have the same program running on multiple screens-but with different documents or projects open on each one. On Screen 3: your web browser in Full Screen mode. Screen 2 can hold Photoshop, with an open document and the palettes carefully arrayed. Screen 1 might contain your email and chat windows, arranged just the way you like them. You can dedicate each one to a different program or kind of program. You see only one at a time you switch using Mission Control or a gesture.īut just because the Spaces screens are simulated doesn’t mean they’re not useful. They exist only in the Mac’s little head.
Ordinarily, of course, attaching so many screens to a single computer would be a massively expensive proposition, not to mention detrimental to your living space and personal relationships.įortunately, Spaces monitors are virtual. Mission Control’s other star feature, Spaces, gives you up to 16 full-size monitors.
