I want it to stop hanging up when I drag windows from one monitor to the other.
That might be caused by a few things, such as the virtual arrangement of screens, but it’s not typical.
When I switch screens I want it to switch when I click on it and not click, wait, and click again.
Also unusual. Something odd about your setup.
I want the dock to disappear and stop consuming screen real estate, but I also want it to come back up when I need it.
Dock hiding is a basic setting. It could work better because I can trigger it showing by accidentally mousing to that edge. The Dock is kind of for beginners, and limited in functionality though, it won’t anticipate your needs. I advise moving to the left side and shrinking it.
I need the red x to actually close the window instead of just minimizing it.
It closes the window, not minimizes. That’s a misclick, or a broken app. On one-window apps it also quits the app.
All of these things sometimes happen and sometimes don’t, with seemingly no reason, which is the most frustrating part, and this inconsistent behavior spans iOS as well.
Again, your experience is unusual in these specific respects, so I suspect you are importing habits from other OS’s.
First, I hate Apple nearly as much as MS, and I am defending the common experience rather than company.
The dock does what it’s designed to do; “properly” needs to be defined. It is crappy, limited software and since it is mouse-oriented, slow and inefficient and merely one way to do things like open apps. Use spotlight or the app switcher with the keyboard instead and save time. (Spotlight has its own problems but is still much better than the dock!)
If the red button doesn’t close the window, the app isn’t using the developer interface guidelines. Also, try Command-W, it might work better for you.
Also, switching desktops (screens as you said) is trackpad oriented and one smooth gesture , no delay. Using a mouse is more clicky, yes, but normally no delay. Keyboard commands might be what you want here? Also, are you using oddball apps that are fighting the OS?
Regarding your sample set of experiences, I believe you, but trust that my sample set is unusually large due to doing user support for a long time, and few users with a healthy typical install of the OS overall have those complaints:
setting default apps normally works consistently
red button closes window on mainstream macOS apps, rarely otherwise
dragging windows is pretty smooth between monitors (I have to demonstrate this after showing people how to arrange monitors)
No. I want to use the mouse. It’s faster, easier, and more intuitive. Why do you want to suggest alternatives rather than just acknowledge that it’s broken?
If the red button doesn’t close the window, the app isn’t using the developer interface guidelines
That might be caused by a few things, such as the virtual arrangement of screens, but it’s not typical.
Also unusual. Something odd about your setup.
Dock hiding is a basic setting. It could work better because I can trigger it showing by accidentally mousing to that edge. The Dock is kind of for beginners, and limited in functionality though, it won’t anticipate your needs. I advise moving to the left side and shrinking it.
It closes the window, not minimizes. That’s a misclick, or a broken app. On one-window apps it also quits the app.
Again, your experience is unusual in these specific respects, so I suspect you are importing habits from other OS’s.
All of these things are typical, as I have confirmed them with other users/devices.
The problem is not that I don’t have it on, the problem is that it does not work properly.
Excuse me, what!? 😂
It doesn’t.
These are all very typical complaints I’ve seen shared by other users. Apple does not need you to come to their defense.
First, I hate Apple nearly as much as MS, and I am defending the common experience rather than company.
The dock does what it’s designed to do; “properly” needs to be defined. It is crappy, limited software and since it is mouse-oriented, slow and inefficient and merely one way to do things like open apps. Use spotlight or the app switcher with the keyboard instead and save time. (Spotlight has its own problems but is still much better than the dock!)
If the red button doesn’t close the window, the app isn’t using the developer interface guidelines. Also, try Command-W, it might work better for you.
Also, switching desktops (screens as you said) is trackpad oriented and one smooth gesture , no delay. Using a mouse is more clicky, yes, but normally no delay. Keyboard commands might be what you want here? Also, are you using oddball apps that are fighting the OS?
Regarding your sample set of experiences, I believe you, but trust that my sample set is unusually large due to doing user support for a long time, and few users with a healthy typical install of the OS overall have those complaints:
Then it is, as I said, a terrible design.
No. I want to use the mouse. It’s faster, easier, and more intuitive. Why do you want to suggest alternatives rather than just acknowledge that it’s broken?
I…don’t care whose fault it is.