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Old 05-02-2003, 12:12 PM   #1
Guybrush
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Thumbs down Terminal and left dock annoyances

I have my dock on the left side. Everytime i open up a new terminal the left part of the terminal window pops up under the dock. so i have to move it everytime.

I temporary workaround i found is to open up a terminal, then position it where you want it to appear and save the settings to a file, and choose to open it everytime terminal is started. This works good for the main window.

But whenever i open up a NEW terminal, it shows up under the dock again, quite annoying... they should make it so it automatically aligns so window parts never get under the dock.

I thought apple always made their apps userfriendly but they didnt think of the users with their dock on the left side..

Anyone know other ways how to solve it?
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Old 05-02-2003, 12:31 PM   #2
hayne
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window settings

I also have my dock on the left side so I know what you mean. I have this problem with Internet Explorer (in the increasing rare cases I use it) but I don't have it with Terminal.
If I open a new Terminal window (with cmd-N), it appears in the middle-left of my screen and its background is pale yellow. I believe this is because I use the "Use Settings as Default" button in the Terminal's "Window Settings" dialog.
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Old 05-02-2003, 01:17 PM   #3
Guybrush
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The defualt settings only apply to font/color/transparency etc settings, but not for the position of the terminal, at least not here

What happens if you open several windows?

And what version is your terminal application? mine is:
Terminal 1.3.1 (v82)
Copyright (c) 1995-2001, Apple Computer, Inc.
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Old 05-02-2003, 01:52 PM   #4
gatorparrots
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It seems like a lot of Cocoa programs that are "Dock-aware" actually assume the Dock will always be positioned on the bottom, not accounting for those with Left or Right positioned Docks. *sigh*. Perhaps Apple will fix this in 10.3.
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Old 05-02-2003, 02:12 PM   #5
hayne
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Quote:
The defualt settings only apply to font/color/transparency etc settings, but not for the position of the terminal, at least not here

Oh - you're right. I just assumed that that was why my new Terminal window came up in the middle of my screen. Actually it seems to open a new window at an offset down and right from the position of the last window. When the position is too low, it starts over near the top of the screen. But it never seems to overlap my dock. My version is the same as yours. It might be related to the fact that I have my Terminal set to use a .term file which has 3 windows in it - so it starts up with these 3 windows which do have fixed positions (and I rarely open new ones).
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Old 05-02-2003, 02:36 PM   #6
djn1
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This is actually a bit more complicated than the posts above imply as window position is one of the preferences. If you look in:

"/Users/<username>/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Terminal.plist"

you'll see two variables:

<key>WinLocX</key>
<key>WinLocY</key>


both of which have a value that corresponds to the window position. You can verify this by moving the window then File -> Use settings as default. If you recheck the plist you'll see that the values have changed to your new window position. However, these settings, while they remain in the plist until you do another 'File -> Use settings as default' don't seem to be read as you launch terminal. On my machine the terminal window always appears at:

<key>WinLocX</key>
<string>21</string>
<key>WinLocY</key>
<string>0</string>


i.e. 21 pixels in from the left edge. I actually want mine to open up flush with the left side of the screen; i.e.

<key>WinLocX</key>
<string>0</string>


but no amount of tinkering about with the plist seems to make a difference. Interestingly enough, if I delete the plist then relaunch Terminal the window appears at:

<key>WinLocX</key>
<string>389</string>
<key>WinLocY</key>
<string>0</string>


My guess is that Terminal is reading data from elsewhere (other than the plist) but I have no idea where. Any follow ups greatly appreciated as this has been getting on my nerves for quite some time.
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Old 05-02-2003, 02:52 PM   #7
Guybrush
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Those settings: WinLocX/WinLocY are used in .term files.
But they dont get used by the main Terminal app

If you save a terminal and open it in VI you see can see those settings
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Old 05-02-2003, 03:00 PM   #8
djn1
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Quote:
Originally posted by Guybrush
Those settings: WinLocX/WinLocY are used in .term files.
But they dont get used by the main Terminal app

So, where does Terminal get it's window location from and why does it alter If I delete the plist? I'm not disputing your point, I'm just puzzled as to what's going on.
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Old 05-02-2003, 03:32 PM   #9
Guybrush
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I think Terminal just uses hardcoded default values, since i always get these values if i dont have a plist.

<key>WinLocULY</key>
<string>586</string>
<key>WinLocX</key>
<string>7</string>
<key>WinLocY</key>
<string>0</string>
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Old 05-02-2003, 03:47 PM   #10
djn1
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Quote:
Originally posted by Guybrush
I think Terminal just uses hardcoded default values, since i always get these values if i dont have a plist.

<key>WinLocULY</key>
<string>586</string>
<key>WinLocX</key>
<string>7</string>
<key>WinLocY</key>
<string>0</string>

Whereas I get:

<key>WinLocULY</key>
<string>746</string>
<key>WinLocX</key>
<string>389</string>
<key>WinLocY</key>
<string>0</string>


... an entirely different set of values.
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Old 05-02-2003, 03:54 PM   #11
Guybrush
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weird, anybody else could check their default values?
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Old 05-02-2003, 04:06 PM   #12
djn1
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OK, got it (though I'm not sure I understand why this works):

You need to open:

"/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/Term.nib"

with Interface Builder and move the 'Terminal' window to where you want your default Terminal.app window to appear. Save this file then launch Terminal.app - and on my machine at least, it now opens the window where I want it to be.
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Old 05-02-2003, 04:21 PM   #13
Guybrush
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Cool

Quote:
Originally posted by djn1
OK, got it (though I'm not sure I understand why this works):

You need to open:

"/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/Term.nib"

with Interface Builder and move the 'Terminal' window to where you want your default Terminal.app window to appear. Save this file then launch Terminal.app - and on my machine at least, it now opens the window where I want it to be.

Cool it works here too! thanks!
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Old 05-03-2003, 10:41 PM   #14
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Ah, the power of Apple Developer tools; if a program doesn't work the way you want it, Re-Program it yourself!
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Old 05-04-2003, 08:22 AM   #15
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tanks guys, I had the same problem. You should submit a hint.
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Old 05-04-2003, 05:48 PM   #16
djn1
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Quote:
Originally posted by brmic
tanks guys, I had the same problem. You should submit a hint.

Just did - good idea.
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