SwitchGlass (€ 5.49) is John Siracusa’s second macOS app after Front and Center that we mentioned when it was released (read: Front and Center Restores Classic Mac OS Window Management). In both cases, these utilities have been designed to respond very specifically to the needs of their creator. After managing windows in Mac OS, this new app displays a specific interface for switching from one open app to another.
This idea is not new, and the developer of SwitchGlass explains besides that he created the app after dropping DragThing that offered this feature. This 32-bit coded utility does not work on macOS Catalina and its author did not wish to update it. Among all its functions, DragThing offered a bar with all the apps currently open. You could click on an icon to display it, as you can with the macOS Dock, but with some differences nonetheless.
SwitchGlass only displays apps open at any time, neither those that are kept permanently in the Dock, nor the folders or trash that Apple’s interface also permanently displays. In addition, you can place the bar more freely: by default, it is displayed vertically in the top right corner of the screen, but you can also choose a horizontal organization and move the bar to the left or even below. Several style options are also available, both for the size and spacing of the icons, and for the rectangle on which they are placed.
By default, the interface appears on all screens connected to your Mac, but the settings allow you to hide SwitchGlass on one screen. Finally, you can control what happens by clicking on an icon (displays all the windows of an app by default) and by clicking while holding down the button. ⇧ (activates the app, the same behavior as for the Dock). Multiple options for the utility to precisely match your needs, which is essential to meet such a specific need.
SwitchGlass is sold on the Mac App Store for 5.49 €, its interface is not translated into French and macOS Catalina is required to install it. Anecdote, this choice is imposed by the use of SwiftUI, the new interface framework, in particular to draw the settings of the app.
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