Get BetterTouchTool

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BetterTouchTool

Is necessary if you want to make Mac OS X work with the keyboard like Windows 7 and many Linux window managers.

By default after installing BetterTouchTool it will start at login so it should be always available unless you quit it.  I need BetterTouchTool to provide Windows 7 like (actually better than) window snapping. So that when you pull a window to the edge of the screen it automatically makes that window take up a known section of the screen. I generally use Left and Right side (50%) of the screen so that I can work on two things at once.

To enable Window Snapping, first you must enable the Advanced view in BetterTouchTool (BetterTouchTool options are opened via the Control+Alt+Super+O keyboard shortcut). When Advanced in enabled you wil have Gestres, General Settings, and Action Settings. Select the Action Settings tab and check the box for "Window Snapping Enabled" if I remember correctly all of the while dragging options are enabled by default when you enable Window Snapping.

Many Mac OS X users will be happy with this as they may tend to like using a mouse. For me, however, I must be able to do a lot of this without removing my hand from the keyboard.  To add "Gestures" to BetterTouchTool do the following

1. Select the input device you wish to use for the Gesture
2. On the bottom right select the action you wish to accomplish (Maximize Window Left)
3. Click in the Shortcut area, use the input device to record the geture which will affect the action. (Control +Super+Left)

Example from top line of my keyboard shortcuts below.

Keyboard Shortcuts:

Shortcut Action / Shortcut
⌘⌃←	Maximize Window Left
⌥⌃←	Move Window to Next Monitor
⌥⌃→	Move Window to Next Monitor
⌘⌃↓	Restore old window size
⌘⌃↑	Maximize Window
⌘⌥⌃O	Show BTT Preferences
⌘⌃→	Maximize Window Right

Normal Mouse Buttons: Global

Modifiers Gesture Action / Shortcut Notes
(null)	Button 3	⌘[	Back
(null)	Button 4	⌘]	Forward

Happy BetterTouchTool tweaking.