The Salem Trials (Testing Witch)

Usually when I try out a new utility it takes me a while to find out if I’ll get used to having it around or not. Eventually, it either becomes an indispensable part of my everyday computing habits, or is relegated to a dusty corner where it will be AppZapped during the next housecleaning round. Witch, by Peter Maurer, turned out to be a different story for me, though.

Witch combines the best of Windows XP application switching with OS X ease of use. What’s nice about the XP task switcher is it includes every open window. Witch includes every open window, grouping them by application. Like the OS X app switcher, you can perform commands on the windows from the switcher’s modal dialog, including Zoom, Minimize, Close and Quit. It runs as a preference panel and has a strong suite of options and the ability to set your own shortcut keys for every command. You can add shortcut keys to bring up a modal dialog for switching between just the foreground application’s windows, just minimized or non-minimized windows and other useful options. In the first 5 minutes of using it I had already grown accustomed to Option(⌥)-Tabbing instead of Command(⌘)-Tabbing. I added a few of the other options and am quickly growing fond of having them around. It’s already a natural part of my finger work and, being one of those users who prefers the keyboard of the mouse, I’m having trouble figuring out why this kind of functionality isn’t built into the operating system to begin with.

I thank the gods of software development that things like Witch and Quicksilver are available. Until Apple decides to add this kind of simple genius to its interface, freeware and donationware programmers will thankfully fill in the gaps. Speaking of donationware, Witch is, and I’ll be making a donation to support the cause. Peter offers some other fine selections as well, so check out his site, and if you use the software, then support it!