Feature request: Bring App to front without switching spaces

Maybe there’s a way to do this already…

I’d like to be able to click on an open application in the dock in a space where it doesn’t have any windows open and have it foreground so I can open a window in that space. Currently it switches to a space where the app has windows open, or perhaps it’s the “home” space of the app. I believe I could do this in Snow Leopard. Clicking on the app again when it’s already in the foreground without windows open in that space would then switch the space to the App’s space.

So:

App in background in space with no windows open
1 click brings app to the foreground without changing spaces
another click (when app is in foreground) results in space change.

Thanks.

Hi,

Unchecking “When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application” in Mission Control preferences should help.

Thanks, but that option is already off.

Hmm, I’m trying to test this. When I have this option turned off, my system behaves as follows:

Click on app in dock - the menu bar changes, but I do not switch spaces.
Click on the app again - the space is switched.

I can also Click on the app in the dock (menu bar changes) and create a new window (window comes on the current space).

However, if the app is assigned to a particular space, when I create a new window the system will switch to that space that the app is assigned to.

Is this not how your system behaves? (Or did you mean something slightly different?)

Yea, that’s not what I see. If I click on the app in the dock in that case it immediately changes spaces, what you see is what I’d like to see.

I’m running with the “Displays have separate spaces” option off, and I have 4 displays. None of the options are checked in Mission Control.

Thanks.

OK, some more testing revealed the switching behavior is only happening for some applications. TextWrangler seems to be the most well known culprit. It must be doing something different I guess.

Yes, probably the app is somehow bringing itself to the front and demanding the space switch.

TotalSpaces has to obey any space change demanded by the system itself, so I’m not sure I could easily fix this.