Tuck Help

First, you might see if your issue is covered in the sections below. This documentation is a work in progress.

I do my best to respond to email within 24 hours. Please provide as much detail as possible (screenshots are nice) to help avoid "back and forth" emails.

tuck@irradiatedsoftware.com

Conventions

  • Links like this or footnotes like this[1] open as a popup, so you won’t lose your place.
  • Links like this jump to another section on this page or open a new page entirely.
  • Hover over words like this ⌥⇧⌘; for a description.

Tuck Requirements

Tuck runs on Mac OS X 10.6 through 14[2] with Accessibility enabled.

You also need a mouse, trackpad, tablet, or other pointing device in order to interact with tucked windows.

Using Tuck

Tuck Basics

Follow these steps to get started with Tuck:

  1. With a window focused[3], choose Tuck Left from the Tuck menu.
  2. You should see (and hear) the window rush off to hide under the left edge of the screen.
  3. Hold the cursor at the screen edge where the window is hiding to have Tuck show the window.
  4. Now either…
    • Hold the cursor at the screen edge where the window is touching to have Tuck hide the window again.
    • Drag the window clear of the screen edge to have Tuck forget about the window.
  5. Repeat.

Tuck Preferences

You can access the Tuck Preferences from the Tuck menu[4].

General Preferences

Tuck General Preferences
Tuck General Preferences

Start Tuck at login Checkbox

On by default.

When enabled, Tuck is added to the Login Items tab in System Preferences > Users & Groups so that Tuck is automatically launched whenever you start your Mac and login.

Show Tuck in the menu bar Checkbox

On by default.

Tuck Menu Bar Icon
Tuck Menu Bar Icon

Most features of Tuck can be accessed via the menu.

When disabled, you can still access the Tuck menu. Also, warnings will be displayed as a popup rather than appear in the Warnings submenu.

Show Warnings Checkbox

On by default.

Read more about Tuck’s Warnings and why they’re helpful.

Play Sound Effects Checkbox

On by default.

When enabled, Tuck plays sound effects when showing/hiding windows, etc.

You can enable/disable individual sounds in the Sound Effects panel.

[…] Button

Click the […] button to access the Sound Effects panel where you can enable/disable individual sounds.

Tuck Sound Effects Panel
Tuck Sound Effects Panel

All On by default.

  • Show: Sound played when a tucked window is shown, such as when you put the mouse cursor to the screen edge where a tucked window is hiding.
  • Hide: Sound played when a window is hidden, such as when the mouse cursor leaves the window area of a showing window managed by Tuck.
  • Pop: Sound played when a window is popped (partially shown then hidden) such as when changing Spaces or mousing over windows in the Untuck menu.
  • Raise: Sound played when a window is raised and focused, such as when the mouse cursor hits the screen edge where a tucked window is showing, but currently behind other windows.
  • Drag: Sound played when a tucked window is dragged clear of the screen edge so that Tuck will no longer show/hide it.
  • Tuck: Sound played when tucking a window via the Tuck menu, keyboard shortcut, or swipe gesture.
  • Untuck: Sound played when untucking a window via the Untuck menu or keyboard shortcut.
  • Warning: Sound played when a new warning is added to the Warnings menu or shown as a dialog.

Check for updates automatically Checkbox

On by default.

When enabled, Tuck will periodically contact[5] Irradiated Software servers to see if a new version of Tuck is available. If a new version is available, you will see a dialog with release notes and choices on how to handle the update.

Check for Updates Now Button

Click this button to force Tuck to check for updates. You will either be told that you’re running the newest version or be presented a dialog with more info about the available update.

Shortcuts Preferences

Tuck Shortcuts Preferences
Tuck Shortcuts Preferences

Don’t worry, each shortcut uses the same set of modifiers, so they’re easy to remember.

Open Tuck Menu Shortcut

⌥⇧⌘Space by default.

Show/hide the Tuck menu, even if the menu bar icon is disabled.

Tuck Window Left Shortcut

⌥⇧⌘← by default.

Dock the focused window to the left screen edge and hide the window.

Same as Tuck Left in the Tuck menu.

Tuck Window Right Shortcut

⌥⇧⌘→ by default.

Dock the focused window to the right screen edge and hide the window.

Same as Tuck Right in the Tuck menu.

Tuck Window Up Shortcut

⌥⇧⌘↑ by default.

Dock the focused window to the top screen edge and hide the window. Note: Not every window can be tucked Up.

Same as Tuck Up in the Tuck menu.

Tuck Window Down Shortcut

⌥⇧⌘↓ by default.

Dock the focused window to the bottom screen edge and hide the window.

Same as Tuck Down in the Tuck menu.

Untuck Window Shortcut

⌥⇧⌘/ by default.

If Tuck is managing the focused window, this shortcut will restore the window to its original position and Tuck will forget about this window.

Same as clicking on the window in the Untuck submenu.

Cycle Tucked Windows Shortcut

⌥⇧⌘' by default.

Press this shortcut multiple times to hide/show the tucked windows on the current Space, one after the other.

Toggle Tucked Windows Shortcut

⌥⇧⌘; by default.

Any tucked windows that are hidden are shown and any shown windows are hidden[6].

Untuck Tucked Windows Shortcut

⌥⇧⌘. by default.

All tucked windows on the current Space are restored to their original positions and Tuck will forget about these windows.

Same as clicking Untuck All in the Untuck submenu.

Swipe Shortcut

The Swipe gesture allows you to hold a chosen set of modifier keys, then swipe the cursor across an edge of the focused window in order to tuck the window in the direction of the swipe.

▶️ Watch Video

Behavior Preferences

The Behaviors Preferences allow you to change how Tuck responds to certain events, whether those events are from you controlling the cursor or system events such as changing Spaces.

I expect the Behavior Preferences to change significantly as Tuck evolves, so I only generally describe these settings here.

Tuck Behavior Preferences
Tuck Behavior Preferences

Show a tucked window…

0.3 seconds by default.

The delay helps prevent accidentally triggering the tucked window to show.

The only if holding the Command ⌘ key checkbox is actually a toggle, so when disabled, you can hold ⌘ to prevent the window from showing.

Hide a tucked window…

0.3 seconds after the cursor hits the screen edge by default.

The delay helps prevent accidentally triggering the window to hide.

When the cursor leaves the window area is a bit more intuitive, but it has some downsides[7] which the default behavior of after the cursor hits the screen edge addresses.

The only if holding the Command ⌘ key checkbox is actually a toggle, so when disabled, you can hold ⌘ to prevent the window from hiding.

Pop a tucked window…

All On by default.

Untuck a window…

On by default.

When moved clear of the screen edge checkbox

▶️ Watch Video

License Preferences

License Preferences
License Preferences

Here you can see if you have a license installed or not.

When you purchase Tuck, a license file will be emailed to you. Double-click the license file to have Tuck automatically register the license.

If you don’t have a license, you can purchase one via the Irradiated Software Store.

Please contact us if you’re having any trouble installing your license.

Warnings

Tuck tries to work with every application on your Mac, so there are some corner cases where Tuck might not behave exactly how you’d expect. In these cases, Tuck will give you a warning[8] so you can better understand what happened and how to avoid issues in the future.

Warnings submenu
Warnings submenu

Warnings appear in a submenu of the Tuck menu. You will only see the Warnings submenu if there is at least one unviewed warning. Whenever a new warning is added to the menu, the Tuck menu bar icon will flash briefly. Click on a warning in the submenu to see a popup dialog with a description of the issue.
Note: If you disable the Tuck menu bar icon, warnings will be shown immediately as a popup dialog instead of appearing in the Warnings submenu first.

Dock Warning
Dock Warning

If you leave Do not show this message again checked when you click OK to dismiss the warning dialog, you will not see this particular warning again.

Each warning also has a Help button in the lower left corner which opens this webpage with more information about the particular warning.

You can also disable warnings completely in the General Preferences.

Dock Warning

If you try tucking a window to the same edge where the Dock (either showing or hiding) is located, then you will receive this warning:

The Dock is Territorial
Tucking on the same edge as the Dock might not work as well as you’d hope…

The Dock is protective of its edge and will push windows out. This means you may see a little more of a tucked window than on a non-Dock edge. If this isn’t what you want, try tucking to another edge.

Down Warning

If you try tucking a window to the bottom edge of the screen, it’s likely you will see more of the window, compared to the left or right edges, so you will receive this warning:

Window Titles Must Show, a poem
Just so you know,
window titles must show.
That’s probably why,
your window sticks out so high.

If you don’t want to see them, try tucking to another edge.

Drawers Warning

If you try tucking a window with a drawer[9], you will receive this warning:

Issue with Windows with Drawers! Oh, My!
I see you’ve tucked a window with a drawer. This might not work as you’d expect as a tiny portion of the actual window must remain on screen, and the drawer doesn’t count. That means the whole drawer might stick out from the edge. You might have better luck tucking to another edge.

If you tuck this window to the left edge of your screen, the entire drawer would be sticking out. Instead, if you tuck to the right edge, most of the window will be hidden.

Full Screen Warning

If you try tucking a window that’s in Full Screen[10] mode, you will receive this warning:

Ignoring Full Screen App
An app in full screen mode is designed to take up the entire screen, so Tuck is setup to ignore these windows.

Multi-Monitor Warning

If you try tucking a window and you have more than one monitor (screen) connected to your Mac, you will receive this warning:

Multiple Monitors Are Tricky
Tuck currently tucks windows on whichever monitor the window resides. This behavior might change in the future, but for now, if you want to tuck to an edge on a different monitor, simply move the window to that monitor first.

Palette Warning

If you try tucking a window with floating palettes (a.k.a. Inspectors), you will receive this warning:

Did the Correct Window Get Tucked?
This application has a floating window (palette). It’s possible you wanted to tuck a palette, but the main window was tucked instead. Unfortunately, palettes are designed to NOT become the main window, so it’s hard for tuck to operate on them.

Sometimes you can successfully tuck a palette by using a keyboard shortcut instead of the Tuck menu.

Recovery Warning

If Tuck crashes, you could be left with windows hiding under the screen edges. When you launch Tuck next, you will receive this warning:

Found Windows To Recover
It seems something must have gone wrong because Tuck has found some previously tucked windows that can to be recovered.

Please visit every Space in order to recover any tucked windows on each Space as Tuck can only manage windows on the currently active Space. Phew, that’s a mouthful.

System Restart Warning

If Tuck was managing some windows prior to a system shutdown or restart, you will receive this warning:

Manually Retuck Your Windows
Sorry, Tuck currently can’t track windows between system restart or logins, so you will need to retuck all windows you had previously tucked.

Stickies Warning

If you try tucking a Stickies[11] window Up, then you will receive this warning (more of an FYI really):

Tucking Stickies Up
Older versions of Stickies can be tucked up under the menu bar.

Click the help button for more information.

The help button takes you to this webpage.

Swipe Warning

If you try tucking a window using the Swipe gesture, then you will receive this warning (more of an FYI really):

Swipe Gesture
You just tucked a window using the Swipe gesture.

If you didn’t mean to or you want to learn more, click the help button for more information about Swipe.

Checkout this page for more info about the Swipe gesture.

Tuck Warning

If you try tucking the Tuck Preferences, Tuck About window, or Tuck Demo dialog, etc, you will receive this warning:

No Tuck Tuck
Oh, you just had to try ’n tuck a window belonging to Tuck, didn’t you. We suggest you play with other windows instead.

Up Warning

If you try tucking a window up under the menu bar, you will receive this warning:

Tuck Up & The Dreaded Menu Bar
Tuck can’t slide most windows under the top screen edge. However, there are a few applications with non-standard windows that work with Up, such as Stickies, so the Up feature is still handy to have around.

Apps with windows that are known to work with Up

  • Stickies
  • iTunes 10 & 11
  • Microsoft Office 2011 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, but not Outlook)
  • Parallels 9 (and probably newer) in Coherence Mode
  • VMWare Fusion 6 (and probably newer) in Unity Mode

Let us know if you find others.

X11 Warning

If you try tucking an X11 or XQuartz window, you will receive this warning:

X11 Not Supported
Tuck currently does not work with X11 windows, but certainly let us know if this feature is important to you.

It’s unlikely we will be able to add support for X11 windows as X11 does not work with Accessibility.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Accessibility and why does Tuck need it?

Accessibility (a.k.a Universal Access) is a component built into Mac OS X which Tuck uses to get info about windows and to move windows around. Tuck will not work without Accessibility.

You can learn how to enable Accessibility and troubleshoot Accessibility related issues on this webpage.

Why Isn’t Tuck in the Mac App Store?

To move windows, Tuck uses a component built into OS X called Accessibility. The App Store no longer allows for apps to use Accessibility[12]. Cinch, which also uses Accessibility, was submitted to the App Store prior to this restriction, which is why Cinch is available in the App Store while Tuck and SizeUp are not.

Why can I still see a small bit of a tucked window at the screen edge?

At least 1 pixel of the window must remain on the screen[13]. This is enforced by OS X and there’s nothing Tuck can do about it. If you want to reduce the visibility of these windows (specifically their shadows), you can use our free ShadowSweeper app to turn off window shadows.

How do I access the Tuck Preferences or Menu after disabling the menu bar icon?

If you disabled the menu bar icon you can simply relaunch Tuck[14] or press the Open Tuck Menu shortcut to see the menu again.

How do I retrieve a window which Tuck has left off screen?

If you restart your Mac or if Tuck has crashed, you might be left with windows hiding under the screen edges. These windows can be hard to “grab” with the mouse, but here’s a trick. Hide the app[15], then show it again, and all those windows should now be fully on screen[16].

Appendix

Known Issues

  • Tuck can sometimes freeze and become unresponsive, requiring a force quit. We are actively working on resolving this issue for the next update.
  • Some apps/windows don’t work with Tuck:
  • If you shutdown or restart your system while Tuck has some tucked windows, those windows will still be hidden under the screen edge after you login again. Go here for more information.
  • Multi-monitor support needs to be completely re-thought.
  • Memory leak on OS X 10.7 and 10.8.

Roadmap

Based on user feedback, here are the areas I plan on exploring:

  • Tabs: turn windows into tabs which can be dragged and placed around the screen edge.
  • More preferences for behaviors.
  • Adjustable animation timings.

Glossary of Terms

Hide
When a tucked window is slid back under the screen edge, usually triggered by holding your cursor at the screen edge or pressing the Cycle Tucked Windows shortcut. ▶️ Watch Video
You can modify hide behaviors in the Behavior Preferences.
Pop
When a tucked window is briefly shown so you know where it’s hidden, usually triggered when the window is focused, changing Spaces, or using the Tuck menu. ▶️ Watch Video
You can modify pop behaviors in the Behavior Preferences.
Raise
When a tucked window is showing, but falls behind another window, if you trigger the window to show again, it will raise above other windows instead[19]. ▶️ Watch Video
Recovery
When Tuck launches, it looks for windows that it previously knew about and tries to re-tuck these windows. Recovery might happen if Tuck crashes or if you logout/restart your computer.
Show
When a tucked window slides out from under the screen edge, usually triggered by holding your cursor at the screen edge or pressing the Cycle Tucked Windows shortcut. ▶️ Watch Video
You can modify show behaviors in the Behavior Preferences.
Swipe
A gesture with the cursor (while holding modifier keys) to tuck a window. ▶️ Watch Video
Tuck
To dock a window with a screen edge and let Tuck manage when to show/hide the window.
Also the name of the app. ▶️ Watch Video
Untuck
To undock a window from the screen edge so Tuck will no longer manage the window.
If you untuck a window via the Tuck menu or the Untuck Window shortcut, the window is restored to its original position. ▶️ Watch Video
If you untuck a window by dragging the window clear of the screen edge, the window is not restored to its original position. ▶️ Watch Video
You can modify untuck behaviors in the Behavior Preferences.

  1. I’m a little teapot…  ↩

  2. To be explicit, Tuck runs on OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, 10.8 Mountain Lion, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.10 Yosemite, 10.11 El Capitan, 10.12 Sierra, 10.13 High Sierra, 10.14 Mojave, 10.15 Catalina, 11 Big Sur, 12 Monterey, 13 Ventura, and 14 Sonoma.  ↩

  3. Tuck operates on the focused window. There’s only one focused window at a time, which you can tell from the prominent shadow and by the color of the title bar and buttons seen here. Click on a window to focus it. Some windows are designed not to be focused, so Tuck might not work with these windows.  ↩

  4. If you disabled the Tuck menu bar icon, here’s how to show the menu again.  ↩

  5. Tuck uses the open-source library Sparkle for handling software updates. When Sparkle contacts our servers, some system information is gathered, but no personally identifiable information is sent or stored. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.  ↩

  6. Instead of two separate shortcuts, one for Show All and one for Hide All tucked windows, I simply decided to use a single shortcut to Toggle All tucked windows instead.  ↩

  7. When the hide behavior is set to When the cursor leaves the window area, it becomes difficult to mouse to the menu bar or Dock, since you’re likely to leave the window area when this happens, causing the window to hide. You can mitigate this issue by enabling only if holding the Command ⌘ key, but this also isn’t very intuitive.  ↩

  8. The text of some warnings can be a bit whimsical. Writing them was a nice creative outlet during development.  ↩

  9. Thankfully, drawers are becoming less common these days.  ↩

  10. “Full Screen” is referring to the mode added in OS X 10.7 Lion where the app is moved to its own Space in Mission Control.  ↩

  11. Stickies is a little sticky note app that comes pre-installed on OS X.  ↩

  12. New apps submitted to the App Store must be sandboxed, and an application in a sandbox can not directly access Accessibility. For more information, read the TidBITS article The Sandbox Conundrum: Security vs. Innovation.  ↩

  13. There is a trick when tucking Up where a window can be hidden completely, but this only works with a few applications. See the tip here for more information.  ↩

  14. Relaunch an app the same way you normally launch it, by double-clicking the app icon in Finder, via Spotlight, etc.  ↩

  15. The easiest way to hide an app is to press ⌘H  ↩

  16. This “hide then show” trick doesn’t work for some apps, such as iTunes, Microsoft Office, Stickies, etc.  ↩

  17. This is the Help that comes bundled with OS X. Help Viewer is designed not to activate, so Tuck is not always able to tuck this window when you think it should.  ↩

  18. KeyUp is designed not to activate, so Tuck does not know it’s the focused window you want to tuck.  ↩

  19. This really isn’t any different than show, it just has a distinct sound effect.  ↩