Lion's "Restore windows" on a per-app basis

Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,236
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
One of the things I disabled in Lion after a couple days was the "Restore windows when quitting and re-opening apps" option (found in System Preferences > General). It was useful for a couple apps, but greatly annoying in others. In Quicktime, for example, I found I had to first close a video playing, then quit the app. If I simply quit it, the next time I ran a video, the last one playing would pop open also. Aaaaarrrrgggghhh!

Well anywho… TÚAW has come to the rescue with Resuminator, a tool that can let you activate that feature only for apps that you want it in.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me fine-tune session window restores | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog
 

Slydude

Well-known member
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Nov 15, 2009
Messages
17,982
Reaction score
1,396
Points
113
Location
North Louisiana, USA
Your Mac's Specs
M1 MacMini 16 GB - Sequoia, iPhone 14 Pro Max, 2015 iMac 16 GB Monterey
Excellent find. Just before reading this post I was debating turning that feature off for exactly the same reason. Sometimes this feature is great and sometimes it gets in the way.

What I might like better is a hot key of sorts to turn this feature on based not so much on a per app basis but based on situations. For example, it was great a few days ago when I was working on a magazine article. I wanted everything the same the next day. Much of the time I don't need/want to return to exactly the same things though. I know there is a dialog and check box but I often blow right past that.
 
Joined
Oct 27, 2002
Messages
13,172
Reaction score
348
Points
83
Location
Cleveland, Ohio
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro | LED Cinema Display | iPhone 4 | iPad 2
Yep, definitely a great find. I'll have to try it out when I get home.
 
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Messages
3,626
Reaction score
111
Points
63
Your Mac's Specs
2018 15" MBP, 2019 11" iPad Pro, iPhone 11 Pro
I thought if you closed a window using Command+W or clicking the red "x", it would not open the next time you opened that app.

I just tried this with a .jpg in Preview and it worked. Seems easy and straight-forward to me. :)
 
OP
L
Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
9,962
Reaction score
1,236
Points
113
Location
The Republic of Neptune
Your Mac's Specs
2019 iMac 27"; 2020 M1 MacBook Air; macOS up-to-date... always.
I thought if you closed a window using Command+W or clicking the red "x", it would not open the next time you opened that app.

I just tried this with a .jpg in Preview and it worked. Seems easy and straight-forward to me. :)

That is true. The problem is that if you Quit before Closing, then the last thing(s) open will re-open. Before I could just Quit. In Lion, you now have to take an extra step of closing before quitting unless you disable the "Restore" option.
 
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Messages
3,626
Reaction score
111
Points
63
Your Mac's Specs
2018 15" MBP, 2019 11" iPad Pro, iPhone 11 Pro
That is true. The problem is that if you Quit before Closing, then the last thing(s) open will re-open. Before I could just Quit. In Lion, you now have to take an extra step of closing before quitting unless you disable the "Restore" option.

Correct.
The thing is, I was always taught that the proper procedure was always to close all windows, then quit the app. I didn't think very many people just quit an app when they had open windows. I don't know if there's really any harm in it. It's just the way I learned and I thought everyone did that. Guess not. :)
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,246
Reaction score
1,834
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
With regard to this.... another thing I have noticed is that upon shutdown or restart if you have the box checked off to restore windows, it will considerably lengthen the time to shutdown or restart. That box is checked by default and I haven't found a way yet to turn it off.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top