Using BetterTouchTool as a window manager original

by Freek Van der Herten – 2 minute read

In this short post, I'd like to share how I use BetterTouchTool in my daily work.

Here's a screenshot of my shortcuts.

settings

Let's explain those. BetterTouchTool can resize your windows. I've got a couple of shortcuts set up that can immediately resize a window to the half size of the screen, or to use a quadrant. Using those shortcuts, I can very quickly organize windows, so they line up perfectly.

Half

Quadrant

In the screenshots above, you'll also notice that I've set up MacOS to hide the menu and Dock by default. Doing so saves some precious screen estate, and I highly recommend you to do so.

While working, I often listen to music. Using BetterTouchTool, I can press F14 and F15 to control the volume from within any app. If you want to do this too, make sure to check the "Bring App to front before sending" and "Immediately switch back after sending" checkboxes.

If you want to use the same shortcuts as a do, import this settings file which contains all my shortcuts.

Join 9,500+ smart developers

Get my monthly newsletter with what I learn from running Spatie, building Oh Dear, and maintaining 300+ open source packages. Practical takes on Laravel, PHP, and AI that you can actually use.

"Freek publishes a super resourceful and practical newsletter. A must for anyone in the Laravel space"

Joey Kudish — Shipping with AI as a teammate

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. You can also follow me on X.

Found something interesting to share? Submit a link to the community section.