TypeToFocus and FnToFocus
=========================

Occasional users of macOS are often frustrated by clumsy click-to-focus,
which contrasts starkly with the streamlined point-to-focus available on
more user-friendly Linux and BSD windowing systems.

Traditional point-to-focus doesn't work well with the global menu bar
on macOS. As your pointer makes the long journey north to access it,
it's all too easy to inadvertently switch focus and be greeted by menus
for the wrong window on arrival.

TypeToFocus implements a variant of point-to-focus which fits better with
this design. When the pointer enters a new window, focus is left unchanged
until the user starts to type, but it is changed in time for the first
keystroke to be correctly delivered to the intended target. This is done
without raising the window using reverse-engineered SkyLight interfaces.

Only windows on the standard layer are eligible for focus changes, so
there are no awkward interactions with the desktop, menu bar, dock or
character viewer.

FnToFocus provides the same focus-without-raise action as TypeToFocus, but
bound to a keyboard shortcut of tapping the Fn key. Holding the Fn key to
use it as a modifier in the standard way will not trigger the focus change.

Both utilities run silently in the background without adding UI clutter
and are carefully optimised for energy efficiency.


Installation
------------

To build the applications, run 'make' at the top of the source tree.
This requires the Apple command line tools but doesn't depend on Xcode.
macOS will automatically offer to download and install these if necessary.

Move the application you want to use to /Applications then launch it
from the finder. The first time it is run, you will be prompted to grant
accessibility permissions in System Settings, after which you will need
to run it again.

These utilities intentionally have no dock or bar icon, so you can only
check they are running correctly by observing their behaviour or by listing
processes, but macOS will prevent you from accidentally running multiple
copies in any case. Typically, you would add one of them to the Open at
Login list in System Settings -> General -> Login Items & Extensions.

If you subsequently rebuild and replace the application, you must manually
remove the old entry granting it accessibility permissions in System
Settings, otherwise macOS will silently deny access and you will not be
prompted to authorise the updated version.

TypeToFocus and FnToFocus should work on any recent version of macOS but
an up-to-date version of swiftc is required to compile them. Please report
any problems or bugs to Chris Webb <[email protected]>.


Copying
-------

This software was written by Chris Webb <[email protected]> and is
distributed as Free Software under the terms of the MIT license in COPYING.