How to bring NSWindow to front and to the current Space?

Question

I'm using this code to bring up my window:

[self.window makeKeyAndOrderFront:self];
[self.window setOrderedIndex:0];

But often it will be beneath other windows or displayed in other Space desktop that I last open it in. How do I make it always appear "in front" to the user?

Update I found the answer from previously asked question; make the window show up to the top of other windows: [NSApp activateIgnoringOtherApps:YES];

But how to move the app to the user's current Space?

score 141 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 19 '17 at 01:18

141

To bring your app to the front:

[NSApp activateIgnoringOtherApps:YES];

Swift:

NSApp.activateIgnoringOtherApps(true)

Swift 3:

NSApp.activate(ignoringOtherApps: true)

edited Apr 19 '17 at 01:18

Judge2020

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answered Nov 16 '09 at 06:31

jtbandes

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Thanks! Any idea on bringing the app to the user's current Space? – Teo Choong Ping Nov 16 '09 at 06:32

score 30 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 16 '09 at 06:35

30

Perhaps you want:

  [self.window setCollectionBehavior: NSWindowCollectionBehaviorCanJoinAllSpaces];

Experiment with the other collection behaviors... I found NSWindowCollectionBehaviorMoveToActiveSpace was a bit buggy in 10.5 but it might be better now.

answered Nov 16 '09 at 06:35

Nicholas Riley

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How do I go about learning all these subtle things without asking? At times I feel very lost in Cocoa-land. – Teo Choong Ping Nov 16 '09 at 07:03
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I tend to read *all* the release notes when each new OS version comes out. There's a lot of good information in there, and it only takes an hour or two. – Nicholas Riley Nov 16 '09 at 07:06
Read the more important programming guides and framework references, too. Start with Cocoa Fundamentals Guide and move on from there. – Peter Hosey Nov 16 '09 at 15:32
@NicholasRiley : I have the same problem but this answer `setCollectionBehavior` doesn't work for me in situation when there is a full-screen app, which creates a new space, my window would still show up in the original space. – Gon Oct 31 '13 at 02:50
Probably a bug. Spaces has never been terribly reliable or consistent, and since I wrote this, several new OS X versions have come out, each of which have substantially changed Spaces behavior. – Nicholas Riley Oct 31 '13 at 03:35
@Gon Have you found a solution? I have the same problem – ULazdins Dec 03 '13 at 08:52
@ULazdins Maybe not a good solution. But you can try `[NSApp setActivationPolicy:]` and set the _activationPolicy_ to `NSApplicationActivationPolicyAccessory` or `NSApplicationActivationPolicyProhibited `. While doing this you'll lose your app's menu and dock icon. – Gon Dec 04 '13 at 23:46
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Hey @Gon! Seems I did find a solution (at least it did the job for me). Try out using `[self setCollectionBehavior:NSWindowCollectionBehaviorCanJoinAllSpaces | NSWindowCollectionBehaviorTransient]; [self setLevel:NSPopUpMenuWindowLevel];` – ULazdins Dec 05 '13 at 08:00
@ULazdins :( doesn't work for me. I set my window as your code but it couldn't cover the full-screen window of other app. – Gon Dec 05 '13 at 10:54
@ULazdins — thanks, that combination ended up solving a problem for *me* several years later! (Floats over fullscreen apps in 10.11 and doesn't mess up when other windows spawn.) – Nicholas Riley Sep 10 '16 at 07:30

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered May 21 '21 at 17:33

5

Swift 5.0 +

 NSWindow.orderFrontRegardless()

answered May 21 '21 at 17:33

arthas

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This won't work for every case. But this version is OK https://stackoverflow.com/a/1740423/5302192 – S.E. Mar 14 '22 at 00:24
Can you mention some cases where this won't work? – arthas Mar 14 '22 at 06:06
Sure. If you are building a ".bundle" package (specifically for login window etc.), you can't use that. You also need the following code line; ```swift func windowDidBecomeKey(_ notification: Notification) { guard let window = notification.object as? NSWindow else { return } guard window != self.window else { return } self.window = window } ``` – S.E. Mar 15 '22 at 15:11

score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 30 '16 at 10:06

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The syntax seems to be a little different with Swift 2:

NSApplication.sharedApplication().activateIgnoringOtherApps(true)

answered Jan 30 '16 at 10:06

iphaaw

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`NSApp` does just return `NSApplication.sharedApplication()` singleton. – Blaszard Mar 08 '16 at 15:28

score 4 · Answer 5 · edited Oct 12 '18 at 07:27

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Swift 3.0

NSApp.activate(ignoringOtherApps: true)

edited Oct 12 '18 at 07:27

Sangram Shivankar

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answered Nov 25 '16 at 08:54

Cee

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score 3 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 16 '09 at 15:32

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But how to move the app to the user's current Space?

You don't. Spaces hold windows, not applications. (That's why the collectionBehavior property is on NSWindow, not NSApplication.)

answered Nov 16 '09 at 15:32

Peter Hosey

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There is a subclass of NSWindow called FloatingPanel which can be put over spaces. https://gist.github.com/jordibruin/8ae7b79a1c0ce2c355139f29990d5702 self.collectionBehavior.insert(.fullScreenAuxiliary) self.collectionBehavior.insert(.canJoinAllSpaces) – Eric_WVGG Oct 30 '21 at 19:54

score 1 · Answer 7 · answered Oct 16 '21 at 23:58

If you want to your app to come to the front, even if its minimised and have it activated (given active focus), then use both of these:

            NSApp.activate(ignoringOtherApps: true)
            NSApp.windows.first?.orderFrontRegardless()

If you only want to bring it to the front, without giving it focus, just use:

            NSApp.windows.first?.orderFrontRegardless()

quemeful · Answer 8 · 2016-02-24T14:33:59.647

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Swift 2.0

NSApp.activateIgnoringOtherApps(true)

Helpful Programming Tips and Hacks

edited Feb 24 '16 at 14:33

answered Feb 24 '16 at 14:13

quemeful

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How to bring NSWindow to front and to the current Space?

8 Answers8

Swift 3.0

Linked