xGestures 1.80

I just compared this with BetterTouchTool which I've discovered has something called "drawing" gestures. I tried them a long while ago and had issues but thought I'd revisit them. Unfortunately, BTT's implementation is still very hit or miss with drawing gestures — whereas with xGestures my gestures are flawlessly executed each and every time.

That said, one thing that's great with BTT is I can start a gesture without holding down a modifier key or pressing a key to begin a gesture and hitting the key again after the gesture is completed as is required by xGestures.

So I've been using the BTT trial and implemented a 4 finger tap that runs this simple applescript:

tell application "System Events"
key down {control}
delay 1
key up {control}
end tell

This allows me to 4 finger tap, then quickly perform a gesture with xGestures without physically holding down the modifier key. Works pretty good but it could be better. For example, if I don't finish a gesture in time it screws things up. I'd much rather have the modifier key only "auto-lift" after my gesture is complete, but I'm not sure how to accomplish that with AppleScript or if it's even really possible with AppleScript.

So I have only one request for the xGestures dev. Please add the option to perform the start of mouse gestures with four-finger taps, etc. — That way we can simply hit the trackpad with a four-finger tap, then use one finger to draw the gesture.

That's the way that BTT can be configured to work now but BTT's drawing gestures just aren't reliable enough. For example, I have a gesture of 'down and up' to close browser windows and 'up and down' to open new tabs. Often when I perform those gestures in BTT I end up with the application switcher gesture being triggered which is set to "up and right" or "up and left". This isn't an issues with xGestures. When I do a xGestures pattern it works every time without error, ever. With BTT it's very hit or miss every other time I gesture. I made gesture variations in your BTT app to help guard against this, but it's just not helping in this case.

xGestures is still the king of Mac gestures it just needs a small tweak to allow tap gestures to trigger it.

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06 November 2017

Version: 1.77

Anyone tried it with High Sierra yet?

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I couldn't get this to work.. It says it's enabled and working but nothing happens when trying out gestures. Was specifically interested in Rocker gestures. A great alternative I've found was Smooze

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Good news and bad news. Good news, xGestures is now free (although $5 is and never was expensive for such a gem). Bad news, it’s free because development of xGestures has now officially come to an end. I’m not a developer, but I’d like the idea of becoming one just to create my own “xGestures”. Brian, if you read this, thank you!

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Derekjab

19 December 2016

Version: 1.77

Been using xGestures for years very happily. Unfortunately, since macOS Sierra 10.12 it's not really usable as it randomly capitalises outputs so that passwords, for example, are incorrect.

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09 October 2016

Version: 1.75

CowTip - If you still want to use some gestures to operate Mission Control windows, the old Exposé instructions (i.e., Exposé All Windows, Application, Desktop, etc.) in xGestures don't work anymore since Exposé in Mac OS is now degraded. What you can do instead is have xGestures run AppleScripts to do basically the same things. For example, to show all windows I just use a gesture to run this script I saved in my Documents folder: do shell script "/Applications/Mission\\ Control.app/Contents/MacOS/Mission\\ Control" To show the desktop, I use a gesture to run this script: do shell script "/Applications/Mission\\ Control.app/Contents/MacOS/Mission\\ Control 1" ...And so on. It's instant and makes xGestures still work with latest os Seirra, etc.

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Sergesouszero

05 October 2015

Version: 1.75

For those who are interested, xGestures still works with El Capitan.

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11 February 2015

Version: 1.75

CowTip: Out of curiosity I just tested xGestures with the Mavericks App Switcher and it works flawlessly again. For a long while it didn't work properly in older Mac OS versions. I haven't tested it yet in Yosemite, however.

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Tachy0n

13 January 2015

Version: 1.75

Hey xGestures fans, I just wanted to share a tip. In the Applications tab, Brian never added a feature where you could see a little graphic of your gesture. However I recently thought to use Unicode characters in the title to remind you of each gesture. Use OSX’s builtin Character Viewer to find characters which remind you of the gestures.

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I'm giving this software a bad review because the developer has not updated this software in ages. how can you have such a great idea for an application and let it die like this ? This is an example of a fantastic app left in the dark because the developer thought he had a better chance of success in another project or has left this world to go into deep meditation in the mountains.

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The undisputed champion in mouse gesture apps. Amazingly still works* in 10.9 Mavericks despite it being over half a decade since the last update! * there are some minor hiccups but, by and large, the app still works

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Tachy0n

11 November 2013

Version: 1.75

Yay, thanks to Brilliantpebbles https://www.macupdate.com/members/profile/Brilliantpebble suggestion I got it to work in Mavericks! That's right folks, make an alias of YourHardDrive/Library/PreferencePanes/xGestures.prefPane/Contents/Resources/xGestures.app and right-click on it then choose 'Open'.

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Still works with Maverick. P.-S. Why can’t I give five stars for Ease of Use ? xGestures is indeed easy to use.

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Fontbot

12 June 2013

Version: 1.75

Happy to find xGestures still functional on 10.8 (manually copied from an older system). Certain actions won't work with sandboxed apps, but some can be replaced with keyboard shortcuts (i.e. changing "Quit Application" to "Perform Keystroke Command-Q"). For those having issues with the installer, try running the following command in Terminal while the xGestures DMG is mounted: open /Volumes/xGestures/.data/EverythingElse/xGestures.prefPane That should attempt to launch the most recent version and trigger System Preferences to install it.

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Hexo

25 July 2012

Version: 1.75

This sounds like a great idea.. but I can't even seem to create a gesture! When I hit the keys I set for "perform a mouse gesture by..", the lil' cursor comes up (the four triangles), but it is stuck near the lower left corner of the screen and does NOT move. I do have a wacom tablet, though the documentation says after 10.3 this should work, and I'm on Lion. This is very disappointing- I was going to set the button on the wacom stylus to the xGestures key, and say hello to amazingly customizable gestures. Something that's woefully missing from both the wacom software and apple's "ink" (aka inkwell?). Developer, if you can hear me, please help!

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Lvdoc

14 March 2012

Version: 1.75

I'm on 10.7.3 and haven't had a single problem with it. It's a totally clean install of Lion; but it also worked fine for me when I updated SL to Lion on another machine. It's too bad the rest of you are having problems. This program is not just a gem; it is critical to how I function on my computer!

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F451

02 February 2012

Version: 1.75

Man, I miss xGestures. Surely trust the developer will update a version for Lion OS. It was great when it first arrived on the Mac scene and great up until Lion where is it hit a snag (called Lion).

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Updated to OS X Lion, and most things worked well except it would complain that if I wanted to open xGesture downloaded from Internet on every start and it also took long time to start xGesture. I guest it has sth to do with com.apple.quarantine. Wish the developer could fix this. Just wonder if it is possible to make this app available on AppStore and transfer our purchases there, so that more people will know this gr8t app.

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Tachy0n

23 August 2011

Version: 1.75

Brian's last blog update is from a couple of months ago. http://guygizmo.blogspot.com/2010/06/new-xgestures-news-plus-getting.html I emailed him because I can't even install it in Lion. The installer complains about permissions or something. If I install it manually, will it work? Has anyone else done a Lion upgrade on top of their Snow Leopard with xGestures installed?

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15 August 2011

Version: 1.75

Oh dear lawd I hope this works/get updated for Lion. I won't upgrade to Lion until it is.

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Don't buy this until this is straightened out... Just emailed the developer: "I bought xGestures last night and it won't register. It says it's invalid. Also, when I go to your website the support and download pages cannot be found: http://briankendall.net/xGestures/download.htm http://briankendall.net/xGestures/support.htm And why do we need an installer, which freaks out trying to find xgestures.app, when all we need is a double clickable preference pane? What's going on?" I feel cheated.

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I find xGesutures absolutely indispensable. I wouldn't upgrade to another version of the Mac OS without it. The only thing I really wish it could do is have the option to detect when you plug in a mouse and then have the gestures switch from the "Pressing a key on the keyboard" option to "Click and holding a mouse button..etc" option, instead of having to do that manually every time I switch between using my laptops trackpad and mouse.

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xGestures is still the best mouse gesture app for Macs, but unfortunately it causes a jerky mouse arrow movement in games like Diablo II, Baldur's Gate II etc. When I deactivate xGestures, then those games' mouse arrow movement is smooth again.

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Just add a button to easily make a config backup and you're done with this. Nothing else to improve on. Thumbs up.

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Having become hooked on mouse gestures in Windows - using the awkwardly-named app "StrokeIt" - xGestures was like a savior when I started using OS X. While xGestures doesn't recognize curved or diagonal gestures like StrokeIt does, as the developer points out this can actually be an advantage, since your gestures are less likely to be misinterpreted. Aside from that, xGestures' practical range of options and extensive list of actions make it very flexible and easy to configure to one's working habits. It's a must-install app on any Mac I use.

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xGestures is the one and only mouse gesture driver, indeed. The mouse key combination for starting a gesture can be chosen from a greater variety than I could dream of (so far). Just one thing: The colors of the painted gesture paths should be selectable, too, because many people don't like the blue or red pill. ;)

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If this dev stopped making xGestures I would stay at the last OS it supported until someone else came along. I refuse to use a computer without it.

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This is one of absolute "must have" programs, so it's sweet to see that they're keeping on top of this. Honestly, if you've never tried using gestures, try this program. It's straightforward and has never given me a problem. And at this price, it's a steal.

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Great application and a great price. Less expensive than simple Mail Stationaries and much more useful. Very stable and I haven't seen any bugs. The only annoying thing is, that I can't use xGestures to draw complex graphics onto the screen. After some time it stops drawing with the message "This isn't MacPaint!!!" ;-)

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XGestures is the best $5 you can spend on software for OS X. Mouse gestures are an incredibly effective interface addition. I normally work in mixed keyboard / mouse mode but sometimes I'm far from the keyboard. Gestures allow full navigation and triggering of all your apps. Navigate in Finder, Forklift, Safari, FF using the same gesture for back, much faster than using their back buttons. Toggle side panels, run applescript. The only issue is with Wacom tablets. The developer knows about this and will try to fix it once he geta a tablet to use. I stopped using my Wacom tablet, as I found disabling XGestures just to disruptive to my overall workflow!

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This is simply a must-have for me, and I can see by the current price it is still a bargain by any standard. Having used X-Gestures for years now I would be lost without it. It is easy to set-up, even easier to use.

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Thanks for the quick Leopard update. I don't know what I would have done without this extremly useful app. Highly recommended - even for keyboard junkies who can finally make peace with their mouse.

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xGestures is a great utility, but FYI it plays havoc with Adobe software menus when using a Wacom tablet. At least it did on CS1; have not tried with CS3 yet. It took me a few weeks to figure out what was going on, but once I disabled xGestures completely, the Adobe menu/Wacom wierdness went away. A shame too, as I was a huge fan of xGestures, but the Wacom takes precedence. I never heard back from the dev on this when I contacted him about it, so I just moved on.

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one of the essential freeware/shareware apps for the mac. highly customizable, works in every app (not just cocoa apps), and with a little bit of creativity, you can practically control any aspect of your computer with this. and blackflag, it is easily worth your $5 burger king lunch. and don't be disappointed, xgestures can easily handle the one thing you wanted it to do. just add the finder to your app-specific settings, choose the gesture action "Choose Menu Item", and for the menu item name type "Back" for going back, and "Forward" for going forward, and then assign whatever gestures you want to those functions.

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Argh! I was really really excited when I came across this app, but it doesn't perform the one thing that I want it to do. It doesn't go back and forward in Finder like my mouse-gestures for Opera do. A little disappointing. Other than that it seems like a very solid little app, though not worth my money just yet...

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i use it for half a year already now and i toootally love this little app ! - it opens new windows/tabs, closes windows tabs, switches to different tabs, quits applications, moves back and forward in history, opens selected texts in browser, opens link in different browser - and all that with a few gestures (for more power Proxi recommended).

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Version 1.5 does not launch at start-up, despite having the checkbox marked in the prefpane. It can't be added as a Startup Item in the Accounts prefpane. Any ideas?

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I've been using this little app for a few months now and, I can't picture using a computer without it. I find myself trying to gesture when I'm on other peoples' computers. $5 is more than worth it, the freeware gesture apps I've tried don't come close.

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How does this program relate and compare with that freebie CocoaGestures? http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9662

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Rule #1 of Annoying Shareware: If you are going to be a nag after the trial period, provide a way to uninstall the freakin' application!! I am going through hell trying to find all the crap your utility placed on my system to get rid of it.

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This program has completely changed the way I use my computer. I have been using it for a week and I cannot picture going back to life without it.

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I am using a Microsoft wireless keyboard & the IntelliType Pro software that came with it. xGestures seems to work fine until i try to invoke a gesture. It does nothing. Up, Down, Right, left, Rock or whatever. I get no response.

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For anyone who was having trouble installing in Panther, that should be fixed now.

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doesn't work at all here. SystemPreferences freezes when I click xgestures' icon, and I have to force-quit. Now how can I rate this software...

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The biggest issue with this is that you really need to use a keystroke combination in conjunction with the mouse movement, which in essence defeats the simplicity of the mouse movement alone; at this point you may as well use the keyboard. The "rocker" movement is cool, and worth it, and about the only thing that I use.

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I'd give it a try if I could figure out what the heck "directional mouse gestures" and "rocker gestures" are. I'm not about to download and install it without knowing exactly what it does and how it works.

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I had problems with the installation (actually, an upgrade) to 1.33. The first installation returned an error and suggested I retry. The retry resulted in a kernel panic. I notified the developer about it and hopefully he will get a fix soon. I do not know if the problem was just with my machine or if it is a problem with the installer. Will update when I receive word.

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I have never installed this app until this morning and when I went to the "About" menu it stated that the demo was "expired"! Uh? That was the quickest demo I've ever had. Although I've never used it in action I've gone ahead and registered it anyway since I like the concept.

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cant use it at all.... it doesnt work

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Errors in version 1.20 and 1.21: There was an error in version 1.20 that would cause xGestures to crash if it was installed for the first time. That error has now been fixed in version 1.21. There was an even worse error, however, in the way version 1.21 was originally built that caused the xGestures application to crash all the time no matter what. That problem has now been fixed as well.

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Absolutely brilliant! I registered with the 1.0 version and the 1.1 is even better! I was a long time user of CocoaGestures and I loved it. I began using nothing but Cocoa apps just so I could gesture, even though there may have been a Carbon app (like Firefox vs. Camino) that could have done the job better. Now, I am free to use any app I want! Java apps, Cocoa, Carbon, even X11! I can't get enough of this app and have had no problems with it... especially not with the OS9-style lockups that another user claims can happen. I didn't think it would be possible to add something like closing a background window with a gesture, but this author did it! Thank you so much for the awesome gift you have given the OS X community. I can't wait to see this featured at WWDC by Phil Shiller!

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how is this different from http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/9662 ?

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I'm hopelessly addicted to this program, and I have no idea how I lived without it. Mouse gestures rule, xGestures rules.

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Is it possible to use this simultaneously with Sidetrack? The readme seems to say no. Or emulate Sidetrack's functionality? I want to try this, but can't live without my scrollers :)

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