Hook 3.3 and foreground mode

Hookmark Feature Requests
1

Hi,

I’m using the beta and like the foreground mode. However, I often link emails to new tasks in Omnifocus. It is a little annoying that the focus doesn’t return to the mail client after I have created the task but previously using Cmd+Tab got me back to the email client. After foreground mode was introduced I need to hit Tab twice which has turned out to be a little annoying. I don’t want to disable foreground mode all together and wonder if there is a way to avoid this. Can I remove Hook from the app switcher?

Best regards,
Björn

2

Unfortunately, all these properties go together in the OS (Dock, App Switcher, and presence in Force Quit app). ( Launchbar users may be familiar with the pairing of these features.)

In Hook 3.3 public BETA 4 available for testing - Releases - Hook Productivity Forum we’ve made background mode the default as it was before Hook 3.3 betas. In the next release, we’ll look again at ways to move the focus back to the prior app , though this would need to be guided by an advanced preference because. We’ll be adding more functionality to the foreground mode, so we expect most users will not want the auto switch back. i.e., the point of the foreground mode being there will really be to use foreground mode options.

If one wants to maintain access to foreground mode benefits, then the best solution is to use the keyboard shortcut or menubar icon > “Show Hook contextual window” button to access that window.

3

Excellent! For me this sounds like a good solution. Accessing the contextual window via a shortcut is the best solution in my opinion. I will download the latest beta and give it a try. Keep up the good work!

Best regards,
Björn

4

Hi again,

I think there is some confusion of terminology on my part. Apparently the contextual menu is not what I believed it to be :sweat_smile: Is there a possibility to have a keyboard shortcut for the window where one can search for bookmarks? Or is that already possible? I want to be able to work without using the mouse. Sorry for being either dense or annoying :joy:

Best regards,
Björn

5

We don’t yet have a global preference to go directly to search mode. The keyboarding steps are:

  1. ⌃H to invoke Hook.
  2. ⌘F to enter search mode.

It may be possible with a tool like Keyboard Maestro to combine these two steps.

2021-10-10 12:06. Corrected . step 2 is ⌘F.

6

Thanks! I had missed this. A global shortcut would be awesome but this also works.

Best regards,
Björn

7

Hi again,

On my machine the shortcut is Cmd+F and not Cmd+S as you write. I haven’t change anything I believe. Did you make a typo?

Best regards,
Björn

8

Yes it’s ⌘F. Thanks for catching that, and sorry for the typo.

9

In case people find this topic via search, I will quote the Hook 3.3 release notes

Foreground mode

Hook 3.3 defaults to background mode. However, you can now run Hook in foreground mode. This can be achieved by using the command line (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app) :

defaults write com.cogsciapps.hook background.app.mode 0

to be clear, the prior command gives you foreground mode. use 1 instead of 0 for background mode (currently the default).

In foreground mode, you will see Hook in:

  • the App Switcher app (⌘TAB),
  • the Force Quit app, and
  • the Dock (which means you can click on Hook’s icon in the Dock to activate Hook)

When you bring the Hook app to the foreground (i.e., “switch” to it), you will see

  1. Hook’s search tool (which is context agnostic)
  2. Hook’s own menu bar.

Many of the gear commands are now available from there, like a traditional (foreground) app: Preferences, About Hook.

There are also new commands, such as:

  • File > Show Hook folder
  • File > Show Notes folder