Create terminal groups for managing multiple windows
Nov 25, '03 10:44:00AM
Contributed by: metameta
As a unix switcher, I use a LOT of terminal windows. Usually one for personal mail, one for work mail, another for a persistent, screened, talkd session, and a whole lot of windows for vim, compiling, and testing if I'm doing any coding. On my 12" powerbook, this can become awfully unweildy very quickly.
My solution is to partition my terminal windows into multiple sets, each with a separate icon in the dock. Then I can switch between groups of terminal windows just as I would switch between different applications. You can see what this looks like in the screenshot to the left.
Steps:
- Make a copy of Terminal.app, named something like Terminal2.app
- Open the duplicate Terminal application's Info.plist file (Control-click the app, select Show Package Contents, open Contents folder). Change the value for CFBundleSignature from trmx to trm1.
- If desired, replace the file TermDoc.icns with one to identify this terminal group. I added a number to the icon, but changing the color might be a good approach as well.
Keep in mind, due to Finder caching, you might not see the icon changes until after a restart, or moving the app to a new volume (is there a better solution?).
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Mac OS X Hints
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