Assignment of applications to desktop not working as expected

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Level 1

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Assignment of applications to desktop not working as expected

I have just migrated to a Mac Studio running Monterey from an iMac 27" running Catalina. On both I is/was a dual monitor setup.

I use spaces (3), the Main Display is used for work and the Extended Display is used for internet & mail. Applications on the Extended Display show on every space, whilst apps on the Main Display are assigned to 1 space.

Since I've moved to the new setup, the assignment of applications to specific displays seems a bit glitchy. For example, Mail is assigned to Desktop on Display 2, but when I select this the None option is also ticked.

If I then select All Desktops, only that single option is selected.

If I then select Desktop on Display 2, then None is once again also selected. Because of this after a restart or even when waking from sleep (if I leave the mac on overnight) then the Mail app is shown on Display 1.

Mac Studio

Posted on Sep 28, 2022 2:51 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Luis Sequeira1

Level 9

72,810 points

Sep 28, 2022 3:04 AM in response to cucocreative

That one is weird.

Just to check: did you migrate everything from your previous mac, or just the user accounts?

Often issues result from old stuff (extensions, agents and daemons) causing trouble with the new OS.

Also: you may want to try deleting the Dock preferences and seeing if that helps.

The quickest way is to launch Terminal, and paste the following line

defaults delete com.apple.Dock; killall Dock

Then you will have to put the settings in the way you want them.

In case the problem remains, this can be a nuisance, so you may want to preserve the existing preferences, just in case the process does not work; then you could reinstate the old version.

In Finder, press Command-Shift-G and paste

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.dock.plist

Drag the file out of the Preferences folder, and park it temporarily, for example, in your Desktop.

In Terminal, paste just this:

killall Dock

Try to see if now things work, by setting, e.g., Mail the way you want it.

If things work, then you arrange all the other things in the Dock as desired.

If things do not work, then you can drag the preference file from the Desktop to Preferences, replacing the one that was automatically created, and issue a new killall Dock command to put it back in effect.

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Answer 2

dialabrain

Level 10

135,131 points

Sep 28, 2022 3:49 AM in response to cucocreative

FWIW, you can send a bug report from the feedback page.

Feedback - macOS - Apple

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Answer 3

cucocreative Author

Level 1

15 points

Sep 28, 2022 3:37 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Thanks, but I'm afraid that that didn't help, it still additionally selects None.

Plus the command killed my LaunchPad settings and going back to the original dock.plist didn't save them. I wish there was a better interface for organising LaunchPad as it has always been a UX nightmare.

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Answer 4

Sep 28, 2022 4:01 AM in response to cucocreative

Sorry to hear that, I was hoping that it would fix it.

In my defence, I never use Launchpad... (and hardly use the Dock - it is hidden all the time), which is why it did not cross my mind that the changing the Dock preferences would also affect it.

Since you say it is a UX nightmare, consider dropping Launchpad completely. I mean, what service does it provide? Launching applications can be done from the Dock or, IMHO, much more quickly using Spotlight.

It can take as little as three key presses to launch Safari, and zero uses of the trackpad, to launch Safari with Spotlight: Command-Space, type S, press enter...

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Answer 5

dialabrain

Level 10

135,131 points

Sep 28, 2022 4:21 AM in response to cucocreative

cucocreative wrote:

I wish there was a better interface for organising LaunchPad as it has always been a UX nightmare.

I tend to agree with Luis as far as Launchpad goes. However, you can create a pseudo-Launchpad by adding the Applications folder to the Dock.

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Answer 6

cucocreative Author

Level 1

15 points

Sep 28, 2022 4:26 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Rarely use spotlight, unless I can't find a file – which is rare. Never use it as an app launcher.

Launchpad launches with a dedicated button on my mouse and then it's one or two clicks to open any application. Don't need to touch the keyboard. Everything is on one screen and organised into folders – the Dock just stores my day-to-day applications.

It's only a UX nightmare when you first organise the icons into folder as they are spread over 8 screens in it's default state.

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Answer 7

Sep 28, 2022 5:09 AM in response to cucocreative

To each his own, I guess. I am a keyboard guy, you use the mouse more.

I hope you do get Dock issue fixed.

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Assignment of applications to desktop not working as expected

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