GoldenChaos-BTT: The complete Touch Bar UI replacement

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version!

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.669-2 (Experimental) Changelog

• Restored missing Notification Center key that I totally didn't accidentally delete

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.669-2 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! This one is actually experimental - I need feedback!

This update introduces a conditional activation group that will boot you back to the stock Touch Bar only if it thinks that the autofill/autocomplete interface is being shown. I'm not 100% certain if I have the correct selection parameters, but it's a start - and it only works inside Apple's own apps, for now.

This gives you instant access to autocomplete and autofill, as well as the stock emoji picker, three of the only redeeming parts of the standard Touch Bar. As soon as you deselect the text field, GC-BTT comes right back. I've found that disabling Apple's Control Strip entirely provides a better experience.

Please test this behavior and let me know how you feel about the overall experience over in the help & feedback thread

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.670 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Autocomplete] Added conditional activation group that temporarily disables BTT if the user is in one of Apple's own apps and has a text area in focus
  • This theoretically gives access to autocomplete, autofill, and the emoji picker from the stock Touch Bar without completely compromising the GC-BTT experience and will need a lot of refinement.

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.670 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New version again!

I honestly don't recommend anyone install this, except @Andreas_Hegenberg maybe for troubleshooting . It's a work-in-progress refactor of the menu bar and dock using conditional activation groups so there don't need to be eight copies of the same widget.

It's very fast and uses much less energy. But it's also very buggy and breaks the modifier menu layouts.

You've been warned!!

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.671 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Autocomplete] Removed autocomplete conditional group for now because the feature was too unreliable.
• [Menu Bar] Tapping the Browser Tabs widget toggle will now bring your browser into focus
• [Menu Bar] First iteration of refactor using conditional activation groups to eliminate the need for duplicate widgets
  • Significantly faster and more efficient, but does not currently work properly with modifier menus.
• [Dock] First iteration of refactor using conditional activation groups to eliminate the need for duplicate widgets
  • The dock didn't really have this problem but this lets me better control when and how it appears.
  • That is, when it works properly.
  • Which it doesn't all the time.

Screenshots of What Dun Broke

This happens because the secondary menu bar items don't know to hide for modifier menus.

The menu bar also will probably disappear after a little while.

There's also no way to leave widget groups like Browser Tabs, Language Picker, etc. once you're in them, because the menu bar does not yet include toggle switches for those groups.

But it's very fast!! Zooooooom.

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.671 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! It's only slightly less broken than the last one. You could install this and not have a terrible time, I guess.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.671-2 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Window Snapping] Added visual window snapper - hold CMD+Shift+W to activate!
  • It's missing some additional hover states for the center, top, left, bottom, and right blocks.
• [Menu Bar] Improved activation conditions
• [Escape Keys] Moved Escape Keys to conditional activation group to reduce duplicate widgets
• [Escape Keys] Made esc also close any currently open widget group since toggles aren't working right now. Might actually keep this behavior, I like it!

Screenshots

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.671-2 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version!

This version introduces the floating HTML settings window. It does away with the on-Touch Bar settings menu entirely in favor of this much more intuitive windowed menu.

However, it's only half-implemented. All of the buttons actually trigger their respective actions (except for some dock badges, oops), but there are no indicators that processes are running, and the switches don't reflect real settings (the active/inactive buttons are hardcoded right now).

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.685 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Settings] New floating HTML settings window (same shortcut as the old settings menu)
• [Settings] Deprecated previous settings menu
• [Window Snapper] Updated window snapper appearance to be consistent with the new settings window
• [Menu Bar] Secondary menu bar widgets now properly hide on modifier menus

Notes for Testers

You should be able to use Reapply All Settings here to upgrade, even if the progress bar is broken at the moment. Please also try toggling various settings to see if they actually do anything - results have been spotty on my end for anything that isn't reapplying all settings.

Screenshots

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.685 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

Happy new year, everyone! Here's a new small experimental version to test

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.686 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Window Snapper] Fixed window snapper not working by adding in missing named triggers
• [Settings] All boolean settings triggers have now been refactored into toggle scripts, reducing the number of necessary named triggers by nearly a third! Coincidentally, dock icon settings should actually work now.

Known Issues

• [Settings Window] Setting switches don't actually update to reflect the value of changed settings

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.686 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! Just some bug fixes for this one.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.689 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Menu Bar] Fixed collapse/expand button not properly updating when resizing the menu bar
• [Menu Bar] Fixed Caffeinate key showing the opposite status that it was supposed to
  • I don't know about you guys but I was losing my mind wondering why my MacBook was not going to sleep

Known Issues

• [Settings Window] Setting switches don't actually update to reflect the value of changed settings

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.689 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! More bug fixes and minor changes

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.698 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Dock] Updated Slack dock icon and button color
• [Dock] Fixed some misbehaving icons, now they obey the set font color
• [Home Strip] Refresh key now appears for Safari Preview and Chrome Canary
• [Now Playing Actions] Fixed widgets in the group that were not appearing
• [Connectivity Actions] Volume percent will now hide instead of displaying "missing value"

Known Issues

• [Settings Window] Setting switches don't actually update to reflect the value of changed settings

Notes for Testers

The corresponding version of BetterTouchTool contains a critical fix for users performing initial BTT setups where previously button labels would show up for every widget. To prevent this issue please make sure you are on BTT 2.698 for this and future builds of GC-BTT!

Screenshots

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.698 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

Two updates in one day - it's been a while!

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.700 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Menu Bar] Fixed menu bar icons not being able to close their corresponding group
• [Menu Bar] Fixed menu bar icons not highlighting when inside their corresponding group

Known Issues

• [Settings Window] Setting switches don't actually update to reflect the value of changed settings

Notes for Testers

This build requires BTT 2.700 as it uses new functionality to detect which widget group is currently open.

Screenshots

Menu bar tabs are back babbyyyyyyy! You can still use esc to close the groups if you want, though.

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.700 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! Critical bug fix for the now playing widget. Settings window switches are up next.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.706 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Now Playing] Fixed currently playing app not being brought to front when tapping on the Now Playing widget

How to fix this issue yourself if you don't want to upgrade from the stable version

A new stable version is right around the corner. If you're willing to put up with the setting switches not updating yet, I recommend upgrading to this version. If not, the fix is a pretty simple configuration change to the two instances of the Now Playing widget.

1. Open the BTT Preferences window and go to the Touch Bar tab. Make sure "Global" is selected on the left.
2. Locate the two Now Playing widgets. One is in the Home Strip, the other is inside the Now Playing Actions group.
3. Edit the Now Playing widgets, specifically changing this setting to the highlighted value:
   
   
4. That's it!

Known Issues

• [Settings Window] Setting switches don't actually update to reflect the value of changed settings
  • Finally up next!

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.706 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! The settings window really works now! At least a decent portion of it does.

All dock badge toggles and the escape key toggle will reflect their actual settings in addition to actually changing the contents of your Touch Bar. Please test these out! I'll be hooking up the rest of the switches in short order. The dock badges tab is basically done, but expect the General and Menu Bar tabs to get a hefty redesign with better icons, etc before the stable release.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.718 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Settings Window] Dock Badge toggle switches are now fully functional
• [Settings Window] Escape Key toggle switch is now fully functional

Notes for Testers

Please test all the dock badge toggle switches and make sure they work properly!

Screenshots

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.718 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! Now most of the settings menu works!

Also, I summoned all of my COURAGE and swapped the option and control menus. Let me know if you hate this. I don't make this change lightly, but it really seemed to make sense to have all the system controls under, well, the control menu.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.719 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Settings Window] New Home Strip tab with fully functional toggle switches
• [Settings Window] Menu Bar toggle switches are now fully functional
• [Settings Window] "Reapply All Settings" renamed to "Restore Preexisting Configuration"
• [Settings Window] Applying a preset or restoring a preexisting configuration properly updates all toggle switches in the window
• [Dock Badges] Added News dock badge
• [Modifier Menus] Swapped Option and Control modifier menus

Notes for Testers

• Let me know what you think of the opt/ctrl menu swap.
• Please test all the new toggle switches and report any that don't work as expected.
• Segmented controls will properly update the Touch Bar, but don't update in the settings window. That's next!

Screenshots

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.719 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version!

I'm happy to report that the new settings window is, at last, fully functional! All segmented controls now update in real time to reflect their preferences. From here, there's just a lot of design and optimization work to be done for it to meet my standards for a stable release.

This version also fixes a bug with the AirPods widget where it wouldn't open the Bluetooth menu unless the Volume menu was also enabled.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.720 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Settings Window] Segmented controls are now fully functional
  • This means that every switch in the settings menu is now fully functional! Hooooooly crap yes!
• [Settings Window] Added many more icons to switches
• [Settings Window] Enabled caching for the settings window
• [Settings] Performance and optimization improvements when reapplying all settings
• [Settings] Removed and deprecated "GC-BTT System Alerts" widget group
• [Default Settings] Made Apple Calendar the default calendar app instead of Fantastical
• [Dock Badges] Added Maps dock badge (great for handoff!)
• [Dock Badges] Added Superhuman dock badge
• [Connect to AirPods] Fixed an issue where the Bluetooth menu would not open if the Volume menu was missing
• [Connect to Beats] Fixed an issue where the Bluetooth menu would not open if the Volume menu was missing
• [Icons] New AirPods, Browser Tabs, and Emoji icons
  • I'm (finally) going through the current icon set and pixel-fitting them to the touch bar. A small start to something long overdue. Some graphics were updated previously, but soon every icon will be in the same 44x44 square instead of a variety of sizes, allowing you to reuse them more easily with the BTT default settings.

Notes for Testers

Please test all the settings in the settings menu and let me know if any don't work as expected.

Screenshots

_{You can see the new AirPods icon there. The emoji and browser tabs icons are also new, but more refinements than anything noticeable.}

Shots of the default settings:

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.720 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! With the initial settings implemented I can finally go and add many much-requested settings. I'm kicking it off today with some modifier menu toggle switches. You can finally disable the app switcher if you want!

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.723 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Settings] Added Modifier Menu settings to General tab
  • Modifiers keys for disabled menus can still be used to quickly shrink the menu bar! Very convenient.
• [Settings] Added placeholders for upcoming Home Strip settings
  • If the setting has a red background that means I haven't hooked it up yet and it won't do anything!
• [Settings] Fixed an issue with the New Tab and Refresh key setting switches
• [Modifier Menus] Fixed an issue where holding fn would cause all modifier menus to be displayed at once on top of each other
• [Modifier Menus] Fixed an issue where holding down multiple modifiers would hide the Home Strip

Known Issues

• The menu bar will briefly blink when modifier menus are invoked.
• The Volume Mute settings switch doesn't work in this build.

Screenshots

_{Holding down modifier keys with disabled menus allows them to quickly hide a portion of the menu bar. Convenient!}

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.723 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! All of the Home Strip settings work now please let me know in the feedback thread any additional settings you'd like, because this actually rounds out most settings I have planned for existing features. My remaining work on the settings window is pretty much just design-related, polishing up icons, making links work, etc.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.273-2 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Home Strip Settings] New Home Strip settings activated
  • Set Media Controls & Now Playing widget to show always or hide completely
  • Show/Hide Calendar, Reminders, and Things widgets
  • Show Finder/AirDrop keys with icon only or hide completely
  • Show/Hide Window Snapping keys
• [Default Settings] Things widget is now disabled by default
• [Modifier Menus] Made modifier menus more reliable when inside widget groups

Known Issues

• The menu bar will briefly blink when modifier menus are invoked.
• The Volume Mute settings switch doesn't work in this build.

Screenshots

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.723-2 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! Bug fixes and polishing up icons.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.723-3 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Settings Window] Fixed Volume Mute setting switch
• [Settings Window] Added an initialization function to set defaults if you've never set settings before
• [Icons] Most icons have now been pixel-fit to a 22x22pt bounding box

Notes for Testers

If the settings window was previously showing red rows for you, this update should resolve that issue and allow you to use the new switches. Please try the settings window on this version and let me know if all the switches work!

Known Issues

• The menu bar will briefly blink when modifier menus are invoked.

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.723-3 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental release! Got to spend today working on polishing the UX and icons

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.723-4 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Icons] More pixel-fitting, more standardization, ~90% of all UI icons done now
  • I haven't provided a before/after or anything, but some of these icons are waaaay sharper than before! Especially noticeable with the play/pause buttons, browser tabs, True Tone, and others that had weird soft edges. All fixed now.
• [Menu Bar] Added 1Password menu bar item
  • Before you get too excited, it's just mapped to cmd \, but I plan on exploring deeper 1Password support in the future!
• [Menu Bar] Tab buttons like Browser Tabs, Emoji Picker, and Languages now show their active/inactive states much more quickly and reliably
• [Browser Tabs] Fixed an issue where the Browser Tabs button would show up even if there were no tabs open

Known Issues

• The menu bar will briefly blink when modifier menus are invoked.

Screenshots

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.723-4 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! Adding more menu bar items for third party apps I use often. Let me know what apps you use in the menu bar that you'd like to see keys for! They're super easy to make since they often just trigger a keyboard shortcut.

Also, since I sometimes report when certain experimental versions are more stable than others, I'd peg this one as a "pretty stable" experimental release. We're close to release candidate status, just a few more things to add, so you could conceivably switch to the experimental channel as a daily driver until the next stable release and I wouldn't think you were that crazy.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.723-5 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Menu Bar] Added Day One menu bar item
• [Menu Bar] Added ColorSnapper menu bar item

Known Issues

• The menu bar will briefly blink when modifier menus are invoked.

Screenshots

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.723-5 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! This one is back to being more experimental, and introduces some core changes to how media controls are displayed. The hope is that this improves responsiveness and media player compatibility. The reality is that there's still some work to be done, haha.

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.754 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Media Controls] Experimental new media controls using conditional activation groups
  • The Play/Pause button should be significantly more responsive now. Please test this out!
• [iTunes Controls] New Add to Library/Download button based on @mingwei's awesome new widget.
  • It also appears on the Home Strip!
  • I'm still refining the iCloud Download icon.
• [Menu Bar] Added HazeOver menu bar item
• [Emoji Picker] Added default set of favorite emoji based on top global emoji usage to make entering emoji faster
• [Window Snapper] Ported @yuuiko's updated community window snapper widget with initial multi-monitor support
  • Styles and functionality here are HEAVILY work in progress, please mind the dust!
• Widget formatting updates to make GC-BTT look nice in the experimental new BTT UI

Known Issues

• The menu bar will briefly blink when modifier menus are invoked.
• The Play/Pause button may not update properly inside the Now Playing Actions group.

Screenshots

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.754 (Experimental)

[GoldenChaos]

New experimental version! This fixes a critical bug in the previous version that would cause iTunes to relaunch when quit. It also adds an updated UI for album art, and finalizes my media control refactor using conditional activation groups. This means that media controls should be more responsive than ever!

GoldenChaos-BTT 2.760 (Experimental) Changelog

• [Now Playing Widgets] New full-height album artwork display
• [Media Controls] Media controls now hide and show using conditional activation groups instead of AppleScript, making them much more responsive
• [iTunes Controls] Fixed a bug in the "Add to Library/Download Song" script that was causing iTunes to relaunch when quit
• [iTunes Controls] Refined "Download from iCloud" icon

Known Issues

• [BTT Issue] The menu bar will briefly blink when modifier menus are invoked.
• [BTT Issue] The Play/Pause button may not update properly inside the Now Playing Actions group.

Screenshots

Download: GoldenChaos-BTT 2.760 (Experimental)