The workflow in OS X is filled with small things that are not available in other operating systems, such as the ‘depth’ of the work environment. You can close, minimize and zoom windows that are visible in the background but not active, without having to switch focus to that application. Similarly, you can scroll the contents of windows in the background and of certain areas of those windows by simply placing the mouse over them and scrolling without having to switch focus. Other operating systems where you not only need to make the window you want to scroll in active, but also have to click in where you want to scroll make me cry out in frustration after about two hundred such clicks that would not have been needed in OS X.

While the depth of the workplace is great in OS X, it can be made even better though small third party programs such as MondoMouse.

What it does

MondoMouse is a small system preference pane that enhances certain mouse related actions by making them depth and location independent. It does this by adding support for certain system wide key modifiers that when held down allows for smart manipulation of windows. Thus you can move and resize windows without having to change focus to them the way you normally do, or even drag them from the appropriate places.

This small application is ideal for people who work with a lot of opened windows.

Moving

Having several applications open each with quite a number of its own windows quickly adds up to tens of windows open at the same time. While this is not a problem in itself, often, over the course of working, you end up with windows in bad places and have to move them around to get to something that lies behind them. At this point you usually have to stop what you are doing and start moving windows around, and of course, if the window you are moving belongs to another application, you have to switch focus in order to move it and then click on the title bar in order to drag it around… no longer.

With MondoMouse you can just press the corresponding key combo while the mouse is held over the window you want to move and start moving the mouse to drag the window. Not only does it not have to be in focus, but you can drag it by holding the mouse over any part of it, not just the title bar.
Not only is this helpful in day to day work, but also in those excruciating situations when, because of a resolution change you get things such as floating toolbars halfway off the screen, with no possibility to click and drag their title bar and put them back where they belong, other than restarting the application.

Resizing

Much like moving windows that have ended up in places where you don’t want them sometimes you want to resize windows that are either too big or too small. MondoMouse lets you do this without having to switch focus to them or having to drag any special location. Simply place the mouse over any part of the screen, hold down the modifier keys and drag. This will resize the window as expected, and, when used in combination with the move options, you can quickly sort through a mess of them in no time.

Mouse Focus

While manipulating windows without having to make them active is great, there are times when you want the exact opposite behavior, and you have whatever you are holding your mouse over become active. MondoMouse can do this for you, switching focus automatically to any window or application you hold the mouse over automatically without you having to make any clicks.

The preference pane lets you specify a time after which, if there is no mouse activity, and the pointer is above another window or application, the focus will switch to it. This behavior can be set to either be on all the time, or only when you press a certain modifier key, however because of the way the mouse needs to be still in order for this to come into effect, it can be set always with a one second delay and there is little to no risk of ever accidentally switching focus.

The Good

Easy ways to manipulate windows without ever having to change focus to them or click special locations, or to keep focus centered on the mouse at all times. Very easy to set up and use.

The Bad

Drag and Drop does not mix well with MondoMouse and you cannot start dragging an item then resize the window you dragged it from and move another so you can place it in.

The Truth

For those who like manipulating elements without having to actually interact directly with them will love this little application. So will those who don’t, as it will allow them to keep the focus centered on the mouse at all times.

Here are some screenshots, click to enlarge: