I šŸ˜ the TouchBar

MBP owners show us how you use your beloved TouchBar. Here are a couple of my configs with BTT:

Default

default
Dropbox | Moom | Set window to left 2/3 of screen | Set window to right 2/3 of screen

Finder

finder
Toggle Sidebar | Select a Folder in Alfred | Fix Finder Columns | Toggle Preview

Note that two of these buttons arenā€™t Finder features st all - theyā€™re calls to Alfred workflows. This ability to add related (or totally unrelated if you like) functions from apps other than the active one is a great feature of BTT.

Scrivener

scriv
Toggle Binder | Toggle Toolbar | Toggle Compose | Vertical Split | Horizontal Split | Split Document at Selection | Split Document with Selection as Title | Project Search

Skim

skim
Text Selection | Highlights by colour | Underline

And my favourite native configuration, which I find much more intuitive than using the keyboard:

MindNode

mindnode

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Oh I hope there will be more of these. Iā€™m contemplating getting a touchbar mac as my next one, but the guys on ATP are sooo negative about them that I am really doubting that choice. I really want the fingerprint sensor, frankly!

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Yes, the fingerprint sensor alone justifies it, IMHO.

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I donā€™t use it a lot, other than the fingerprint sensor. When Iā€™m on a Mac that lack the fingerprint thingy, I really miss it.

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Great idea! Iā€™ve pinched a couple of yours for my general setting:
02
Hide windows | Create an empty note | Zoom (useful in lessons) | Left 2/3 | Right 1/3

XCode:
17
Run | Comment out block | Re-indent block | Backup current project | Speak selection (useful to know how Siri will say something).

I added one or two extras to individual apps, but Iā€™m keen for other ideas!

Finder: reveal Yoink.
Chrome: reload the current tab as cmd-R doesnā€™t always do it.
iTunes: add artwork and lyrics to my songs (after bouncing from Logic)
Notes: Speak, to speak the text
Preview: Close current pdf and open it in PDF Expert
Simulator: Backup my current project (Iā€™m still a bit uncertain of git)

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I use an iMac 2017 for the office and an iPad Pro 10.5 for mobile that I donā€™t have a need for a MBPā€¦HOWEVER Iā€™d love a touch bar on a wireless keyboard. I donā€™t know if itā€™s possible to do but Iā€™d buy one tomorrow.

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I agree about an external keyboard with a touchbar. I use my MBP in clamshell mode most of the time so the built in touchbar is useless much of the time.

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I mostly use it for the touch ID but think it would hot more mainstream adoption within apps and users if Apple provided an external keyboard with the same functionality. My setup at work includes a magic keyboard so my muscle memory is continually trained to hit physical buttons.

With Face ID the new standard, I wonder if we will continue to see touchbar implemented once the new line of Macs get face recognition or if it will slowly fade away?

TouchID has been the only thing I like about it. Although I hated to, I turned off App Controls (App specific layouts) because I always want system keys (Control Strip) displayed for brightness, mute, volume and media keys (play/pause, back & forward) so they are immediately accesseible with one-tap. (This seems like a very standard desire.) In ā€œApp Controls with Control Stripā€ mode you can only choose four one-tap buttons that are displayed at all times in the Control Strip on the right side. Forward and back keys arenā€™t even available to add here :rage:. Those are hidden under a fly-out. In this mode skipping to the next track takes three taps: 1. Fly-out, 2. Find and tap Forward button, 3. Find and tap X to Close fly-out. Nope.

Also donā€™t put any of the keys that morph into sliders (e.g. volume, screen brightness) too close to the end of Touch Bar. If youā€™re sliding toward the end youā€™ll run out of ā€œBarā€ and have to pick up your finger, move over and try again.

Itā€™s a lot of new friction for something that used to be just hitting keys that never moved locations, ran out of room or hid under other UI elements.

Has anyone tried better touch tool with the touchbar? I tried it a while ago but I just wasnā€™t using it enough to justify it. But now that they have options for the touchbar I wondered if I would use it more.

Yes, thatā€™s what mine and dfayā€™s posts are covering. Iā€™m not sure Iā€™d use the touchbar much otherwise, tbh.
Iā€™m hoping others will also post their examples, so I can pinch good ideas.

Iā€™ve seen a lot of touch bar hate on my twitter timeline today in response to the new MacBook Pro updates ā€“ many people saying they will never buy a computer with the touchbar. I just donā€™t get this. Iā€™ve had a Touchbar equipped MBPro for about 18 months and I would certainly be willing to purchase another. I donā€™t use the Touchbar a whole bunch, but I never ever used the function keys. Every now and then the Touchbar comes in quite handy. And as many others have mentioned, I love love love touch id, and definitely miss that a lot when I use a computer that doesnā€™t have it.

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I have grown to appreciate the touchbar and developed muscle memory to use it with finder dialogs, and some apps. It kind of grows on you. I did have it hang on me and got it replaced. I now have the second generation keyboard and touchbar (single unit) and it works well.

The biggest drawback is lack of tactile feedback

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Keynote! Shows the upcoming slides! Fantastic!

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Thatā€™s awesome. Really love BTT, and can see this bring very useful. Still happy with my 2015 MBP - but when the day comes for an upgrade, Touchbar will be properly used!

I am a big fan of the TouchBar as well! Perhaps my most enjoyable functionality that has solved many problems is the feature that allows you to ā€˜Extend Desktopā€™ or ā€˜Mirror Displaysā€™ when connected to an external monitor!

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@holy_kau I donā€™t quite follow what you mean here: How is that different to what is available under Preferences/Displays?

Or do you simply mean itā€™s easier/quicker to get to it in the TouchBar, when the external is plugged in?

Not different - just quicker! And sometimes, at places where I have given presentations on a bigger screen, the ā€œnormalā€ way through preferences has been challenging because of automatic mirroring and non-optimal settings on their end. The touch bar route makes it so much simpler.

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I the past couple months I moved into a role where I had to use a work Mac and not my own (odd as Iā€™m hired for what I know and a large chunk of the work related to what I know is on my personal MacBook Pro. The work MacBook Pro has a touch bar, which I havenā€™t fully found of a great use. The ability to easily adjust brightness with a slide bar is nice.

I find the touchID less helpful than my unlock with my Apple Watch functionality I have on my personal machine. I find myself touching and retouching the touchID repeatedly with little success for about a mintute before it works most times.

Interesting seeing these as I havenā€™t paid a lot of attention to what is in them much of the time as I havenā€™t taken the time to consider what they actually offer. I know so many keystrokes and have a lot of customized keystrokes I havenā€™t look to see what is in the bar.