Icons in MacOS #354

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1. mattasplund

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   enhancement

   on Oct 15, 2026
2. ohlincha commented on Oct 15, 2026

   

   ohlincha

   on Oct 15, 2026

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   Thanks. This overlaps with #344 (macOS Dock icons per helper).

   Why: on macOS each ECCE tool (Organizer, Builder, Calculation Editor, ...) is a separate program, and macOS gives every program its own Dock icon. Hiding a program from the Dock also removes its menu bar, and the Builder and the editor need theirs, so the tools cannot simply be folded under the ECCE icon.

   Planned for 9.2.0: each tool becomes a proper application inside ECCE.app, with the ECCE icon and its own name ("ECCE Builder", ...). Clicking its Dock icon brings its windows to the front, and the menu bar shows its name instead of "organizer". The gateway, which has no windows, leaves the Dock.

   Later: one icon for everything, as most Mac programs do it, needs the tools to run inside one program. That is a larger change and is not planned for 9.2.0. This issue stays open for it.
3. ohlincha commented on Oct 15, 2026

   

   ohlincha

   on Oct 15, 2026

   Last edited by ohlincha

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   @mattasplund, which of these would you prefer as a Mac user? The costs differ a lot:

   1. Proper apps per tool. Each tool keeps its own Dock icon, but with the ECCE icon and its own name ("ECCE Builder"). A click on the icon brings its windows forward, and the menu bar shows the tool's name. The gateway leaves the Dock. Cost: small, about a day, packaging only; can be in 9.2.0.
   2. Icon only while in front. A tool shows its Dock icon and menu bar only while one of its windows is in front, so normally only the ECCE icon is in the Dock. Cost: small, like 1. Drawback: tools in the background disappear from Cmd+Tab and from the Dock, so you can only get back to them through their windows (Mission Control, or clicking a visible window).
   3. One program. One ECCE icon and one menu bar, with all windows under it, as most Mac programs work. Cost: large. The tools are separate programs that talk through the message broker, and each has its own start-up and global state. Merging them into one process is weeks of work on all platforms, and other work (GROMACS, CP2K, plots) would wait. Not for 9.2.0.

   The current plan is 1 for 9.2.0, with 3 as a possible later goal.
4. mattasplund commented on Oct 15, 2026

   

   mattasplund

   on Oct 15, 2026

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   Missed that other version of the issue. I think that the third option would be lovely, but unnecessary. It would help with new user adoption, as the number of windows can get large quickly if things aren't closed after use. A mac use would be used to - to switch applications and -~ to switch windows within a single application but I recognize that this ia a pretty big change for little overall gain.
5. ohlincha commented on Oct 15, 2026

   

   ohlincha

   on Oct 15, 2026

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   Thanks, Matt. Then option 1 goes into 9.2.0. With it, Cmd+Tab switches between the ECCE tools, and Cmd+` between the windows of one tool. This issue stays open for option 3 as a later goal.