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Stage Manager is a fantastic feature of MacOS that takes multitasking to a whole new level. I’ve already covered initial enablement and use of the tool, and for a long time I used Stage Manager on my MacBook Pro. However, I ran into a particular multitasking situation where Stage Manager wasn’t entirely ideal. When that happened I disabled Stage Manager and forgot about it.
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Fast forward a few months, and my brain said, “Hey, remember that cool MacOS feature?” After deciding that I wanted to go back to that handy option, I decided there had to be an easier way to enable and disable it on the fly.
And guess what? There is. This feature means that whenever I run into a situation where Stage Manager isn’t the best option, I can quickly turn it off. Then when I want it back I can enable it. This gives me the best of both worlds and I don’t have to bang my head against the wall trying to remember the name of the function (because we all know how frustrating that can be).
To make this approach even better, I combine Stage Manager with the window wrapper application, Rectangle, for a truly unique method of interacting with my macOS desktop. With that combination, I can use Stage Manager and get full screen windows for a supercharged multitasking experience.
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But how do you configure the easier enable/disable feature of Stage Manager? Let me teach you.
How to enable quick access to Stage Manager
What you will need: For this to work, you’ll first need to enable Stage Manager on a MacOS device. I have outlined this simple process in this article. Now, let’s simplify Stage Manager.
Click the Apple menu in the upper left corner of the desktop, and from the drop-down menu, select Settings.
In the Settings window, click Control Center in the left sidebar.
You can also launch Settings from Launchpad in the Dock. Jack Wallen/ZDNET
Locate the Stage Manager listing (under Control Center Modules), click the dropdown menu, and select Show in Menu Bar. You can then close Settings.
There are also a number of other tools that you can add to the menu bar. Jack Wallen/ZDNET
If you click on the Stage Manager icon (square with three dots on the left side) in the menu bar, you will see an on/off switch. Click that switch so that it is in the on position to enable Stage Manager. To disable Stage Manager, return to the menu bar drop down menu and click the on/off switch until it is in the off position.
You can now quickly enable or disable Stage Manager from the menu bar. Image: Jack Wallen
You can switch back and forth on the fly, so you no longer have to navigate through Settings to find the Scene Manager entry. With the icon in the menu bar, Stage Manager is available upon request.
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Since I discovered this simple way to enable/disable Stage Manager, I now have control of when it’s on or off, which means I use the feature most of the time, but I also know I can leave it off, in case the occasion arises.
