Move/resize with modifier keys does not work in some apps

[venpopov]

The ability to move and resize windows with the moves while holding modifier keys is one of my favorite features of Rectangle.

Until recently it worked flawlessly, but I am having issues in two apps now.

1. Apple Notes after Sequoia update

The move/resize commands do not work if the cursor is on top of a handwritten section in a note:

Screen.Recording.2024-12-02.at.15.56.30.mov

It works just fine if the cursor is anywhere else in the notes app, or even within a note if part of a typed note. But when it's over a handwritten section, the Notes window will not move. The logs reveal that Rectange is proposing correctly new positions, but for some reason the result remains the same!

2. Raycast Notes

A similar but different problem here. With Raycast notes it only works if the cursor is on the top bar of the note, but if the cursor is anywhere else on the window, the logs show that Rectangle cannot identify the window id:

Screen.Recording.2024-12-02.at.15.40.04.mov

I have contacted Raycast about this, and I'm not sure how to interpret their response and whether there is anything from Rectangle's side that needs to be fixed:

I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing issues with Raycast Notes and Rectangle Pro. I'm guessing that Rectangle Pro might be ignoring windows that are floating panels. We've added an exception in our code for Raycast Notes to address this, but unfortunately, there's nothing we can do for Rectangle Pro. I am so sorry for this.

The two problems are superficially the same, but the logger seems to indicate different underlying causes. The Apple Notes issue only began after the OS update.

• This is a new bug that hasn't been documented in a closed issue or in the Readme.

macOS version: 15.2
Rectangle version: v3.0.37
Logs if applicable (In Rectangle menu, hold option, "View Logging..."):

[rxhanson]

Thanks for letting me know, and for all of the details here.

I'll see what I can do for both of these, but can't make any guarantees.

[venpopov]

I am a bit at a loss why, but now the gesture works for both of those programs. I restarted my Mac, but neither the operating system nor the apps were updated (and rectangle is still the same version so I assume also nothing changed there?). I had restarted my machine several times before and the problem always persisted, so I really have no idea what fixed it.

Edit: nevermind, Raycast notes suddenly stopped reacting to this gesture after a few minutes. It seems like it might be a Raycast problem than a rectangle problem. Apple notes still works though 🤷

Edit2: after a couple of more reboots, I managed to consistently replicate Raycast Notes' behavior. When first launched after rebooting Mac, the window is detected correctly and all Rectangle Pro gestures (including throw and the move with cursor) work just fine. But if I close the notes window and launch it again, then it breaks and it shows the behavior I described in my original post.

[venpopov]

Not only gestures on Apple notes stoped working again, but also really inconsistent behavior with Bear (see screenrecording). It seems that (sometimes) unless I click first on the app window, the gesture doesn't work. But in a weird twist it exhibits exactly the opposite behavior as that of apple notes - when the cursor is over a handwritten sketch in Bear, Rectangle gestures are able to reclaim focus on the window (sorry I don't know the proper vocabulary for all these UI elements, I hope it's understandable. You can see that strange effect towards the end of the screencast).

Screen.Recording.2024-12-03.at.18.55.20.mov

I'm not 100% sure, but I think these problems started happening sporadically after I updated to Sequoia - for months before that I never had a problem with Rectangle's gestures. I wonder if Apple broke some API that rectangle depends on?

[rxhanson]

The accessibility API can get tripped up in unintuitive ways. Rectangle Pro with Notes has continued to work fine for me after the update, and since you're the first to report this then it might point to something being a little different about your setup. One thing you could try (although tedious) is to remove accessibility privileges for all of the apps that have them, then re-add them, starting with Rectangle Pro. Quit each app prior to removing accessibility privileges. This has worked in similar scenarios in the past for some users.

[venpopov]

Thank you for the advice, I will try it. I have indeed had issues with different apps creating accessibility conflicts. The problems might be indeed related to something I have installed at a similar time as the OS update. I'll report back if the problems can get fixed by this or if there's something different going on.

[venpopov]

I created a new user on my Mac and disabled all accessibility permissions except for rectangle. The same problems persist. Now I noticed it with Microsoft Teams as well. With Teams the situation is:

• I launch Teams for the first time and all Rectangle shortcuts work.
• I close the Teams window via 'cmd+w' or red X. I open Teams again. Now Rectangle doesn't work and the log again shows that it is unable to identify the window id.

[rxhanson]

Thanks for trying that out and letting me know. This is still likely something that is specific to your setup. It might be worth it to reset Rectangle Pro's accessibility permissions here as well:

Manual instructions:

1. Quit Rectangle Pro
2. In System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Accessibility, first disable Rectangle Pro, then remove it with the minus button. (it's important to do both of those steps in that order)
3. Launch Rectangle Pro and enable settings for it as prompted.

-or-

Terminal equivalent:

killall Rectangle\ Pro
tccutil reset All com.knollsoft.Hookshot
open -a Rectangle\ Pro

Apologies for the pain; sometimes this is an unfortunate part of only being able to use the Accessibility API as a 3rd party.

[venpopov]

So, I decided to reformat my computer and downgrade to Sonoma for unrelated reasons and chose to start a fresh install. This gave me an opportunity to test out these issues in a clean environment. I can replicate the same issues I've detailed above. Rectangle commands involving the mouse do not work in:

• Microsoft Teams after closing and reopening the app window
• Raycast Notes after closing and reopening the app window

In both cases the commands with the mouse work only on first launch and afterwards only if the cursor is on top of the red/yellow/green dots.

For apple notes and bear, it sometimes works, sometimes doesn't and I haven't been able to figure out a consistent way to replicate when the problems appear there.

This happens on a fresh Sonoma installation, with Rectangle the only app that has accessibility permissions:

This seems to be particularly a problem with how Rectangle detects windows. The same functionality in BetterTouchTool (which I did not install for the tests above, but had on my previous setup) - moving or resizing a window with the mouse while holding a modifier - worked with all of these other programs.

[rxhanson]

Thanks for the additional info. I think I have it figured out. Mind trying out this version? https://rectangleapp.com/pro/downloads/Rectangle Pro 3.0.39.dmg

[venpopov]

Yay! It works - both Raycast notes and Teams now have no problem. For Apple Notes I won't be able to tell immediately since I don't know how to replicate the conditions under which the problem appeared, but for the other reliable cases, this version seems to completely resolve the problem.

[venpopov]

Correction - for Raycast notes there is a slight remaining problem. If I switch the focus to a different app window, then go back to Raycast notes, rectangle shortcuts again don't work until I activate them when the cursor is over the title bar. After that they work anywhere in the window body. So this is a progress relative to before, but it still doesn't work as smoothly as with other apps.

It has something to do with window focus. If the Raycast notes window is on top of another app window (e.g. Finder), the rectangle shortcuts apply to the finder window even though the mouse cursor is on top of Raycast. Once I activate the Raycast window by clicking specifically on its titlebar, then rectangle's shortcuts start applying to it instead of

[venpopov]

And with Teams while it mostly works, I need to first click on the window to activate it. With most other apps, Rectangle's Throw shortcuts work on whatever window is under the mouse cursor, regardless of whether it is the active window. I have really gotten used to that behavior in my workflow because it saves me from having to first click on an app window to control its position.

[rxhanson]

Thanks for the quick turnaround! I'll dig a little deeper and see what I can find.