If you’ve been a long-time Mac user, you may remember that in the old days of OS X, every application window came with a transparent bubble icon in the top right. This was a focus mode that when clicked would keep the current app in view and automatically hide the rest of your windows to minimize distractions. Apple eventually canceled this feature, and it hasn’t had much of an equivalent since.
Well, that’s it so far. Desktop Curtain is a new Mac utility application that takes this focus mode one step further. You place a virtual screen just above your desktop and control how much of it covers. This app is a small but useful app if you just want to focus on your current window or completely protect files and apps from viewers.
Hide Your Desktop and Apps
Personally, I like to keep a very clean desktop. I usually only have one or two files at a time. I’d rather not have any of them, but they’re too convenient to fit on my dock anyway to be able to drop something I know I’ll need quick access to sometimes.
With this app, I feel comfortable letting my desktop get a little cluttered because at any time I feel like I need a breather, I launch Desktop Curtain and watch everything disappear.
You place a virtual screen just above your desktop and control how much of it covers.
The app doesn’t need to hide your desktop icons if you don’t want to. You don’t even need to open the “curtain”. Here are a few settings to play with.
When you open the Desktop Curtain, you will see the Preferences panel. at the bottom current level You can display the Curtain behind the icons, in front of them (to hide them) to set how much you want to cover, or behind the active application to hide the others. At its most powerful, it can hide all desktop icons and all but active applications.
Customize the Curtain
If you’re extra private about what you’re doing on your computer, you can customize the Desktop Curtain so it doesn’t look like a curtain. Change To choose set either system default or your Desktop Picture and the wallpaper will instead cover whatever you want to hide.
No, there is nothing to see mine computer folks. Just me and my desktop photo. No apps or files are stored behind it.
Otherwise, you can additionally change the color of the curtain, the scale that shows it’s running if you have more than one connection, and how Mission Control behaves when Desktop Curtain is running.
You can also set keyboard shortcuts to launch some features and settings, such as isolating the frontmost window.
No, nothing to see on my computer, guys.
Desktop Curtain is a great little application that can transform your desktop and workspace in one click while protecting your privacy. At $4.99, the price is a little high, but it’s great if you hate desktop clutter or hate people who know what you’re doing.
ALSO READ: 3 Free Mac Apps to Boost Your Productivity by Helping You Focus
