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Add to SafariWhen comparing Spectacle vs AROW, the Slant community recommends Spectacle for most people. In the question“What is the best window manager for Mac?” Spectacle is ranked 7th while AROW is ranked 22nd. The most important reason people chose Spectacle is:
Spectacle is licensed under MIT with source code available on [GitHub](https://github.com/eczarny/spectacle).
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Free and open source
Spectacle is licensed under MIT with source code available on GitHub.
Pro Simple hotkeys
Spectacle offers easy-to-remember preset hotkeys.
Pro Mouseless
All windows in Spectacle can be controlled with keyboard shortcuts, so no mouse is needed. This makes for a fast way to control windows.
Pro Great UX
Spectacle is easy to use and configure. It's plug and play.
Pro Low footprint
Spectacle only uses up 18-19 MB of RAM, which means there is not much overhead by using this app.
Pro Multi-monitor support
Pro 7+ years of use
Using it for 7 years
Pro Support for multiple monitors
If you use external monitors, the app is useful. It also supports retina screen without problems.
Pro Customizable options
You can customize the app in Option, for example, where you can change the appearance of the preview outline, adjust the width of the recognition areas, and set keyboard hotkeys for quick window snapping.
Pro Define OS X window buttons
AROW enables you to change the actions of OS X’s window buttons. It only requires either a right or a left-click for the action to take place.
Pro Smart Panel to move and resize windows
The customizable grid panel is very intuitive and is an accurate way to resize and move windows. Simply drag your mouse across its grid, the window will be moved, and resize to the exact position instantly.
Pro Easy ways to snap windows
Simply drag windows to the edges of your Mac’s screen. Once the cursor reaches the screen’s edge, the window will automatically move and resize to fill exactly half or quarter of the screen.
Cons
Con Not maintained
The software is free, but no longer seems to be maintained.
Con Impossible to add new functions
While keyboard shortcuts can be changed for the available actions, there is no way to add custom actions which in turn limits the functionality of the app.
Con Limited window sizing capabilities
You can use 1/2 of the screen vertically and horizontally (divide into 4 parts). You can also use the screen in thirds too, but only the left and right third: you can't use the 1/3 in the center. There is no way to do a more granular distribution.
Con Breaks on macOS High Sierra / Chrome or Firefox
Doesn't support side by side windows.
Con Doesn't work with any Adobe products
There are some apps like Adobe Reader that do not work with Spectacle. Basically, any app with a heavily customized UI that breaks OS X accessibility will not work correctly under Spectacle.
Con Trouble with GUI
Yosemite (10.10.5) it works but it's impossible to open the application GUI.
