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I recently got a new MacBook Pro, complete with the fancy TouchBar that changes functionality based on your active app. It's a good idea but is largely considered a flop by the Apple Fan community (admittedly, harsh critics with high expectations). Having used it for awhile now, I gotta admit that I don't really care for it myself. It has moments of usefulness but there are two primary complaints that I can't get over:
1) Lack of tactile feedback from commonly used keys like ESC. I just can't get used to it. Maybe over time I will but a few months in, it still bothers me.
2) Lack of universal music control. Previously, I could hit Play / Pause on my Function Key row and it would pause iTunes or Spotify, depending on which was active and open. Maybe it's me but I can't get those buttons to do a damn thing anymore.
Instead of just complaining, I searched for some answers and came upon this 2018 piece, Making the Touch Bar finally useful. It runs through many of the same complaints I have and points to using BetterTouchTool as a solution for making the bar actually useful.
The article is great because it runs through actual AppleScripts that will do the things you want. The downside is that the BetterTouchTool app has been updated since the original publish date and many of these don't work anymore. Cue the sad trombone.
At the very least, it seems like there is some solution out there if you're willing to put the time in to make it work. If I find the time, I may just have to give this a whirl.
1) Lack of tactile feedback from commonly used keys like ESC. I just can't get used to it. Maybe over time I will but a few months in, it still bothers me.
2) Lack of universal music control. Previously, I could hit Play / Pause on my Function Key row and it would pause iTunes or Spotify, depending on which was active and open. Maybe it's me but I can't get those buttons to do a damn thing anymore.
Instead of just complaining, I searched for some answers and came upon this 2018 piece, Making the Touch Bar finally useful. It runs through many of the same complaints I have and points to using BetterTouchTool as a solution for making the bar actually useful.
The article is great because it runs through actual AppleScripts that will do the things you want. The downside is that the BetterTouchTool app has been updated since the original publish date and many of these don't work anymore. Cue the sad trombone.
At the very least, it seems like there is some solution out there if you're willing to put the time in to make it work. If I find the time, I may just have to give this a whirl.
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