Desktop Curtain

Hide your clutter

Release Notes

What's new in Desktop Curtain?

Desktop Curtain 3.1.3 - Sep 23 2021

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Fixed support for macOS 10.9 Mavericks. (Hat tip to Robert S. for reporting this one.)

Desktop Curtain 3.1.2 - Apr 26 2021

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Worked around a bug in macOS 11 Big Sur that prevented "Isolate frontmost window" from working properly.
  • The direct version once again offers Spaces support, which we had accidentally removed in an earlier update. (Hat tip to Francesco F. for reporting this one.)

Desktop Curtain 3.1.1 - Mar 5 2021

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Fixed a regression in the App Store version of Desktop Curtain 3.1, where Desktop Curtain failed to request access to the user's desktop picture under certain circumstances.

Desktop Curtain 3.1 - Mar 4 2021

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Desktop Curtain is now a universal app, built for both Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
  • Resolved some minor user interface issues on macOS 11 Big Sur.

Desktop Curtain 3.0.9 - Jan 31 2019

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Forced curtain to vanish when operating in menu bar mode and a full-screen window is frontmost. (Hat tip to Steve R. for reporting this one.)
  • Added support for macOS 10.14's non-dynamic desktop images.
  • Added support for macOS 10.14's Dark Mode.
  • Worked around an occasional crash in the App Store version of Desktop Curtain.

Desktop Curtain 3.0.8 - Oct 3 2018

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Fixed a bug that caused Desktop Curtain to stall for a few seconds when clicking on a desktop-covering curtain. (This bug only affected the App Store version of Desktop Curtain.)
  • Behind-the-scenes changes.

Desktop Curtain 3.0.7 - Aug 9 2016

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Fixes a bug where email addresses with dot characters in their user name part weren't accepted for license crossgrades.

Desktop Curtain 3.0.6 - Aug 4 2016

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Retinaized menu bar icon.
  • Help is now more helpful (i.e. it uses our new help system).
  • App Store version is now sandboxed.
  • App Store version loses support for Spaces (here's why).
  • App Store users can now freely crossgrade to direct version for Spaces support.

Desktop Curtain 3.0.5 - Feb 3 2016

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Fixed a bug where Desktop Curtain would crash on launch on OS X 10.7.

Desktop Curtain 3.0.4 - Jan 31 2016

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Updated the Sparkle in-app update mechanism to use a secure connection (HTTPS).
  • Changed Spaces detection code to more accurately identify multiple Spaces on multiple displays.

Desktop Curtain 3.0.3 - Sep 28 2015

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Fixed an issue with OS X 10.11 El Capitan's Gatekeeper.

Desktop Curtain 3.0.2 - Aug 6 2014

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Modified some interface elements in preparation for Yosemite (OS X 10.10).
  • Prepared for upcoming Gatekeeper changes.

Desktop Curtain 3.0.1 - Oct 23 2013

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Fixed a display glitch where some hot keys were displayed with a single "FN" modifier instead of the actual modifier in menus in Mountain Lion.
  • Greatly improved the interaction of the curtain and Spaces/Desktops.
  • Fixed an issue where curtains that show the desktop image didn't always update after changing Spaces/Desktops.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause the curtain to vanish when switching Spaces/Desktops. (Hat tip to Randy B. for finding this one.)
  • Improved boss key behavior.
  • Worked around a bug in an Apple API that was causing issues for users of Kuvva.

Desktop Curtain 3.0 - May 24 2012

New Features

  • Application isolation mode keeps curtain between frontmost application and everything else.
  • Assign a global hot key to instantly place the curtain behind the frontmost window.
  • Optionally hide the curtain at launch.
  • New contextual menu entries for hiding the curtain, changing its level, and isolating the frontmost window.
  • New Dock contextual menu mirror offers control over curtain level, hiding the curtain, and isolating the frontmost window.
  • Use current desktop image as curtain image
  • Activate Finder when curtain clicked, if the curtain is covering desktop icons.
  • Brand new curtain design is even more curtainy.
  • New curtain is also translucent, making it simple to change its color.

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Desktop Curtain now works much better with Mission Control.
  • Adding and removing displays no longer confuses Desktop Curtain.
  • Improved design of settings panel is easier to read and better organized.
  • Behind-the-scenes changes to more efficiently save previously-used desktop images.

Desktop Curtain 2.2 - Jun 24 2011

New Features

  • Added 'boss mode' hot key to immediately bring the curtain in front of everything else.
  • Image names now show when hovering over images in the History menu.

Desktop Curtain 2.1.1 - Feb 4 2011

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Removed a duplicate paragraph in Desktop Curtain Help.

Desktop Curtain 2.1 - Feb 4 2011

New Features

  • Added a preference (Advanced tab) to show or hide the settings panel at launch.
  • Added a global hot key (Advanced tab) to show or hide Desktop Curtain.
  • Exposé Behavior pop-up menu controls how Desktop Curtain interacts with Exposé.
  • Added an in-app news module for providing info on updates for App Store purchasers.
  • Added a hidden pref to make Desktop Curtain quit on re-launch, perfect for toggling via hot key: defaults write com.manytricks.DesktopCurtain "Quit On Relaunch" -bool TRUE<./li>

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Moved the 'remove image' widget and added a tooltip to clarify its behavior.

Desktop Curtain 2.0 - Jan 24 2011

New Features

  • Choose > History lets you choose from recently used curtain images.
  • Added the ability to select the default Mac OS X desktop image to the Choose pop-up menu.

Bug Fixes and Improvements

  • Showing the Desktop Curtain behind items on the Desktop didn't work as expected on Mac OS X 10.6.
  • General UI overhaul.

Desktop Curtain 3.1.3 requires macOS 10.9 Mavericks or newer. You can try it for free. The release notes are an interesting read. And for the nostalgically inclined, you can still download older versions of Desktop Curtain.