Mac OS X port

XaoS has full support for Mac OS X including native menus, dialogs, help, Finder integration, drag and drop, and basic AppleScript support.

The Mac OS X port of XaoS strives to provide a Mac-like experience, while retaining compatibility with other platforms. Some Mac-specific details are outlined below.

Zooming

Since most Macs have one button mice, the middle and right buttons are emulated with modifier keys. This means there are multiple ways to perform basic zooming operations:

Zoom in: Hold down the main mouse button.
Zoom out: 1. Hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the main mouse button.
2. Use the right mouse button if you have one.
3. On laptops with gestures enabled, place two fingers on your trackpad and press the main mouse button.
Pan: 1. Hold down the Shift key while dragging with the main mouse button.
2. Drag with the center button if you have one.
3. Use the scroll wheel or ball if you have one to pan up/down and left/right.
4. On laptops with gestures enabled, swipe two fingers across the trackpad to pan horizontally or vertically.

Keyboard Shortcuts

XaoS menu functions have been mapped to commonly used Mac keyboard shortcuts. For example, Open is Cmd-O and Undo is Cmd-Z, just as you would expect.

However, XaoS also has its own long-standing tradition of cross-platform keyboard shortcuts. These keyboard shortcuts are also displayed in the menus inside parentheses. For example, the menu item "Autopilot (a)" means that you can press a (with no modifier keys) to activate Autopilot. All of these traditional XaoS shortcuts do not use modifier keys, so they do not conflict with any standard Mac OS X shortcuts.

In some cases, the same function may be performed with both a traditional XaoS shortcut and a Mac OS X-specific shortcut. You can choose whichever one is more comfortable for you.

Full Screen Mode

The Mac OS X port supports a full screen mode. To enter it, select Mac OS X Full Screen Driver from the UI -> Driver submenu. Once you enter full screen mode, the menu bar will automatically hide. To access the menu bar, move your mouse to the top of the screen and the menu bar will slide into view. When you move your mouse away, it will automatically disappear again. To return to windowed mode, select Mac OS X Windowed Driver from the UI -> Driver submenu.

Videator Support

XaoS for Mac OS X can send a live video stream to Stone Design's Videator (http://stone.com/Videator/), which can then do post-processing using Mac OS X's core video technology. This combination creates mind-blowing visuals that are great for VJing (live video performance art).

To turn on output to Videator, select Videator Output from the UI menu. See http://stone.com/Videator/VJ.html for more details on how using Videator with XaoS.

Known Issues

Catseye fractal does not render properly.: Workaround: Set the bailout to just over 4 (e.g., 4.000000001). After changing this setting, the fractal renders as expected.

The Mac OS X driver was written by J.B. Langston, 2006-2008.