Irregular window decoration makes the window look not active, even if it is

I like to use the Agenda full screen on my iPad connected as an external Monitor to my MacBook via AirPlay. I also have my Menu-Bar hidden to maximize the available monitor space.

The probelm is, that especially in this configuration, there is really no way to tell wether the Agenda window is in front or not, because the windows decoration does not render the standard way, and instead looks like the window is in the background - when it is in fact in the foreground.

Some examples

Agenda in Background:
agenda background

Agenda in Foreground:
agenda foreground

Normal windows instead:
normal window back and foreground

So what should be visible here, is that the way the Agenda window is decorated if it is in the foreground, looks actually more similar to how other windows look when in the background, than to how they look when in the foreground.

Which is quite irritating.

Thank you for the feedback, but I’m afraid it’s is a design choice Agenda has had since it’s inception. We wanted to have a particularly clean, uncluttered look, and these buttons fit better with that goal.

Well, I don’t have anything against your clean look.

But you should still iterate to make sure that either

a) the active state looks more like the os active state than like the os disabled state, as it is the only clue that is left right now if you don’t have the menu bar visible which is an os level feature that you guys should support. Or

b) make sure that there are other visual cues that can make up for that deficiency.

But right now, there is really no way to see wether Agenda is active or not, and that is (to me) a glaring Usability Issue that you should really work on to fix.

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I since upgraded to Big Sur - and I have to say that the behaviour has gotten even weirder there. Have a look:

When the Window is in front, the Buttons are completely invisible (Thus making the windows looking really inactive) and when your mouse starts to reach for them, they briefly appear, only to go mock me by going into hiding again, just when your mouse tries to grab for them.

Don’t you agree their might be a slight issue there?

See this topic:

yes it does.

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