Browser Extension - Workona Tab Manager

Since I've been using the Mac Mini and Macbook Air, I've migrated my browser usage to Microsoft Edge.

Why?  I like the way Edge manages tabs.  I can have many tabs but the tabs that aren't being actively used are disabled until you begin to use them (they're on standby, using minimal memory).

I decided that I wanted to use the same browser and tab manager browser extension combination on my gaming machine, which runs MS Windows 10 Pro.

The results were disappointing.  While the browser extension works, it also apparently kills YouTube audio.  No matter what "fixes" I applied, the only solution that allows YouTube audio is removing the Workona Tab Manager browser extension.  When I removed it, I regained audio.  When I reinstalled it, I lost audio.

I left the following review for the Workona folks:

So, I can either continue to use Workona's Tab Manager on the Macs and find another for the Windows box, or I can find a good one for all three.  I haven't decided what to do yet.

UPDATE:

I decided to stop using Workona's products.  I've been using Tab Session Manager the past 3 months.  It's simple enough to use and doesn't have any bad side affects.

UPDATE 2 (12/10/2023):

I noticed maybe 3-4 months ago that Microsoft Edge has something that is very similar to Workona, called Workpsaces.  I'm able to use the workspaces based on the types of projects I'm working and can swap from one to another at my whim.  I'm using this in conjuction with Tab Session Manager.

UPDATE 3 (5/24/2024):

Noticed awhile ago (maybe 8 month ago) that, if I switch to another Mac and use MS Edge, the workspaces I created and use on one Mac is accessible fron other Macs.  I basically no longer lose track of browser tabs.

MacOS and Smart Folders

Below are my notes from learning a bit about smart folders in MacOS.

Copied from a Notes entry:

8/3/2022 - Smart Folders

I want to better organize my photos and videos (that are stored in Photos and currently shared to iCloud).

I also wanted to try using Smart Folders.

I’ve also never backed up my photos, so I got the idea that I could save my photos as a backup, while also sorting them (Photos contains both videos and photos), and also removing duplicate photos.

• I copied all of the photos and videos to my Extreme Pro SSD
• I copied all the files to PNG format.
• Several of these files are actually videos (.mov), which I coped as well.
• I then created two smart folders
• A smart folder for images (PNG)
• A smart folder for movies (MOV)

One thing I had a problem with is determining how to get the smart folders to only search a certain drive.  By default, when created smart folders, the criteria is set to search the native SSD.  I couldn’t find a way to change this to search against the Extreme Pro.

I decided to cheat by assigning all the files on the Extreme Pro SSD the following tag:  Extreme Pro.  If they were photos, I added the “photos” tag and if they were movies, I added the “movie”, “quicktime”, and “video” tags. 

I noticed that there are many duplicates of photos (they’re appended with (1), (2)…).  I need to study up on how to use smart folders to eliminate the duplicates (if possible).

https://osxdaily.com/2020/09/17/how-find-duplicate-files-mac/ can help with this.

Once I get the duplicates removed, I’ll need to go through them and get rid of any needless photos/videos.  The plan is to archive them all, as well as not have them taking up iCloud space and hard drive space on both the Mini and MBA. 

I also couldn’t find a way to refine an existing smart folder’s name, so I created a new one and gave it the name I needed, then saved it.  I then had the problem of having the original smart folder and couldn’t find out how to delete it.  The following URL helped to delete that folder:  https://www.wikihow.com/Remove-an-Item-from-the-Finder-Sidebar-on-a-Mac.

8/4/2022 - Smart Folders 2

After watching a few videos on Youtube about how to create searches and saving the searches as smart folders, I did the following:

1. Opened new Finder window
2. Used Cmd+F (to find files)
3. Chose the following as “Search:” - Extreme Pro
4. Searched for File extension =  PNG
5. Saved as “Photos - Extreme Pro”
6. The above resulted in saving the search as a smart folder.