Desktop Screen Command

The (screen) command creates a layer of solid color that can be used to hide applications and Desktop icons. Clicking on the layer will hide everything (except for floating windows), then activating apps using the Dock or ⌘-Tab will bring them in front of the layer.

The screen command accepts two optional arguments, background color and alpha transparency.

Screens are created for all attached displays. If the number of displays changes, the command will regenerate screens to match the new number.

Background Color

The color for the layer is specified using 6-digit RGB hex codes. Black is #000000, white is #ffffff, and middle gray is around #9a9a9a. When all 6 digits are the same, you can shorten to 3, e.g. #333333 can be #333.

The default is a dark gray (#666).

Example: (screen #528c9e)

Alpha Transparency

Transparency is specified as a percentage, 0-100. Anything lower than 20 defeats the purpose, but if you want a little transparency, try 80-90%.

Example (screen 90%)

The two parameters can be combined in any order: (screen #666 90%)

Examples:

(screen #9a9a9a)
(screen #404040 90%)