As a developer of web apps, I’m inevitably running 3 or 4 browsers, each with 10 tabs open containing my application under development, Google searches, gotapi (pronounced “got a pie?” of course!), design wireframes, and all kinds of other very important stuff. And in one of those tabs, somewhere, is Pivotal Tracker. Browsers and tabs are great, but sometimes you just want an Application — notice the capital “A.”
Fluid to the rescue! Fluid lets you create Site Specific Browsers, which “provide a great solution for your WebApp woes.” In a nutshell, Fluid makes a custom WebKit browser that, when launched, opens just the site you configured it to open, such as Gmail, Pandora, or even Pivotal Tracker. I love that I can maximize the Pivotal Tracker app and boost the font 3 or 4 levels, filling a screen with Tracker goodness without the clutter or navigation buttons, bookmark bars, or tabs. And where is Tracker? Just command-tab!
Here’s how to create a Fluid application for Pivotal Tracker.
- Download and install Fluid
- Download the Fluid Icon for Pivotal Tracker
- Launch Fluid
- Enter the following:
- URL: http://www.pivotaltracker.com
- Name: Pivotal Tracker
- Location: pick one!
- Icon: pick ‘Other…’ then find the tracker icon you downloaded earlier
- Click Create, then launch it!
Once launched, open the Pivotal Tracker preferences and change the Window Style to “HUD (Black)” under Appearance Preferences Why? Because it looks cool.
Update
Here is the Fluid icon, upon request.
Hey Joe, can you just attach the fluid file to this post?
February 2, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Updated with the icon as requested.
February 2, 2009 at 9:36 pm
If you prefer moz try the Prism Firefox extension:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6665
which adds a menu item Tools -> Convert Website to Application
February 3, 2009 at 6:19 am
Does this mean that you’ll remove the “Warning: The browser you are using is not officially supported…” that I always see when using Tracker from Fluid?
February 3, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Yes, please solve the Fluid unsupported browser login message problem!
February 3, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Thanks for the writeup, not sure why i didn’t think of this before. Also, I love your user stories: “test test test test!”
so true
February 5, 2009 at 3:52 am
Hmmm … After I get past the login screen it launches Safari with the project I’m tracking. What am I doing wrong or am I just being persecuted????
May 30, 2009 at 12:01 am
Here’s how I solved Paul’s problem: add the following two patterns to the whitelist:
http://www.pivotaltracker.com/*
https://www.pivotaltracker.com/*
May 30, 2009 at 2:05 am
Thanks Chris, it works like a charm!
I consolidated and just whitelisted *pivotaltracker.com/*
May 31, 2009 at 9:57 am
> I consolidated and just whitelisted pivotaltracker.com/
That would be (star)pivotaltracker.com/(star)
May 31, 2009 at 9:59 am
I was having the same issue as Paul and tried his fix:
(star)pivotaltracker.com/(star)
Not sure why but it did not work for me. If you continue having the same problem, try Chris’s fix by adding both:
http://www.pivotaltracker.com/*
https://www.pivotaltracker.com/*
BTW, Pivotal Tracker rocks! Thanks.
August 5, 2009 at 11:42 am