Avant Window Navigator

Everyone has software that they always install whenever they format their computer. There are dozens of such applications for me. One of which is the Avant Window Navigator. Apple has had tremendous praise for their OS X operating system and one feature simply known as “the Dock“. This is exactly what Avant attempts to replicate and I must say the creator, Neil Patel, has made a great piece of software.

As with nearly any software designed for Linux there are tons of customization options for the Avant Window Navigator. Colours by the bushel, fonts, behaviours, layout, and more can all be changed through the “Avant Preferences” menu. Applications can be added to the navigator by simply dragging the icon from the applications menu to Avant. When these applications are opened (by a single-click), the triangle below is removed notifying the user that the software is open; even applications that have not been added to the bar (for shortcut purposes) appear as Avant is designed to replace the taskbar and therefore shows icons for all running applications.

Above is a screenshot of my Avant Window Navigator with my various programs appearing (as you can see I am rocking a sweet icon set based on OS X) including Firefox, Amarok, The GIMP and Audacity. One thing that I am particularly fond of when it comes to Avant is that when an action occurs in a program that is not currently active (ie. get and instant message), that icon begins to bounce and therefore directing attention towards that application.

Read the latest updates in software developer news

If you are looking to acquire Avant Window Navigator you can get the source as well as some .rpm’s at the Google Code site; or, if you are an Ubuntu user, you can find instructions on how to use the repositories. I am looking forward to seeing future programs designed by the author of the Avant Window Navigator. Once again, be sure to check out his blog.