Spirited Away 0.7

Spirited Away allows users to free desktop space by minimizing inactive windows. The utility automatically detects and displays running applications and hides their windows whenever their running time exceeds the predefined time interval.

Spirited Away lies in the menubar and its functionality may be activated or deactivated via a keyboard shortcut.

In addition to hiding windows, the utility also interacts with iChat based on the timer. This comes in handy, as it is a feature present in most instant messaging programs but not in iChat, where you can automatically have the status change (to Away for instance) if you have been away from the computer.

Spirited Away has its own exclusion list; applications included in this list will not minimize automatically. This however only works after the applications have been already opened. There's no other way of adding programs to the list in advance. Considering its size and capabilities, this is one feature you can actually do without.

Spirited Away does its job quite well and is very resource-friendly. It is simple to access thanks to its menubar integration and can be toggled on and off with a simple keyboard shortcut. Whether for hiding custom applications to the dock or changing the iChat status message, the utility is well worth a try.