Block Duplicated Apps
Getting rid of your favourite distractors can be challenging and even though it's nearly impossible to trick Focus, some of the most creative users found a way to succeed. If you are one of those creative users, this article will help you block the workaround.
!SPOILER ALERT! - If you don't know how to avoid Focus blocking by duplicating the app, please close this article without reading further!
Currently, it is possible to launch the blocked Application by generating a new copy of it. You can copy and paste the app and then launch the new copy and it will start despite it being on the Focus block list. For those who were able to find this little trick, while we are working on a permanent solution, here is how you can solve it in the meantime:
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Open Finder and go to the Application you want to block. Right click and press "Show package contents"
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Go to the Contents folder and select Info.plist. Press spacebar to preview the file and find a string with CFBundleIdentifier. For example, if you open Calculator, it would look like this:
<key>CFBundleIdentifier</key> <string>com.apple.calculator</string>
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The line directly under the CFBundleIdentifier is the bundle identifier, which is exactly the information you need, in our example case it's com.apple.calculator
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Open Focus preferences > blocking > applications and add a new blocked app, you can choose any app and hit enter to add because we're going to change it
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Highlight the app line, and double click it to edit it, then type the bundle identifier surrounded by slashes, like this:
/com.apple.calculator/
- The steps are always the same, the only thing that needs changed is the Identifier which is different for every app
If you ever discover any creative ways to avoid Focus blocking, do not hesitate to reach out to us!