I updated my app the WordCounter for Mac to v1.5.0 today. This update includes a couple of modernizations behind the scenes, but most importantly fixes problems that were related to the app being a Dock-less menu bar app. You couldn’t manage any of its windows well. Now you can, because when any additional window is shown, a Dock icon is added on the fly.

From the release notes:

• Fixed: Changing “Show Daily Total in Status Bar” did not update the status menu icon immediately. You had to quit and relaunch the app.
• New: Opening preferences, file monitor, or the history calendar will show the WordCounter in your Dock. If you close all windows, the Dock icon will disappear again. Now you will not lose a helper window anymore!
• New: Overhauled the “About” window with more details and nicer colors for dark-mode.
• New: Added an Internet Access Policy so you get info about when and why the app is establishing a network connection to download updates.

I’m super happy that this update solves such an old problem. Thanks to Dave DeLong’s suggestion, I was able to show and hide the Dock icon on the fly without having to split the app into multiple parts. Also thanks to Sindre Sorhus for reminding me that this approach would be much simpler than creating an XPC service or another app for the helper window.