macOS Window Options
There’s no need to move or close windows on the Mac to get to what you want. Use the Dock, App Switcher, Mission Control, App Expose, Show Desktop, and Trackpad Gestures to take control of your workspace and save time.
Check out the video below or go to YouTube to watch in High Definition.
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You Tube Video Transcript
If you find yourself moving windows around on the Mac or closing windows to get to what you want the good news is that there’s much easier ways to do this.
The Dock. Using the Dock is one of the fastest ways to move around the Mac. Here Safari is the active App. You can tell that by looking at the Apple in the top left-hand corner. Whatever is next to that, is the active App. Now, if you want to move to Pages just click the Pages icon in the Dock. If you want to move to Numbers click the Numbers icon and if you want to move to Photos, click the Photos icon and it becomes the active program.
App Switcher. Hold down the Command keyed and tap the Tab key bring up the App Switcher. This is a translucent bar that shows all open Apps. To get to an App tap the tab key till you get to its icon then let go of both keys. If we want to move to Photos tap to its icon then let go of both keys.
Mission Control. Tap the F3 key and Mission Control tiles all open windows. Moving the cursor over a window highlights it in blue. Just tap a window to bring it to the front. And again, tap F3 for Mission Control, move the cursor to what you want and tap to bring it to the front.
App Expose. App Expose shows all open windows for the current active App. Here, I’ll click on Pages in the Dock to make it the Active App. Hold down Control and the Down arrow for App Expose. All the documents in Pages are tiled. Simply select the one that you want to bring it to the front. And again, hold down the Control and the Down arrow. Click on the document that you want and it comes to the front.
Show Desktop. No matter how many windows you have open you can always get to the Desktop by holding down the Function key and pressing F11. To leave the Desktop, hold down the Function key and press F11 again.
Trackpad Gestures. If you don’t like keyboard shortcuts you can use Trackpad gestures to manage windows. Go to the Apple in the top left hand corner, choose System Preferences, click on Trackpad, and select More Gestures. Here, make sure you put a check next to each Command you want to use. As you hover over each Command a video on the left demonstrates the gesture. When you’re finished close System Preferences.
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Other Useful Mac Tips
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Excellent tips, John; thank you!