Mac windows, explained.
How the Mac's own window tools work, and what to do when they don't. Each post starts with what macOS does on its own and links its sources.
Start here.
Switch between windows
Every built-in way to get to another window, and what each one leaves out.
Read the postFind a lost window
Where a window that vanished usually went, and how to bring it back.
Read the postWindow shortcuts
The built-in keys for windows and apps, on one page.
See the cheat sheetSwitching windows and apps
The built-in ways to get from one window or app to the next, and what each one leaves out.
- How to switch between windows on a MacEvery built-in way, from ⌘Tab and ⌘` to Mission Control and the Window menu, and what each leaves out.
- Switch between windows of the same app⌘` and ⇧⌘` cycle the front app's windows. Where the shortcut is set, and what to check when a window doesn't come up.
- Alt-Tab on a Mac⌘Tab feels the same, but it switches apps, not windows. The differences that trip up Windows users.
- Mac shortcuts for Windows usersAlt+F4, Win+D, Win+Tab, Ctrl+Shift+Esc and Win+arrows, translated to the Mac.
- Switch between full-screen appsFull-screen apps live in their own Spaces. Move between them with ⌃← and ⌃→, a swipe, Mission Control or ⌘Tab.
- See all your open windows at onceWhat Mission Control and App Exposé show, what they leave out, and how to see every window on every Space.
- App Exposé: see one app's windowsPress ⌃↓ or swipe down to see every window of the front app, or open it from the Dock.
- Show the desktopA shortcut, a trackpad gesture, a hot corner or a click on the wallpaper, and how to bring your windows back.
- Hot corners for windowsPush the pointer into a corner to open Mission Control, Application Windows or the desktop.
- See which apps are runningThe Dock, ⌘Tab, the Force Quit window and Activity Monitor, and how to quit several apps at once.
Minimize, hide, close and quit
What each one does to a window or an app, and how to get it back.
- Restore a minimized window with the keyboard⌘Tab won't bring one back by itself. What will, from the Window menu and the Dock to App Exposé.
- Minimize or hide?⌘M sends one window to the Dock; ⌘H hides a whole app. How each comes back, and when to use which.
- Close all of an app's windows at once⌥⌘W closes every window of the front app. What it does in apps with tabs, and how it differs from quitting.
- Quit or close?⌘W closes a window and ⌘Q quits the app. Why most Mac apps keep running with no windows open.
- Force quit an app⌥⌘Esc, the Apple menu, the Dock or Activity Monitor, what you lose, and what to do when the shortcut does nothing.
Desktops, displays and Mission Control
Spaces, several screens and the overview that shows them, and how to find a window that went somewhere else.
- Mission Control: open it, use it, set it up⌃↑, a three-finger swipe or the Mission Control key, the Spaces bar, and the settings that change how it behaves.
- Mission Control not workingCheck its shortcut, trackpad gesture, hot corners and Desktop & Dock settings, then restart.
- Switch between desktops⌃← and ⌃→, ⌃1 to ⌃9 once you turn them on, a swipe or Mission Control. Plus adding and reordering desktops.
- Move a window to another desktopDrag it in Mission Control or to the screen edge, or assign its app to a desktop from the Dock.
- Why your Mac keeps switching desktopsThe two Mission Control settings that jump you to an app's Space and reorder Spaces by recent use.
- Displays have separate Spaces, explainedWhat changes when each display gets its own desktops and menu bar, and why you have to log out.
- Move a window to another displayDrag it, use the Window menu or send a full-screen app across, and where new windows open.
- Find a lost windowMinimized, hidden, on another desktop or display, or off screen: where to look, and how to bring it back.
- Get back a window stuck off screenWindow › Center or Fill on macOS 15 and later, Window › Zoom, or a change to your display arrangement.
Full screen, Split View, tiling and Stage Manager
The ways macOS arranges windows for you, and how to get out of each one.
- Full screen or maximize?What the green button does, how Fill and Zoom differ from full screen, and the keys for each.
- Split View: two apps side by sideStart it, swap or resize the sides, leave it, and when tiling suits you better.
- Tile windowsDrag to an edge, use the green button or the Fn-⌃ shortcuts on macOS 15 and later, and what macOS 14 offers.
- Stage Manager: turn it on, use it, turn it offOne app in the center and recent ones down the side. Grouping apps, switching windows, and its settings.
Browser tabs
Finding the tab you want when you have dozens open.
- Search your open tabs in ChromeChrome's tab search, ⇧⌘A and @tabs in the address bar, and which windows they cover.
- Search your open tabs in SafariThe Search Tabs field in the tab overview, the Smart Search field, Tab Groups and profiles.
- Switch tabs with the keyboard⌃Tab and ⌃⇧Tab in Safari, Chrome, Finder and Terminal, and ⌘1 to ⌘9 in browsers.
Keyboard and shortcuts
The keys for windows, what the symbols mean, and what to do when a shortcut stops working.
- Mac window shortcuts: the cheat sheetThe built-in keys for windows and apps on one page: switching, hiding, full screen, tiling and Spaces.
- Mac keyboard symbolsWhat ⌘ ⌥ ⇧ ⌃ and the other symbols mean, where those keys are, and the order Apple writes them in.
- Where the backtick key isLeft of 1 on a US keyboard, somewhere else on other layouts, and what ⌘` does with your windows.
- ⌘Tab not workingLook for an app that took the shortcut, then the keyboard and its modifier keys, then log out or restart.
- ⌘` not workingCheck the shortcut in Keyboard Shortcuts, your keyboard layout, and where the other windows are.
- Find a keyboard shortcut conflictWhere Mac shortcuts clash: system shortcuts, input sources, Spotlight, app menus and other apps.
Permissions and security
What the privacy permissions apps ask for allow, and what macOS's warnings about downloaded apps mean.
- The Accessibility permissionWhat it lets an app see and control, why window tools need it, and how to grant or remove it.
- The Automation permissionWhat it means when an app asks to control Safari or Mail, and how to change or reset your answer.
- The Screen Recording permissionWhat it lets an app capture, which apps need it, and why window switchers differ.
- The Input Monitoring permissionIt lets an app read what you type in other apps. Who asks for it, and how it differs from Accessibility.
- Reset privacy permissions with tccutilThe syntax, the service names, and how to reset one app so macOS asks again.
- “Apple could not verify” an appWhat the warning means, what notarization is, how to check who signed an app, and when opening it anyway is reasonable.
- Open an app with Open AnywaySteps for macOS 15 and later, Control-click on macOS 14, and what to do if the button is gone.
- Login itemsWhat opens when you log in and what runs in the background, and how to add, remove and approve each.
Every window, in one list.
Flick lists your windows from every desktop and display. Hold ⌥, tap Tab, and let go on the one you want.
The free version never expires and switches between your 5 most recent windows. A one-time license, from $9.49, unlocks every window and browser tabs.