Turn minimized windows off
Want only what's on screen? Turn off Show minimized windows in Settings › General. Minimized windows then leave the list and search, and come back as soon as you restore them. Every option is in the list settings.
Minimized and hidden windows, one keystroke away
Flick keeps minimized windows and the windows of hidden apps in its list, each marked with a small icon. Pick one and Flick restores it from the Dock, or shows its app again, and brings it to the front.
How it works.
Minimize and hide the way you always do. Getting a window back is then the same as switching to any other.
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Minimize or hide as usual
Minimize a window with ⌘M or its yellow button, or hide an app with ⌘H. The window leaves your screen, but it keeps its row in Flick.
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Spot it by its icon
Hold ⌥ and tap Tab. A small icon near the end of the row marks it: a window dropping into the Dock for a minimized window, a crossed-out eye for a hidden app. VoiceOver says “minimized” or “app hidden”. Search finds these windows by name like any other.
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Pick it
Let go of ⌥, or press Return in a search. Flick shows the app again if it was hidden, restores the window from the Dock if it was minimized, and brings it to the front.
The details.
Minimized windows are listed until you say otherwise. Hidden apps' windows are listed too, with no setting of their own.
Hidden apps
There's no setting just for them: a hidden app's windows stay listed, unless you ignore the app, or turn on Show only the active Space and they're on another one. Picking one shows the app again first, so its other windows come back with it.
Minimize and hide from the list
It works the other way round too. ⌥⇧M minimizes the selected window and ⌥⇧H hides its app, without leaving Flick, and the list updates in place. The actions menu, ⌥⇧K or a right-click, adds Hide Others. More in window actions.
The front app's windows
⌘` with the ⌘Tab trigger, or ⌥` once you turn it on, lists just the front app's windows, minimized ones included. With a license, that list ignores Show minimized windows, so an app's minimized windows are always in it.
The keys.
With the default ⌥Tab trigger. Using ⌘Tab instead? The full shortcut list covers both.
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| ⌥Tab | Opens Flick and moves down the list. Minimized and hidden windows are rows like any other. |
| ⌥⇧Tab | Moves back up the list. |
| ⌥⇧M | Minimizes the selected window. |
| ⌥⇧H | Hides the selected window's app. |
| ⌥⇧K, then O | Opens the actions menu, then hides every other app. |
In the free versionMinimized and hidden windows count toward your 5 most recent windows like any other, and are listed when they're among them. Turn off Show minimized windows and minimized ones stop taking up those places.
Questions.
What's the difference between minimizing and hiding?
Minimizing sends one window to the Dock. Hiding, with ⌘H, takes all of an app's windows off the screen until you switch back to it, and the app keeps running. Flick lists both and brings either back. More in minimize vs hide on Mac.
I minimized a window from Flick by mistake. How do I get it back?
Pick it again. While Show minimized windows is on, it keeps its row, now with the minimized icon, and choosing it restores it.
Why doesn't the actions menu offer Minimize Window?
It's left out when the window is already minimized, and for a full-screen window, which macOS doesn't minimize. Hide is left out when the app is already hidden.
How do I restore a minimized window without Flick?
Click it in the Dock, or choose it from the app's Window menu in most apps. Our guide to restoring a minimized window covers the other ways.
Related.
Spaces, minimized and hidden windows
What Flick lists from other Desktops, the Dock and hidden apps, and the settings that change it.
Read the helpRestore a minimized window on Mac
Bring a window back from the Dock, with or without the mouse.
Read the guideWindow actions
Close, minimize, hide or quit from the list, and Flick stays open.
See the feature
Out of sight, still in reach.
Minimized or hidden, your windows stay in the list.
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.