When I want to switch between windows using ⌘ Cmd + ⇥ Tab it does not work with hidden or minimized windows. I can see the icons of these windows in the application switcher but choosing them does nothing. How can I get this to work again?
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15I just got a Mac, and this whole minimizing shit and not being able to restore that Window from Cmd+Tab—although it is shown within the window switcher—is super illegal UX.– KalaschnikAug 5, 2020 at 12:02
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1@Kalaschnik Totally agree– aztackSep 28, 2020 at 3:58
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3This is f. crap. I work on a mac for 8 months and I can't get used to it. Its bad user experience. I do recall some articles praising intelligent people working in Apple on the design. I don't get it why they decided like this.– MareckyFeb 4 at 16:02
9 Answers
This one is a bit tricky :
press ⌘ Cmd + ⇥ Tab to show your running apps. Keep holding ⌘ Cmd.
press ⇥ Tab until you've selected the app
press the ⌥ Option, and let go of the ⌘ Cmd.
( You must release ⌘ Cmd after pressing ⌥ Option ! )
( You must release ⌘ Cmd before release ⌥ Option ! )
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20Thank you, that worked. It's not very intuitive though. Is there a reason why it is necessary to press option to get the app back? Dec 1, 2013 at 11:24
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17I did not know this trick. A little difficult for the fingers. Dec 1, 2013 at 17:11
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14would be nice if osx could be configured to behave properly here ... osx is falling behind linux more every day Jun 11, 2017 at 23:27
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Use ⌘ Cmd-Tab to cycle to the desired application and then, while still holding down ⌘ Cmd, press the ↑ or ↓ arrow. This will show the application's windows in Expose. Select the desired window with the arrow keys and press Return to activate it.
http://www.macworld.com/article/1152366/commandtabminimizedwindows.html
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Found this more recent article useful and on point for this question. macworld.com/article/2048857/…– TedNov 11, 2016 at 13:57
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2this is true however I fail to see the benefit of apple's approach to not auto show a minimized app's window when the app is selected using command+tab ... linux window managers just do what's most natural ... time to short apple stock Jun 11, 2017 at 23:26
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Doesn't seem to work for me for either hidden or minimised windows. I always get "No Available Windows". I'm on Sierra if it makes any difference.– piit79Jan 29, 2019 at 11:16
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Pretty nice in combo with left/right arrows after you hit Ctrl+Tab too. Arrows all the way to the window you're seeking. Feb 10, 2020 at 15:29
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1This worked for me for ~8 years but suddenly stopped working today. Now I need to use this awkward approach: apple.stackexchange.com/a/112358/70049 May 8, 2020 at 0:23
Majority of the answers are years old. This is a 2021 solution
Use AltTab, it is the exact replica of windows functionality of Alt+ Tab. Takes care of both minimised/maximised window.
It's free and open source.
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1It defaults to a different keyboard shortcut, but you can choose your own to fit your muscle memory.– seanfSep 10, 2021 at 6:16
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3Been checking back every year for a "real solution" and seems 2021 is my lucky year. So exciting! Works, and you can disable the thumbnails so it looks more likely the regular version. This is now the correct answer.– cchieraOct 25, 2021 at 14:10
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2This is so perfect, its snappy, fast, and very customizable. Great solution to such a flawed UX, the default behaviour is under the
option + tab
– MareckyFeb 9 at 13:50
Press ⌘ Cmd + H to hide a window instead of minimising it.
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1This is great, yet (on Catalina anyways) as a caveat, it looks like once you hide the windows, they can't be found with the up-arrow after cmd-tab mentioned in another answer. So odd that cmd-M and cmd-H both make the window hide in a completely different way, and are restored in completely different ways! Feb 10, 2020 at 15:39
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I like this solution best. I just have to get in the habit of using command h to hide any windows I don't want up on the screen instead of minimizing them. Too bad there is not a mouse way of doing the Hide... the yellow button only does minimize.– WesOct 28, 2020 at 17:20
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Note that %-H is a toggle: press once to Hide a window, press again to un-Hide it. Also note that it doesn't work on Maximized windows. Feb 3 at 19:16
Try this:
On your Mac,
- Navigate to System Preferences
- Go to Mission Control
- Uncheck "When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application"
Try using the cmd+tab now.
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HyperSwitch Does the trick : https://bahoom.com/hyperswitch
I tested it. It needs to be updated. It's free. When I Cmd+Tab on minimized app it's open!
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I just looked at the hyperswitch website and one of their "Known issues" is "No option to show minimized windows yet." ... ? I haven't actually tried it though!– WesOct 28, 2020 at 17:24
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On that linked page it says in big letters, known issues, "No option to show minimized windows yet." Aka it doesn't do the one thing people are asking for here. Luckily the other answer AltTab does.– cchieraOct 25, 2021 at 14:12
My symptoms.. CommandTab would toggle the heading bar for each application but only some windows for the application would show up.
The suggestion above: On your Mac,
Navigate to System Preferences Go to Mission Control Uncheck "When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application" Try using the CommandTab now.
Was already in place on my Mac. I did the opposite and now CommandTab works perfectly.
Like Pirate X mentioned. Alt+Tab works flawlessly. You can even set the key to be Command instead of Option (Alt) and have it work normally but being able to raise minimized windows without having to press alt on the selected window.
It's super easy to install if you have "homebrew" installed:
brew install --cask alt-tab
Or just go to their website: https://alt-tab-macos.netlify.app and download it for manual installation.
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I don't suggest alt-tab bcs it is breaking something on every update. Developer doesn't test it correctly and he doesn't care bug reports. Mar 17 at 16:09
AppleScript
tell application "Slack" to reopen (activate)
Or try my app Command-Tab Plus, in addition to proper work with hidden or minimized apps has many convenient features that are not efficiently implemented in the built-in MacOs App's switcher
For example, there were discussed the problems of Mac Os X apps switcher
Restricting Command+tab options to only apps that are in the current space
Show only apps that are in the current space