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?
asked Nov 30, 2013 at 22:44
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35I 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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3@Kalaschnik Totally agree– aztackSep 28, 2020 at 3:58
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8This 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, 2022 at 16:02
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Not sure how it exactly was back in 2013 but I remember Cmd+Tab working on hidden apps at least since macOS Sierra in 2016 (and possibly before that as well).– AlperJan 31 at 2:03
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@Marecky Just use Cmd+H to hide your apps and you should be fine. Apps hidden by Cmd+M not being brought forward by Cmd+Tab is useful because it prevents the screen from being cluttered if one accidentally releases the tab key on the wrong app. It is nice to have such an option.– AlperJan 31 at 2:09
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12 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 ! )
answered Dec 1, 2013 at 2:22
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25Thank 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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20I did not know this trick. A little difficult for the fingers. Dec 1, 2013 at 17:11
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22would 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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3this 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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2Doesn'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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5Been 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. Oct 25, 2021 at 14:10
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4This 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, 2022 at 13:50 -
3I've been forced to use a Mac after decades of linux. This app has been extremely helpful in alleviating a bit the absolutely disgusting abject horror. Thank you. Thank you so much.– simonJul 6, 2022 at 10:02
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, 2022 at 19:16
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3Holy shit, hiding and minimizing, the same visual thing happens, but different behavior. Suck it.– Mai HaiJun 8, 2022 at 7:16
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. Oct 25, 2021 at 14:12
So a summary of answers in other comments here;
Change the way you "Command-Tab"
Cmd+Tab to an app, and before releasing Cmd, also hold down Opt. This will open minimized apps like expected, but is annoying to remember to do.
Install a replacement for Cmd+Tab
brew install --cask alt-tab and use that instead. Should behave more like Windows 10/11, but you have to break the habit of hitting Cmd or use a key remapper to swap them.
Change the way you close apps
Use Cmd+H to hide apps rather than Cmd+W or Cmd+Q. Now opening them with Cmd+Tab should work as expected for those apps. This is what you probably should be doing, if your workflow is to hide things out of sight, then open them again later, e.g. MS Teams, Outlook, Calendar, etc., things that you still want to get notifications from, but don't need in front of you.
Personally, I love my Cmd+Q, so it's a hard habit to break to remember to only hide my Calendar/Slack, etc rather than just killing them.
I prefer the MC view. Anyway Keyboard Maestro provides with a simple keyboard customizable shortcut, a very good app launcher, very similar to cmd-tab/alt-tab universal function, but more customizable and with more options inside. You can browse through the apps in sliding with trackpad or mouse. Left click on icons open a menu. You can open from that menu or hit enter key. In that sliding view there are many apps; hidden, minimized, opened, and recent.
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As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please edit to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.– AllanMar 7 at 22:32
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Why unclear, it is another way to activate an effective app switcher with cmd+tab, including hidden and minimized windows and more, as from title of topic.– AlticooMar 8 at 7:56
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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1I 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, 2022 at 16:09
Maybe a more convenient alternative to the ⌥ Option solution:
after switched to the desired app and released the ⌘ Cmd+Tab press ⌘ Cmd+↑
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
