Jay wrote in to ask:
Do you know of a way to “Unminimize” apps when you select them from the app switcher? (Cmnd + tab) You can select apps just fine but if it’s minimized, they just stay in the dock. Sooo frustrating.
Jay’s right. If you’ve ever used the Application Switcher by holding down the Command key and then cycling through your applications with the Tab key, you know it can be a huge time saver when you need to frequently move back and forth between a couple of applications. If you’ve never tried this technique, I highly suggest it. Apple also has a description of this neat function.
One of the things you may notice is that when you switch to an application via the Command-Tab App Switcher, that application’s front-most window will have the focus when you switch. But what happens when all of the application’s windows are minimized in the Dock? Nothing! You’re able to switch to the application, but you still have to drag your mouse down to the Dock and click the window you wish to open. Of course, the entire reason to use the App Switcher is to avoid having to use your mouse to switch applications.
Is there a solution? Yes! Here’s the deal: When you want to switch to an application, you hold down the Command key, and each time you hit Tab (or hold it down), the next application (from left to right) is highlighted until you get to the application you want. Once you stop hitting (or holding down) Tab, the App Switcher stops scrolling through the applications in the list. But you don’t actually switch to the new application until you let go of the Command key.
So, once you have highlighted the application you want to switch to, let go of the Tab key and then hold down the Option key BEFORE you let go of the Command key. This will cause the top-most window of the new application to “unminimize” if it was previously minimized. This way, you do not have to use the mouse at all to get a working window!
If you have multiple windows minimized in an application, I have not yet figured out how to unminimize all of the windows while using the App Switcher. If you have an answer, be sure to tell others in the comments!
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{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks! That’s one thing that always bothered me. I’m hoping that someone will know the trick for unmimimizing all windows…
Is this only a 10.5 feature? It didn’t work on my 10.4.11 iBook.
Hmmm…works for mail, works for firefox, doesn’t seem to work for mindjet manager for some reason. any insights?
Thanks for a great website!
Thank you Thank yo Thank you Matt! This has been a kink in my productivity for a long long time! You’re the best.
Jay
Jay’s last blog post..[Ask BB] Saving Brushes, Object-Expand, Raster Effects Settings and more
This use to be a great hindrance to my workflow……
Until I found a somewhat better solution that seems to be easier to implement that doing a dance on the keyboard with your fingers trying to hit some key combination.
CMD + H works in every app to hide the current active window. Once it has disappeared, all you have to do it tab switch to the app and it automatically reappears. It’s both easier and faster (since you are cutting out the zoom animation of it coming from the dock to the forefront)
CMD+H does not work in Photoshop.
True. It does not work in Photoshop.
Neither does CMD + M for minimizing. But once you manually minimize your window by clicking the yellow minimize button on the window bar, the tab trick that was give in this blog does still work. Which is nice!
Photoshop is kinda of a special case. Which is why when I am doing graphic work I run it in it’s own Space and when I need to get to email or web browser I just change my workspace using Spaces. If I have a window open in PS, it’s because I need it. Not sure why you would have a bunch of windows open in PS that you don’t need and have minimized….
Not to mention the multitude of window management options that PS comes with to customize your workspace to your liking. And whenever I want to just focus on one document I just hit ‘F’ to go full screen.
On a side note, there is a PS specific shortcut for maximizing PS windows once they are minimized
CTRL + TAB will maximize a minimized document in PS.
The bigger question is how to minimize the document window with a keyboard shortcut instead of having to hit the yellow minimize button
Ha! That is nice! Thanks.
Hey guys, the option trick is nice but I for me it is more natural to unminimize it after letting go of the keyboard.
command 1 works for me.
Ken’s last blog post..OMGOMGOMGOMG!!!
Oops, forgot to add it doesn’t work for all apps, just some. Still nice to know.
RE: App Switching:
1. Cmnd+Tab=Popup list of icons of open apps.
Tapping Tab makes selector highlighter move from LEFT to RIGHT through the list.
Let go of the Cmnd key when the app you want is highlighted.
2. Cmnd+Shift+Tab=Popup list of icons of open apps.
Tapping Tab makes selector highlighter move from RIGHT to LEFT through the list.
Let go of the Cmnd key when the app you want is highlighted.
3. Cmnd+Shift+Tab=Popup list of icons of open apps.
Move your mouse arrow over the icon of the app you want to bring to the forefront.
Left-click on the icon you want to bring to the forefront.
RE: Window switching within an app’s open subwindows:
1. Cmnd+~ (Tilde) key=Switches through the subwindows that are open within an app.
EXAMPLE: Apple Mail:
OPEN: 1. Apple Mail main window 2. Apple Mail preferences window 3. One email ‘read’ window 4. One email ‘write’ window
Cmnd+~ (tap the Tilde key, just like tapping the Tab key to switch between apps) will cycle through & bring to the forefront all of the above 4 windows, one after the other.
Again, let up on the Cmnd key when the subwindow you want is in the forefront.
macCOOLtip: Drag information from one app’s subwindow to another.
- EXAMPLE: Drag Safari URLs from the URL address window of one open Safari window to the tab bar area of a 2nd open Safari window.
- HOW: Although most any & all apps will work with this, start up Safari for this example.
Get 2 webpages visible in that Safari window you opened. Now open another Safari window & get 3 webpages opened in that window.
Now click the system Apple in the topleft & open up System Preferences. Then in the top row click on Dashboard & Expose.
Select a corner of your screen to move your mousearrow to do your subwindow switching (I use the top right corner).
For that corner you’ve thought of, click in the list at that corner & then select “Application Windows” from the list.
Leave Sys Preferences open for now, & Cmnd-Tab over to Safari.
In one Safari window, get your mouse arrow in the address window. Hold down the left mouse button & slightly budge a URL’s icon to see if it’s moving or not.
When you get a ghost icon, drag that ghost icon & address to the corner you chose earlier & leave it there until all the app’s subwindows show up onscreen (might have to bump it up into that corner once or twice).
Drag that URL icon on top of the Safari window you want the webpage to go into & leave it over that window until the window blinks several times & then comes to the forefront.
Drop the URL on the right side of the tab bar in an empty area there & let go of the mouse button. Or alternatively, drag that URL into that window’s URL address area & drop it in there.
Your webpage will come up just as it was up in the previous Safari window.
NOTE:
BOTH of the above switching methods (Cmnd+Tab switch between apps & Cmnd-Tilde switch between an app’s open subwindows) can also be done using only the mouse via Expose, if Expose is set up properly. My corners: TopLeft: “All Windows” TR: “Application Windows” BR: Screensaver BL: Desktop (i.e., with ‘Desktop,’ ALL open windows get mostly disappear into all 4 sides of the screen, which reveals the Desktop.
kevinkendall
You can also press command+tab and before releasing the command key press the up or down button key. This will allow you to choose between the different minimized windows.
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