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Level 1

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APPLE - TAB - switching between programs

Hi

I'm having issues more and more with the 'finder' in that switching between programs doesn't actually switch properly.

For instance, I would tab out of a program, hit apple-Q and the program that I tabbed out of would close.

I have the same issue when clicking on different windows - for instance I click on a abrobat window and start making changes, but the menu bar at the top of the screen is still stuck with InDesign.

I have the same issue when using multiple programs at random, I just had a notepad open and couldn't switch back to adobe to copy text back in - no amount of tabbing or selecting the program would actually take me back to acrobat.

Any ideas? Is this just one of the joys of working on a Mac or do I have some kind of virus?

Many thanks!

Intel Xeon, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Mar 22, 2010 10:17 AM

37 replies

Jul 12, 2010 8:11 AM in response to op_timus

I've had the same problems. Cannot Command-Tab between programs, Screen captures no longer work, shutting down the system often hangs for 10-15 minutes if it even shutdown at all.

Seems that everything is fine after a manual reboot, but at some point - almost daily, OS commands stop working.

Any suggestions would be useful.

(Don't say Fix Permissions pls!)

Network 23

Level 6

12,333 points

Jul 12, 2010 10:29 AM in response to Klaus1

Print wrote:
I've had the same problems. Cannot Command-Tab between programs, Screen captures no longer work

Sometimes these are symptoms of a parent OS X process getting messed up. For example, I believe Application Switcher is dependent on the Dock. When I have problems like this I use Activity Monitor to quit/restart whatever process I suspect it's related to instead of having to reboot the whole machine. Usual suspects are the Finder, the Dock, and SystemUIServer which controls the icons on the menu bar.

Klaus1 wrote:
Apple-Q quits the program.
Why tab when you can use Spaces?

It's not the same thing. Spaces doesn't necessarily put you in a specific app, only on a specific desktop. For me, since I'm keyboard oriented, Command-Tab is superior to Expose and Spaces. I do use Expose and Spaces...but for the things they're good at.

op_timus Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 13, 2010 9:40 AM in response to colin clarke1

I have come to the conclusion, after starting threads on various forums and asking various 'mac people' that, basically, you need to repair permissions.

And then, when that does absolutely nothing, throw your mac out the window and go and buy a PC. I brought mine into work recently (to the absolute disgust of all the designers) and my workflow was so beautifully smooth and enjoyable, I managed to get finished ahead of time and get home early, to be welcomed by a nice cool beer.

op_timus Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 25, 2010 2:34 AM in response to op_timus

So, any ideas how I can manually save an adobe PDF when my menu bar is stuck on Firefox? There doesn't seem to be any way back into Acrobat - clicking on it doesn't work, alt-tab doesn't work. I've force-quit out of firefox but it's still sitting there in the menu bar.

Aug 31, 2010 12:21 AM in response to op_timus

hav u tried asking @pple support? call them up and ask.

Aug 31, 2010 12:27 AM in response to op_timus

i understand ur pain. i felt like punching my mac a few times. try getting 1 of ur IT pipel let back up to another hd, and re-install from the Mac OS X disc.

oh yea, hav u installed any menu extras? i had lots of trouble with iStat, it screwed up my whole mac until i found a way to install it. some interface mods can contribute to the destruction of your workflow.

Aug 31, 2010 12:32 AM in response to op_timus

do u use Finder alot while doin ur other stuff?

if u dont, u may want to quit it to see if it helps.
enter this text exactly into terminal (Startup Disk > Applications > Utilities)

defaults write com.apple.Finder QuitMenuItem 1

to undo this exactly:

defaults write com.apple.Finder QuitMenuItem 0

APPLE - TAB - switching between programs