Switching apps in Ventura (13.1) causes all other open apps to be hidden.

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Level 1

11 points

Switching apps in Ventura (13.1) causes all other open apps to be hidden.

If I have multiple apps open and switch from the one I'm in to a different one, all previously open apps and windows become hidden (it doesn't close the apps, it just hides them). There's no way to keep more than one window open (the window of the app you're currently in), even with Finder. Any help is appreciated.

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 13.1

Posted on Dec 16, 2022 2:33 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

dialabrain

Level 10

135,827 points

Dec 16, 2022 2:36 AM in response to King Crimson

You have Stage Manager enabled. Disable it in the Control Center in the Menu Bar.

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Answer 2

dialabrain

Level 10

135,827 points

Dec 16, 2022 2:46 AM in response to King Crimson

See this article: Use Stage Manager to organize apps and windows on Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 3

Dec 17, 2022 6:55 AM in response to King Crimson

There are two potential causes.

As mentioned by others, Stage Manager will flip between open Apps and groupings of Apps but minimizing the Apps and collections of Apps to the left side of the screen.
There is a key combination you can hold to hide other windows while clicking on another inactive App window.

I am thinking if it is not Stage Manager, that your keyboard is depressing the CMD+Option keys when you click other windows.

That could be something resting on a keyboard like a notebook or something? Make sure you don't have more than one keyboard. Your profile lists an iMac so typically it would be one keyboard. In the case of a MacBook it could be the internal keyboard or an external bluetooth keyboard still connected and actively in range.

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Answer 4

denlogue

Level 1

8 points

Dec 17, 2022 7:16 AM in response to James Brickley

That's a good thought. I'm on a MacBook Pro (with butterfly keyboard ☹️) and have an external keyboard. It doesn't seem like there is a stuck key, but I will give both keyboard a cleanup and see if that helps.

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Answer 5

King Crimson Author

Level 1

11 points

Dec 18, 2022 2:37 AM in response to dialabrain

I appreciate all the info and suggestions.

I've tried it with SM enabled and disabled. Same result. Initially, none of the app icons showed on the lefthand side of the screen. After a bunch of experimenting, I tried Show All in my active app (probably Safari), and the icons did show. But... the SM app icons go away as soon as you switch apps. I can even go through and do Show All in every open app, and SM will function for that app, but as soon as I make a different app the active one, the SM app icons vanish.
I did clean my keyboard to try to get the cmd-tab App Switcher to work. No dice. It still flashes on and then off in an instant, and you can (briefly) see the other open apps in the App Switcher window, but they vanish in a flash.
I've also tried every other combination of settings between SM and Mission Control. No help.
All I want to do is go back to the pre-Ventura way of managing windows, where I can see and click on windows underneath the active one (disabling Stage Manager doesn't solve this -- it still causes open, non-active windows to hide).
This even extends to entering passwords for install dialogues, if you can believe it. When I'm prompted for my password on an install dialogue, clicking on the Password field to start entering my password does nothing, and the OS acts as if the dialogue box is open but not active, so it doesn't accept typed text. Quite infuriating (I have to type my password in some other app and then paste it into the password field to get it to work).
All this only started once I installed 13.1.

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Answer 6

denlogue

Level 1

8 points

Dec 17, 2022 6:43 AM in response to dialabrain

I'm having the same issue, and I do not have Stage Manager enabled. I even tried enabling it, going through the set up and then disabling it again. Still have the same issue.

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Answer 7

MooreD10

Level 4

1,427 points

Dec 17, 2022 6:54 AM in response to denlogue

I even tried enabling it, going through the set up and then disabling it again.

Are you sure that you are talking about Stage Manager? There is no setup. It is either on or off.

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Answer 8

denlogue

Level 1

8 points

Dec 17, 2022 7:10 AM in response to MooreD10

Yes, I'm sure. When you turn Stage Manager for the first there is a brief setup message.

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Answer 9

King Crimson Author

Level 1

11 points

Dec 18, 2022 2:41 AM in response to King Crimson

I should add, the cmd and tab keys work, and had been working, just fine independently, so I don't think that was it. And, yes, I'm on a 2017 iMac with one keyboard (wired) and no bluetooth devices.

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