what system preference makes all windows of an application come to the front when you click on a window?

I think you are mistaken. Clicking on an application's window brings only that window to the front. Has been that way since the beginning.

Drop down menu showing all running applications? Possibly OS 6.8 with Multi-Finder.

sig wrote:

Drop down menu showing all running applications? Possibly OS 6.8 with Multi-Finder.

It was that way for a long time; don't recall when it started, but it ended with OS 9.2.2. It was called the Application Menu, located to the far-right of the main menubar, and in its last iterations could be 'torn off' to provide a free-floating menu.

NikonFotoMatt wrote:

Also, in my previous systems, there was a drop down menu in the upper right menu bar showing me which apps were running. Not so in this one. Again, what setting do I change?

There is none to change.

Instead of the Application Menu at the far right of the main menubar, active apps are indicated by small 'lights' (bright spots) underneath the icon of the app in the Dock, if the Dock is at the bottom of the screen; If the Dock has been placed on the right or left side, the 'on' light will be alongside the app's icon, on the inboard side.

Command+Tab will show you what applications are running, including hidden ones, and let you select the one you want via repeated use of the aforementioned keys, or the left/right arrow keys.

Hi,

EDIT:-

I did not see Don's two posts or frankdrebin99's either before I posted (I was sure I had scrolled to the bottom).

Leaving it anyway.

Two things.

I noticed that certain apps that have certain pallet windows that are open will hide the pallets when a click on a one window app like my Browser and bring that to the front.

When I then click the visible part of the window for the app in the back ground then all the pallets appear

Tested with CS 3 Dreamweaver and Level4 (Version 1)

Where Windows are separate such as iChat Buddy Lists then only the clicked one come to the "Front".

Second thing.

CMD (Apple) key and tab key together (Hold first, tap second)

I don't use this myself I tend to click the icon in the DOCK

9:29 PM Saturday; June 11, 2011

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Message was edited by: Ralph Johns (UK)

NikonFotoMatt wrote:

In all of my older Macs (sys. 10.4.11 and earlier) clicking into an application window would bring all of the open windows in that app to the front. In 10.6.7 I notice that click on an app's window ONLY brings that window to the front.

What setting do I change.

Again, none.

Had to play a bit to define it.

When you click on one of several windows belonging to an app running in the background, only that window is brought to the front; other windows are left behind whatever they had been behind. This is probably a result of the multi-threaded nature of OS X (as opposed to the single-mindedness of OS 9 and earlier).

However, there is a way to get all windows of a non-active app moved to the front, quickly - just click the app's icon in the Dock.

You can also use the "Bring All to Front" selection in the Windows menu in the main menubar after making your chosen app active by clicking one of its windows. Clicking its icon in the Dock is probably a lot quicker.

I use "DragThing" which has an option to bring all the windows of an application to the front when you switch to that application. It does not matter if you click on a window, use Command-Tab, click on the application in the dock, use Spotlight, use other other application launcher, DragThing with the right option selected will make sure all the windows for the application come to the front.

<http://dragthing.com/> $30

NOTE: I've been using DragThing since the Mac OS Classic days.

I have this problem too.

Whenever I click on a window it brings all of that Application's windows to the front.

It is really bugging me.

I know that the Apple UI Guidelines say this should not happen, but it is!

Hi,

I doubt if many are still subscribed to this thread that is 18 months old.

It is also fair to say that some regular posters choose not to subscribe and may not read this again.

I find with this that it depends.

Sometimes, using Messages as an example, I click the icon and I get a Buddy list on it's own if that was the last "front" window.

Other times it seems that if I was recently in the app and it has not dropped that far behind the current app (Normally my Browser to post here) I get all the windows brought forward.

In Messages there are potentially 11 windows as I keep my Buddy lists On View and separate from each other

I created two Browser windows (I usually use tabs) and found that clicking the icon brought both of those to the front - even when I placed one of the buddy lists "in between".

7:43 PM Sunday; February 10, 2013

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