How to switch between minimized applications on Mac

Question

How to switch between minimized applications on Mac

Hello!

I am using Mac for about a year now, but still I cannot understand or get used to some of it's features 😟

When I minimize an application it goes to the dock. That is what I expected but when I press Command-Tab the taks switching mini-Dock shows the icon of the minimized application, however selecting it does not do anything.

According to the picture above if mail application is minimized and safari is displayed (on another virtual dersktop) switching to mail app will do nothing but switching to safari app will switch to the application (by switching to the corect virtual desktop).

Furthermore, if I close an application Mac still will keep it loaded, which is visible on the Dock, for faster reuse/reload. Again I cannot understand why the icon of the closed application is visible in the application switching mini-Dock. Isn't the purpose of the application switching mini-Dock to show a list of open application and let you switch between them quickly wihtout using the mouse?

Can you help me by letting me know how to switch between minimized applications? Is there any special keyboard trick required, which I could not find anywhere, which will bring back the minimized app when selected in the application switching mini-Dock?

Mac mini (Mid 2011), Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Aug 4, 2012 1:30 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

tarini84

Level 1

8 points

Oct 20, 2017 4:04 AM in response to think.out.of.the.box

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 ! )

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Answer 2

Shootist007

Level 6

16,709 points

Aug 4, 2012 3:49 PM in response to Jeffrey Jones2

Although your post is informative it does not help the OP in his question about how OS X works differently in this situation from Windows. In Windows if I minimize a window and then do an Alt+Tab to that program the window reopens on the desktop. Which IMHO is the way it should work. No need to go to any menu and select anything with the mouse. My fingers never leave the keyboard. I can even Re-Minimize that window from the keyboard in Windows.

But then OS X is the Most Advanced Operating System in the World. Original idea stolen from Zerox PARC.

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Answer 3

stafox

Level 1

9 points

Jul 21, 2013 12:20 PM in response to think.out.of.the.box

Hi everyone. I came across a way to switch between minimized Apps by coincidence:

While viewing your desktop hold 'command' and press 'tab' just as you do for open Apps and cycle to the desired App. Now while holding 'command' press the 'down arrow'. This will highlight the window, press 'enter' and the window pops up.

I hope you find this helpful.

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Answer 4

Aug 5, 2012 8:56 AM in response to Csound1

Csound1 wrote:

You have switched to a different operating system, it is not the same as Windows, to help understand those differences read this.

www.apple.com/support/switch101/

If you want it to be the same as Windows, use Windows.

Love that advice anytime 🙂 OSX, Windows, Gnome, KDE, etc. all have bad quirks in my honest opinion. They try to be better by beeing different but the net oucome is that some things they do better whilst other things are just bad.

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Answer 5

Csound1

Level 9

60,063 points

Aug 5, 2012 7:49 AM in response to think.out.of.the.box

You have switched to a different operating system, it is not the same as Windows, to help understand those differences read this.

www.apple.com/support/switch101/

If you want it to be the same as Windows, use Windows.

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Answer 6

Csound1

Level 9

60,063 points

Aug 5, 2012 7:49 AM in response to Shootist007

Shootist007 wrote:

Although your post is informative it does not help the OP in his question about how OS X works differently in this situation from Windows. In Windows if I minimize a window and then do an Alt+Tab to that program the window reopens on the desktop. Which IMHO is the way it should work. No need to go to any menu and select anything with the mouse. My fingers never leave the keyboard. I can even Re-Minimize that window from the keyboard in Windows.

But then OS X is the Most Advanced Operating System in the World. Original idea stolen from Zerox PARC.

You have switched to a different operating system, it is not the same as Windows, to help understand those differences read this.

www.apple.com/support/switch101/

If you want it to be the same as Windows, use Windows.

In your case this may be too complex for you but try anyhow.

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Answer 7

Aug 4, 2012 2:25 AM in response to Shootist007

OK, good to know I am not the noly one 😉

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Answer 8

Shootist007

Level 6

16,709 points

Aug 4, 2012 1:37 AM in response to think.out.of.the.box

Just tried it with Chrome, EasyFind and Word all minimized and you are correct when using Command+Tab to switch Apps nothing shows on screen. Another Great Apple Mac OS X feature, NOT.

So what you are seeing is normal, as far as I can tell.

The best suggestion I can offer is to put those program into Full Screen Mode, If possible, so they will be on their own desktop so you can switch between them with Cmd+Tab and not have them clutter up the main desktop

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Answer 9

Aug 4, 2012 1:38 AM in response to think.out.of.the.box

Wierd thing, just as I have posted the question I saw identical post in "More like this". I cannot understand why that post was not listed when I was searching for it 😕

Anyway, from the second post I found a nice workaround. Command-H will hide the application. Hidden application window can be brought back from the application switching mini-Dock.

However I wisch the icons of minimized or closed application did not appear in the application switching mini-Dock. Well maybe the minimized application icon makes sense to appear there but it should be visually marked somehow (with a dot or something) to let you know that you have to use you mouse to activate it.

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Answer 10

Aug 4, 2012 2:36 AM in response to think.out.of.the.box

When I learned that the minimize/unminimize concept from Linux and Windows matches the hide/unhide concept on Mac it works well for me.

However I cannot understand yet another "wierd" feature of Mac desktop. I am using many virtual desktops, to have each serve as a workspace for different activity, one for mail, one for development, one for social web, etc. What annoys me a little is that many times I need to open the same application on different desktop - stright click on application icon moves you to one of the currently running (on different desktop) instead of opening a new one if it was not opened yet on current desktop. I would expect a virtual desktop to behave as a second Mac with a possibility to move an application from "one Mac" to "anothrer Mac" that is, from one virtual desktop to another, but I need a clear concept of independent workspaces.

The workaround for this is to always right-click the icon and select "New Wnindow".

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Answer 11

Aug 4, 2012 3:39 PM in response to think.out.of.the.box

Applications are not minimized; windows are minimized. If you minimize all the windows of a application, then, of course, there will be no windows on the screen. But you still have the menu bar: you can create a new window, or un-minimize any of the windows, or quit the application, or do anything else you can do from the menu bar. If switch to an application with all windows minimized, the menu bar should indicate that as the active application.

To get an application off the screen, you hide it; to get a window off the screen, you minimize it.

Furthermore, if I close an application Mac still will keep it loaded

Here, I think when you say "close an application" you again mean close a window.

It is often useful to keep an application open after closing a window. Suppose you have finished working on a TextEdit document. You close the window. Now you want to create a new document. If TextEdit had quit when the window closed, you would have to re-launch it, even though it was open just a moment ago.

Some non-document oriented applications close automatically when their only window is closed, but that is special behavior for those applications. Closing a window is different from quitting an application. And minimizing a window is different from hiding an application.

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Answer 12

Aug 5, 2012 6:57 AM in response to Shootist007

The explanations made by Jeffrey Jones2 explain a lot. It is true, I tend to ignore the application bar at the top of the screen because it seem way too far from the application - well, I know that technically an application is a process but the purpose of GUI is just to visualize application, hence an application is the window. So OSX behavior in Windows analogy is like forcing users to go to task manager on Windows to reopen the application.

I believe that OSX was designed for very small screen and most Mac users still use smalll screens. On 24" screen I have typically 4 to 6 windows (applications) open and the routine to get to the application menu is very obscure - first drag your mouse to the application window, click it to make the corect menu apear, and finally drag the mouse to the menu. Another evidence that OSX users use only small screens is the number of users talking of maximizing application window - well what is the use of maximizing the web browser window to see half screen white margins on web pages, or is it ergonomic to read anything displayed in a very long lines either text or code?

Anyway, Shootist007 you are right, most users including me would expect an application window to pop-back when selected via app switching shortcut.

Thanks,

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Answer 13

Shootist007

Level 6

16,709 points

Aug 4, 2012 1:41 AM in response to think.out.of.the.box

Simple the Search feature on this forum is the worst. It never seems to turn up what shows in "More Like This" when you are doing a Straight Search. At least that has been my experience.

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