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Translucent gray border around mac screen?

There is a translucent gray border around my mac screen that randomly appeared. It makes it very difficult to move things around and also blocks the close, minimize, and expand buttons. Can I make this go away?

Mac Pro, iOS 7.0.4

Posted on Nov 30, 2013 9:21 PM

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Posted on Mar 20, 2015 10:14 AM

The problem is that the expose window is stuck. In order to force a refresh take these steps. 1. launch terminal 2. type killall Dock


For those unfamiliar with terminal, or how to launch it, do this:


type command + spacebar to open your search. Type "terminal" in the search and then "enter" to launch terminal.


You'll see a screen with a blinking cursor. Type:


killall Dock


Hit enter.

34 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Mar 20, 2015 10:14 AM in response to emilym777

The problem is that the expose window is stuck. In order to force a refresh take these steps. 1. launch terminal 2. type killall Dock


For those unfamiliar with terminal, or how to launch it, do this:


type command + spacebar to open your search. Type "terminal" in the search and then "enter" to launch terminal.


You'll see a screen with a blinking cursor. Type:


killall Dock


Hit enter.

May 31, 2015 4:44 AM in response to emilym777

This happens because you have the "Show Desktop" trackpad gesture turned on. The gesture that activated it was to spread your thumb and three fingers. You can undo it by pinching your thumb and three fingers together.


Look under the "More Gestures" tab in the "Trackpad" section of the System Preferences for a video demonstration of how to do it, or scroll down to the "Show Desktop" section of this article: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204895


This is usually what the child/pet/alien has done to get the system in that state in the first place.

Translucent gray border around mac screen?

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