Mac Quick App Switch Shortcut

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Boot Camp 5.1 includes several Mac drivers so that Windows will recognize your trackpad, Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, the iSight (or FaceTime) camera, the Eject key on the Mac keyboard, networking, audio, graphics, and so on. A Boot Camp Control Panel for Windows. A Beginner’s Guide To the Mac App Switcher You can use the App Switcher to quickly and easily switch between running apps. It is a keyboard shortcut, but not as simple to use as just pressing the keys. You can use it to see which apps are running and pick which one to bring to the front, all without lifting your fingers off of the keyboard.

If you use your Mac for more than browsing the occasional website or checking email, chances are you're working with multiple windows at a time — you might have seven Safari windows open with multiple tabs, a couple instances of your text editor of choice, a Messages window, Photoshop running in the background … I could go on. The point is all those windows start to get in the way, keeping you from completing the work you set out to do when you sat down at your Mac. With a few keyboard shortcuts, some trackpad and mouse gestures, and apps for managing your windows, you can take control of your workspace on macOS.

Keyboard shortcuts

There are several shortcuts that can help you navigate macOS without ever having to lift your fingers from the keyboard.

  • Command (⌘) + H: This hides the windows of the frontmost app.
    • Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + H: This hides the windows of all apps except for the frontmost app.
  • Command (⌘) + M: This minimizes the frontmost window.
    • Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + M: This minimizes all the windows of the frontmost app.
  • Command (⌘) + N: This opens a new window (or document, depending on the app).
  • Command (⌘) + W: This closes the frontmost window.
    • Command (⌘) + Option (⌥) + W: This closes all the windows of the frontmost app.
  • Command (⌘) + Tab: This switches to the next open and most recently app.
  • Shift (⇧) + Command (⌘) + Tilde: This switches to the next most recently used window of the frontmost app.
  • Option (⌥) + Command (⌘) + D: This toggles on and off Dock Hiding. If you need a little more room on screen, consider hiding your Dock.
  • Control (⌃) + Down Arrow: This shows all the windows of the frontmost application.
  • Control (⌃) + F4: This moves the keyboard focus to the active window. Pressing it again moves keyboard focus to the next window.
  • Control (⌃) + F5: This moves the keyboard focus to the floating window.
  • Command (⌘) + `: This moves keyboard focus to the next window.

Trackpad and mouse gestures

You can use your Mac's trackpad or a Magic Mouse to activate certain shortcuts for windows management.

Trackpad gestures

  • Quickly show your desktop by spreading your thumb and three fingers apart on the trackpad.
  • Swipe up with three or four fingers to open Mission Control.
  • Swipe down with three or four fingers to open App Exposé.
  • Swipe left or right with three or four fingers to switch between desktop and app Spaces.

Mouse gestures

  • Double tap with two fingers to launch Mission Control.
  • Swipe left or right with two fingers to switch between desktop and app Spaces.

Using Mission Control

Mission Control is one of the best ways to manage your windows on macOS. It's built in at the system level and available with the tap of a key, the swipe of your trackpad, or the tap of your mouse. It gives you an overview of all your open windows, full-screen apps, and Spaces — making it quick and convenient to switch between them.

How do you activate Mission Control? Let me count the ways:

  • Swipe up with three or four fingers on your trackpad.
  • Double-tap on the top of your Magic Mouse with two fingers.
  • If you kept it in your Dock, you can click the Mission Control icon.
  • Tap the Mission Control key on your keyboard (looks like three rectangles of varying sizes).
  • Use the keyboard shortcut Control (⌃) + Up Arrow.
  • Click and drag a window to the top of the screen.

Working with Spaces

Mac Quick App Switch Shortcut Windows 10

Mission Control allows you to create Spaces. Spaces are essentially different iterations of your desktop that can all display different apps, windows, and Split Views. If you find your current desktop is getting a little crowded but you don't want to close the apps and windows you've got open, you can create a brand new Space to work with. Some people will even create Spaces for different tasks — you might have your Space for writing, your Space for browsing the web, and your Space for editing photos.

How to add a Space

  1. Launch Mission Control.

  2. Click the Add Space icon (looks like a plus sign) to add a Space.

How to move a window to a Space

  1. Launch Mission Control.

  2. Drag a window of your choice to a desktop Space in the Spaces bar.

How to switch between Spaces

  • Swipe left or right with three or four fingers on your trackpad.
  • Swipe left or right with two fingers on your Magic Mouse.
  • Use the keyboard shortcut Control (⌃) + Left Arrow to move to a space to the left.
  • Use the keyboard shortcut Control (⌃) + Right Arrow to move to a space to the right.
  • Launch Mission Control and click on a Space in the Spaces Bar.

How to organize Spaces*

  1. Launch Mission Control.

  2. Click and drag a Space left or right in the Spaces bar.

How to remove Spaces

  1. Launch Mission Control.

  2. Hold down the Option (⌥) key and click the Close icon (looks like an X) next to the Space you want to close.

Mac

Windows within the Space you're closing won't be closed; they'll be moved to another open Space.

Working with Split View

Sometimes you want a more focused workspace. Split View in macOS lets you fill your screen with two apps, placed side by side. Here are some things you'll need to know if you're going to be working in Split View:

  • You tell macOS which window you want to work in by clicking anywhere in that window.
  • Need to see the menu bar? Just move your cursor to the top of the screen.
  • Want the windows swapped? Just click and drag one of the windows to the other side of the screen.
  • Want one window smaller than the other? Click and drag the vertical line between the two windows to adjust their width.

How to enter Split View

  1. Hold down the full-screen button (looks like a green circle with two arrows pointing away from each other) in the upper left corner of an app window.
  2. Drag the window to the left or right side of the screen.
  3. Release the button, snapping the window into Split View.
  4. Click on another window to bring it into Split View.

You can also bring an app into Split View using Mission Control. Simply launch Mission Control and drag a window onto the full-screen app Space.

Note: Some apps don't support Split View on macOS. You'll find a zoom button (looks like a green plus sign) in place of the full-screen button.

Exiting Split View

  1. While in Split View, click the full-screen button on one of the windows.

Apps for window management

Sometimes the built-in offerings just aren't powerful enough for your needs. In that case, there are some third-party apps that can help you keep your windows exactly where you want them. Here are four of the most-popular, well-rated offerings from the Mac App Store!

Magnet

Magnet is a lightweight windows management tool that helps you snap your windows into predefined spaces. By dragging a window to the edge of your screen, Magnet will resize the window to half of your screen; drag a window to the corner of your screen and Magnet will resize the window into a quarter of your screen. Along with drag functionality, Magnet supports keyboard shortcuts.

Here are the features Magnet supports:

  • Drag and snap functionality: halves, thirds, quarters, two-thirds, and full-screen
  • Keyboard shortcut triggers
  • Menu bar app

  • Supports up to six external displays

  • Magnet - $0.99 - Download now

Moom

Moom is a powerful tool for moving, snapping, and zooming your windows. You can use keyboard shortcuts and hotspots to snap your windows into predefined spaces. Moom also lets you create and save window layouts so you needn't recreate your perfect desktop setup every time you head back to your Mac.

Here are the features Moom supports:

  • Presets: The Moom button features five preset window locations. Hover over the green window button and quickly move and resize your window to one of the presets.
  • Grids: You can use a grid to draw your desired size and location for a window.
  • Custom controls: You can create and define custom controls that will resize, move, and snap windows across multiple displays and reorganize your window setup.
  • Window layouts: You can create and save window layouts to easily recreate your ideal window setup.

  • Keyboard controls: Skip the clicking and dragging; use the keyboard controls to trigger your Moom tools.

  • Moom - $9.99 - Download now

Divvy

Divvy is a windows management tool that approaches things a little differently. Instead of focusing on edge-snapping and predefined sizes, Divvy uses a grid system that lets you quickly 'divvy up' your screen real estate for the apps and windows you've got open.

You click on a window and then click and drag in the Divvy interface (a grid that represents your screen) to tell the app where to place your window. It's a quick, time-saving tool that focuses on quickly and easily organizing your windows across the available area of your screen.

Here are the features Divvy supports:

  • The quick Divvy grid system for organizing apps and windows
    • The grid's size is customizable — you can get super granular controls by going all the way up to a 20 x 20 grid size.
  • Supports multiple monitors

  • Supports keyboard shortcuts

  • Divvy - $13.99 - Download now

BetterSnapTool

BetterSnapTool is all about that edge-snapping. Drag your windows to one of the four corners or the top, left, and right sides of the screen to quickly resize and position your windows accordingly. BetterSnapTool lets you take edge-snapping a little further — it features custom snap areas that you can create anywhere on your display in order to create your own sizing presets.

Here are the features BetterSnapTool supports:

  • Custom triggers for right clicking on the macOS window buttons
  • Modifier key support for custom actions
  • Trigger window resizing when you double click the titlebar
  • Application-specific snapping sizes

  • Support for multiple monitors

  • BetterSnapTool - $3.99 - Download now

How do you manage your windows on macOS?

Do you use any specific apps, tools, or keyboard shortcuts to manage your windows on macOS? Learn anything new from this piece? Gimme a shout in the comments with your thoughts, ideas, and questions!

macOS Catalina

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Switch Apps Shortcut Windows 10

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Did you know that the QuickBooks app for Mac lets you run QuickBooks Online on your Mac faster than in a browser? And it’s free with your QuickBooks Online subscription!

But you may wonder: Can’t I just use QuickBooks Online from my browser?

Yes, you can. But here are some cool things you can only do with the QuickBooks Mac app.

1. Open QuickBooks with one click from your desktop

The QuickBooks app for Mac appears on your desktop just like any other Mac program, and you can keep it in the dock for quick access. Just click the icon to get started!

2. Stay signed in

Unlike the QuickBooks website, which signs you out after a period of inactivity, the QuickBooks app for Mac lets you stay signed in. Like, indefinitely.

Just click the Stay Signed In checkbox on the sign in page.

3. Navigate with ease

Here are a few navigation tips:

  • Move easily from page to page with the Back and Forward buttons.
  • Switch companies right from the toolbar.
  • Bookmark your favorite pages for quick access.

Mac Quick App Switch Shortcut Download

4. Load pages faster

Quick

Just click items down the left navbar: Customers, Vendors, Transactions… they all pop up much faster than in a browser window.

5. Easily open multiple windows

You can easily work in multiple windows. Drag and drop windows anywhere, even across monitors and side-by-side.

This is helpful when you want to look at several things at once, like:

  • The Sales Transaction list and an open invoice
  • A rejected and a pending estimate
  • The check form and the bank register

And windows automatically refresh — make a change in one window, and all other related windows will automatically refresh with the updated data!

Example 1
Click Create (+) and click the Detach icon (it looks like this ) to open a new invoice in a separate window.

Example 2
Go to Transactions > Sales and drag an invoice outside the list until you see its thumbnail. Release your mouse to display the invoice in a separate window.

To switch between open windows
Press Command + ~ (tilde, below Esc).

For more info on opening multiple windows, choose Help > Multiple Windows.

6. Work faster with Mac shortcuts

Best Mac Shortcuts

QuickBooks Mac shortcuts require fewer keystrokes than on the website. For example, press Option + i instead of Ctrl + Option + i to create an invoice.

Create A Shortcut On Mac

From the QuickBooks Mac menu bar, choose Help > Keyboard Shortcuts to see the whole list.

7. Take advantage of familiar Mac controls

Maximize your productivity with familiar toolbar and menu options!

8. Keep on top of things with QuickView

Last but certainly not least, QuickView keeps an eye on your transactions and lets you know when something needs your attention. Right from your desktop!

Download the QuickBooks app for Mac

Is the QuickBooks app for Mac free for QuickBooks Online users?
Yes. Just download, sign in, and go!

Do I need a special sign-in?
No, simply sign in with your QuickBooks Online credentials. Super easy.

Does it automatically sync my QuickBooks Online data?
Absolutely!

Mac Shortcut Keys

This article was originally posted September 15, 2014, and updated July 1, 2016.