How to switch between windows on Mac

Switch between apps with Command-Tab

Command-Tab is the Mac’s Alt-Tab. A quick press takes you back to the app you used last. To pick another one:

1. Press and hold Command, then press Tab. A row of icons of your open apps appears.
2. Keep holding Command and press Tab again, or use the Left and Right Arrow keys, until the app you want is selected.
3. Let go of Command. The app comes to the front with its windows. To cancel, press Esc before you let go.

How to switch between windows of the same app

Command-Tab switches apps, not windows. If you have three Safari or Finder windows open, press Command-` to go to the next window of the same app. Apple describes the key as the one above Tab and to the left of 1. The character on it differs from one keyboard to another.

To see all windows of the app side by side, use App Exposé: press Control-Down Arrow, then click the window you need. On a trackpad, swipe down with three or four fingers if App Exposé is turned on in System Settings › Trackpad › More Gestures.

See all open windows in Mission Control

Mission Control spreads every open window across the screen, so you can click the one you need:

• Keyboard: Control-Up Arrow, or the Mission Control key (F3 on most Mac keyboards).
• Trackpad: swipe up with three fingers. Swipe down to leave.
• Magic Mouse: double-tap with two fingers.

The strip along the top of the screen is the Spaces bar. It holds your desktops and apps open in full screen or Split View. Click one to go there.

Switch windows with Stage Manager

Stage Manager keeps the window you work in at the center and lines up your recent apps on the left of the screen. Click an app on the left to switch to it.

1. Click Control Center in the menu bar, then click Stage Manager to turn it on or off.
2. To keep two apps in the center together, drag one of them from the left side into the center.

The same switch is in System Settings › Desktop & Dock, under Desktop & Stage Manager.