Now and then, when helping other Mac users, I am surprised to see the waisted time spent navigating their Mac. In my mind the dock is for quick application launching and organizing frequently used items - not constant application switching. Even worse is when I see a Mac user dragging windows here and there just to try and find the right window to click on. Come on now people, you’re on a Mac, there are more efficient ways.

  1. Command-Tab: This keystroke combination will cycle you through the open applications on your Mac. Just hold down the command key (the one with the Apple logo and clover leaf looking logo on it) while tapping the tab key. When the application you want to use is highlighted just let go and bam, there you are.

    Extra Credit: Try out Command-Shift-Tab as well to cycle in reverse.

  2. Command-H: This keystroke combo will hide the current application. Sometimes things get cluttered and you don’t want to close a certain app but you want it out of the way. Command-H is the ticket.

    Extra Credit: Try out Command-Control-H to hide everything but the current app.

  3. Command-` (backtick): Okay so you’re in Safari and you have five windows open (shame on you for not using tabs!). Where is that one window? Don’t drag the windows around (I see this all the time), just hold down Command and tap the backtick key (just above the tab key and also has the tilda symbol on it). This will cycle through the current applications open windows, just stop on the one you want.
  4. F-10 and F-9: Apple’s expose feature is also often under utilized. Just hit your F10 key to view all open windows in the current application, then click on the one you want. Likewise, use F9 to instantly see all open windows in every open application on your computer.

I use the first three tips here constantly. Expose functions F9 and F10 are great but I use them less often because I have to look at miniturized versions of the windows which makes it difficult to see. I find being able to Command-Tab to the right application and then quickly using Comand-` to the right window is quickest.

One note of caution is that while most applications support these keystrokes some do not. Adobe Photoshop, for example doesn’t implement 2 and 3. In Macromedia Freehand (yeah I still use it) the F9 and F10 function keys have different meanings. Some other applications let you use Command-H but not Command-Option-H. However, for the most part there are few exceptions and these tips will help get you where you’re going a whole lot faster - enjoy!

Help other Mac users out and leave your navigation tips as a comment. I didn’t cover any third party utilities, but feel free to post about them with links ;-)