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.
Extra Credit: Try out Command-Shift-Tab as well to cycle in reverse.
Extra Credit: Try out Command-Control-H to hide everything but the current app.
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
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