Jun 25, 2020 The Spaces bar at the top of the Mission Control window contains thumbnails of each desktop space and each window that is in full screen or Split View. To add a space, move your pointer to the Spaces bar, then click the add button on the right. When you have multiple spaces, you can switch between them by clicking the thumbnails the top of the Mission Control window. How to switch through different apps on a Mac While you could switch apps by using the Expose shortcuts described above (revealing all the open window and then selecting the one you want to work in). May 17, 2016 If you use a mouse instead of your Mac’s trackpad, then you can always use a different input option in Step 2. I assigned a five-finger tap gesture to open Google Chrome.
On Windows based computers it is very easy to show the desktop quickly. Many of the Windows users use ‘Win + D’ shortcut keys for viewing desktop. Otherwise, you can just move the cursor to the bottom right corner to hide all open programs and show the desktop. But on Mac, you won’t find any such option to show desktop. Here are 3 ways for you to show desktop on Mac.
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3 Ways to Show Desktop in Mac
- Create Hot Corners
- F11 or ‘Fn + F11’ shortcut keys
- Use trackpad gesture
1. Create Hot Corners
Hot corners is one of the simplest ways to show desktop on your Mac. This will be useful especially you like the bottom right corner button in Windows to show desktop. Follow the below instructions to set hot corners:
- Go to ‘Apple Menu > System Preferences…’.
- Open ‘Desktop & Screen Saver’ button and go to ‘Screen Saver’ tab.
- Click on the ‘Hot Corners…’ button as shown below:
- On the next popup window, you will see four dropdown boxes.These dropdown boxes indicate the four corners of your Mac as shown in the center picture. Click on the lower right dropdown and choose the ‘Desktop’ option.
Set Hot Corners in Mac
- You can choose any of the dropdown and set other options like Mission Control, Dashboard, Notification Center, etc.
- Click OK button.
Now move you the cursor using trackpad or mouse to the lower right corner. You will see all the windows will slide and hide to show desktop screen of your Mac. Again move the cursor back on right corner to view all windows back. You can toggle show or hide desktop using the hot corners option.
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2. Fn + F11 or Simply F11
Generally F11 key on your Mac keyboard does the trick of hiding all the windows and show the desktop. But F11 key on most of the MacBook Pro’s keyboard will do reduce volume function. In that case, press ‘Fn + F11’ keys to show or hide the desktop in your MackBook. This is similar to ‘Win + D’ shortcut keys in Windows computer. You can always press the keys again to show all the hidden windows again or go back to the previous window on you are working.
3. Use Trackpad Gesture
Apple has all types of gestures to play around on the trackpad. If you are a finger specialist, use your thumb and three other fingers in diagonally opposite direction. This will slide all the open windows and show you the desktop. You can also use one finger from left hand and three fingers from right hand to do the gesture.
In order to enable this gesture, click on “Apple menu” and go to “System Preferences…” section. Click on the “Trackpad” and go to “More Gestures” tab. Enable the last “Show Desktop” option to view desktop by spreading thumb and three fingers.
Use F3 to Access Additional Desktop
Mac allows you to have many virtual desktops to arrange your workflow, by default F3 is not meant for viewing desktop. F3 key on your Mac is used to show all the open applications which is basically called Mission Control in macOS. You can also press ‘command + spacebar’ to open Spotlight Search box. Type ‘mission control’ and hit enter. You will see all open applications similar to pressing F3. Although, F3 is used to choose any of the open apps, you can go to the other virtual desktops by selecting from the top. If you have multiple virtual desktops then this is an easy way to access other desktop screens. Remember, if you have open window on additional desktop then this will not minimize the windows. You can simply access additional desktop using F3 Mission Control.
View All Desktops in Mac Using F3
Remember pressing F4 will open Launchpad to quickly access apps.
Open Mission Control
- Swipe up with three or four fingers on your trackpad, or double-tap the surface of your Magic Mouse with two fingers.
- Open the Mission Control app, which is in your Applications folder.
- Press the Mission Control key on your Apple keyboard or Touch Bar.
Add spaces and switch between them
The Spaces bar at the top of the Mission Control window contains thumbnails of each desktop space and each window that is in full screen or Split View.
To add a space, move your pointer to the Spaces bar, then click the add button on the right:
Mac Gesture To Show Apps On Computer
When you have multiple spaces, you can switch between them by clicking the thumbnails the top of the Mission Control window. Or use these methods, which work even when you're not in Mission Control:
- Swipe left or right with three or four fingers on your trackpad, or swipe left or right with two fingers on your Magic Mouse.
- Press Control–Right Arrow or Control–Left Arrow on your keyboard.
Move windows to spaces
When you have more than one space, you can move windows to and from each space. Just drag the window onto the other space's thumbnail in the Spaces bar.
If you drag a window onto an empty area of the Spaces bar, that window opens in full screen in its own new space:
If you drag a window onto the thumbnail of a full-screen app, that window joins the other window in Split View:
Move or remove spaces
To move a space, drag its thumbnail to the left or right of another space in the Spaces bar.
Trackpad Gestures Mac
To remove a space, press and hold the Option key, then click or next to the space's thumbnail in the Spaces bar. Any windows in that space then automatically move to your first desktop space.
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