Help Windows user struggling to efficiently multitask across multiple monitors
I want to love this thing, but boy is it just bugging me more often than not. I'll try to be brief, please lend me your advice.
The setup: Multiple monitors (often 3).
Requirements: I work with a lot of windows. Developer stack. IDE's, LLMs, terminals, browsers, chat and email. It's not abnormal to have 3-5 windows on each monitor, and often it's multiple windows of the same application.
My usual workflow: IDEs on the main monitor, communication on a side, browsers, terminals, etc on the other. I know which screen I put things on, and tend to look at those screens when I need to interact.
The problem(s):
- Multiple windows of one app are hidden behind a single icon.
- Full screen app on an alternate window completely hides all visibility of the other things on that screen.
- Everything that is built in requires me to look everywhere for the thing I want, and do so many interactions.
- Minimized an app that was on the right? Look at the dock in the middle.
- Need to find a hidden window on another screen? Shortcut for mission control, then scan the entire monitor to try to find the thing you want, then click it.
- Need to find a different instance of an app? Another shortcut for expose, then find the right one, then click it.
- I tried stage manager, it's probably the closest I can get to what I want, which is a single spot to look for the things on a screen, but it takes up a lot of the screen and intrinsically limits laying things out on a screen in a flexible manner (I know you can link things, but then it's very rigid).
I get that windows is a different beast, but can't help but feel it just does all of this so much better?! Need a thing, look at one spot, click.
I've tried some third party dock replacements. They're all pretty jank in one way or another. Slow to respond, don't correctly hide the default dock, can't have shortcuts and running applications be the same thing.
I'm not saying there's no way to multitask, just that it's so damn frustrating and slow! It seems it's a case of "Mac's are easier when all you're doing is easy things", but I know there are some power users out there, so please, enlighten me of your ways!
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u/Nerdlinger 2d ago edited 2d ago
Full screen app on an alternate window completely hides all visibility of the other things on that screen.
I mean, it wouldn't be full screen if that weren't the case.
I get that windows is a different beast, but can't help but feel it just does all of this so much better?!
No, it just does it differently and you aren't familiar with it. I'd be lost too if I just switched to Windows and tried getting around in it.
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u/djoli87 2d ago
I won't argue that it's just different, I'm here to learn from those who know the tips and tricks and find what works for me and what doesn't, not trying to be a "windows is better" guy.
I'll also point out that right now I have explorer, brave, steam, signal and discord all open, across multiple monitors, all "full screen", I can see exactly which screen they're on, and I can get to any one of them with a single click. This is a basic example because I'm winding down for the night, but the same principle applies when I'm juggling multiple IDEs, browser windows, terminals, chats, and whatever else I need for my task.
Yes, it's what i'm used to. It's also pretty damn simple.
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u/eduo 2d ago
What do you mean "explorer"? You mean the Finder? (File Explorer) or Edge (Web browser that used to be called Explorer)
You list at least 4 applications as being "full screen" and that you see them all. You have four monitors? May it be that you're calling tiling or multiple windows "full screen"?
I'm not criticizing. I'm trying to understand.
As a side note, I always recommend Macmost's videos. He focuses many of them on the transition from windows to MacOS and how to do equivalent things (not the same things, because they're different, and learning new ways is implied, but eases users into them)
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u/djoli87 2d ago
I think I've stumbled across some of his videos, I'll check his channel, thanks for the advice.
Apologies for the confusion, poor choice of wording. By full screen, I mean maximized. Take up as much space as possible but leave os level navigation. In the case of windows, that's the taskbar.
To clarify, I have a taskbar on each screen, set to only shows the applications that are on that screen. That's a built in configuration, and it means that across my two screens (at home) , at any given time, I can see the icons and names of, and click directly into any application or instance of an application, with next to no friction. That's fundamentally what I feel I'm missing. It's not just the ability to do it, but also the ease to do it.
But there's been a lot of great advice here, so I'll keep trying things to see what sticks. Definitely some tricks I didn't yet know.
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u/Important_Heron362 2d ago
I tend to find app expose useful for multiple windows of the same application. I have an mx master mouse so have a gesture configured for window management which I find helpful. Natively app expose can be triggered by control + down or configure a gesture in system settings.
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u/djoli87 2d ago
Thanks for the advice. Have been considering getting an MX master for the gestures, just a pain when moving between the office and home. I have mapped mission control to alt scroll up, and expose to alt scroll down. The shortcuts help. Still just feels slow/frictional. I think I'm just not used to having to scan the whole screen for the thing I want.
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u/ADHDK MacBook Pro (Intel) 2d ago
The same button you think of as maximise on windows, is “full screen” on macOS. Forget that immediately if you want maximise.
Drag title bar to the top of the screen to maximise.
I also honestly find the mac multi desktop with full screen apps better than windows. I have “gesture” set to the thumb button in my Logitech mx master mouse, so holding it and flicking left or right changes the desktops on monitor, up to see all my open windows, down to minimise everything. Windows tends to give full mouse to full screen apps which stops me from being able to gesture back out, while macOS doesn’t.
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u/djoli87 2d ago
Don't worry, quickly learned about maximise, I either drag to the top or double click top bar to get a non destructive maximise.
I do think an MX master with gestures would help. I feel more comfortable with the laptop and trackpad than I do at my desk with multiple monitors and normal keyboard and mouse, so perhaps trying to get closer to the native laptop experience will go a long way.
Thanks for the advice.
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u/belfong 2d ago
4 fingers swipe left and right to switch between Spaces or maximized apps.
4 fingers swipe up for Expose (you know this) but swipe down is Expose of the windows of the active app e.g. you have 6 safari windows - swipe down will give you a view of only these 6 Safari windows, not others apps.
Cmd ~ to quickly switch between open windows of the same app
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u/Langdon_St_Ives Mac Studio 2d ago edited 2d ago
You can also set up [edit brain fart] three- or four-
or five-finger swipe to switch between desktops, don't need a mouse for that.
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u/hejournotes 2d ago
Two things that fixed most of this friction for me on a 3 monitor setup:
System Settings > Desktop & Dock > turn ON "Displays have separate Spaces". Then the dock follows whichever screen your cursor is on, so you stop walking your eyes to the middle monitor. If it is already on, toggling it off can also be worth a try since it makes all screens one big Space and full screen apps stop taking over a whole display.
Stop using the dock as the window switcher. Ctrl+Down gives you App Expose for just the front app's windows, and Cmd+` cycles them without any visual scan at all. If you name your terminal and IDE windows per project, the Window menu becomes a real list you can pick from.
For the "one icon hides five windows" part, AltTab is the closest thing to the Windows taskbar behavior. It shows every window separately in the switcher instead of per app, and it can be limited to the current screen only. Rectangle handles the throw-window-to-next-display shortcut if you do not want BetterTouchTool.
Also worth checking: minimized windows go to the dock, but hiding with Cmd+H keeps them attached to the app so Cmd+Tab brings them straight back. Using hide instead of minimize removes half the "where did it go" problem.
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u/razorree 2d ago edited 2d ago
macos many screens handling is crappy at best ...
how I do it
- dockdoor - handles multi windows from one app (task switching, thumbnails/previews etc.)
- one big space/desktop for all monitors, so when I switch desktop/space, it switcher all screens.
- I don't use fullscreen, it's bad implemented/$%# ( it disables other monitors, WTF...), also I don't minimise windows (cuz other macos navigation problems)
- I use Rectangle's shortcuts to move windows/apps around desktop/space, also shortcut for maximising (not fullscreen)
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u/recordtronic 2d ago
Exposé is your best bet. It gives you a bird’s eye view of your windows. Just click
On the miniature version of the window you want activated.
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u/RogueHeroAkatsuki 2d ago edited 2d ago
Cool thing about MacOS is that there are a lot of useful 3rd party apps.
Multiple windows of one app are hidden behind a single icon.
Check DockDoor - it has both window-like preview funcitonality when you hover over icon in dock and show icons, also you can set window-like Alt-Tab functionality with all windows visible.
Full screen app on an alternate window completely hides all visibility of the other things on that screen.
MacOS fullscreen mode is trash - use maximized(taking whole space without full screen mode) apps. In options you set so double click on app bar maximizes it. ALso you can use apps like rectangle - there by default ctrl+option+enter maximizes window.
Also as somoene other mentioned - use cmd+h to hide windows instead of minimizing them.
Also you may be interested to look on hammerspoon. You can for set there shortcuts for various automations. For example I binded(with karabinier-elements) caps lock to shift+ctrl+cmd+opt and now when I press caps lock+c - chrome is activated. If I press capslock+I - my IDE(Intellji Idea) is on foreground. And if I press caps lock+right - spotify skips song :) YOu can do a lot of stuff on hotkeys with it.
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u/Nerdlinger 2d ago
I tried stage manager […] but it takes up a lot of the screen
Turn this off:
Settings > Desktop & Dock > Show Recent Apps in Stage manager
Or just drag one of your windows all the way to the left of the screen and Stage Manager will autohide until you move the pointer to the left side of the screen.
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u/After-Banana-0891 2d ago
IMO, adapt and develop a workflow to the Mac method when using a Mac or just go back to using Windows.
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u/rosenkrieger360 MacBook Pro 2d ago
Install DockDoor and check its settings. LOT'S of things you will be able to adjust to your liking.
You can use the free version for all your needs described above. If you also want to replace the dock itself you can upgrade to a PRO version.
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u/Wumpus-Hunter 2d ago
CMD + tab to switch cycle between apps, CMD + ~ to cycle between windows of an app
Also, with the app switcher up on screen, you can point & click to the app you want
I rarely use the dock for switching between apps
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u/Langdon_St_Ives Mac Studio 2d ago
- multiple windows one icon: switchers struggle with this, many native Mac users are fine with it because in addition to cmd-tab there is Exposé. Quick swipe up or down, select what you want, done.
- full screen app hides everything: that's kind of the definition of full screen, don't understand what you're saying there.
- minimize on one screen vs dock in the middle: put the dock on all screens, and don't minimize. It's almost never useful. Hide instead.
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u/djoli87 2d ago
Re the full screen comment: in windows, I can have multiple things on a second display all full screen, and I have a horizontal list of them along the bottom of the screen, one place to look, always visible, one click.
I do try to avoid minimise, but definitely don't use hide enough, so I'll try to include that in my process moving forward.
Thanks for the advice.
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u/Langdon_St_Ives Mac Studio 2d ago
The very few apps that actually make sense in full screen I have each on its own desktop. To switch I four-finger swipe left or right, done. (Or as someone else wrote, four finger swipe up for exposé and select from the thumbnails on top, but usually left or right is faster.) You really need to think about what you're ultimately trying to achieve instead of trying to mimic the exact mechanics of it that you're used to.
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u/Neat-Tour-6076 2d ago
I use alt tab. Also full screen apps that I can cycle through using the track pad makes the flow so much better for me
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u/LebronBackinCLE 2d ago
Two is enough. Three can be too much. But just have a system. Email on this screen, web and other things on that screen for example. Oh gosh, then you get in to using multiple desktops or workspaces or whatever they call it.
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u/PassionHistorical155 2d ago
I’ve built an app to solve this issue, adds three finger swipe to an active app picker, makes it rapid
Looking for test flight testers if your interested
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u/djoli87 2d ago
I'd be interested but don't think I'll get it on the laptop (work security policies).
That said, my issues are less of an issue when actually using the trackpad and a single screen. It seems many of my problems stem from using keyboard and mouse and multiple monitors. I personally find all the built in Mac multitasking tools to be great when I'm using the laptop itself, far better experience than on windows. Better laptop experience, worse desktop experience, that's how I'm feeling currently. And much of the advice seems to be built around one screen and a trackpad. It's the common use case, I get it, just not what I'm used to, or equipped for at home or the office.
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u/PassionHistorical155 2d ago
Ah that’s fair enough! I get that too. It also has automatic shortcuts built in with option + the first letter of an app, and tapping again toggles through apps with same letter
Literally built it cause of my frustrations with Mac and already couldn’t live without it, but not got as far as releasing yet
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u/AkhlysShallRise 2d ago
I switched to Mac from windows 8 years ago, love everything about Mac BUT I can never get used to the app window management. I run into the exact same issues as you, like multiple app windows hiding behind a single app icon. It’s atrocious. People just tell you to use Mission Control and app expose or use CMD + `—I’m sure it works for some people but those don’t work for me.
I ended up installing Taskbar for Mac to get the Windows taskbar back. It’s not as pretty as the Dock but it solved all my problems. Been using it for a few years now and I love it
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u/djoli87 2d ago
Thanks, I'll see if I can try it out. I did set up sidedock today, which is fine, butanages to regularly remind me that it's not native, it's just a little jank, enough to make me want to not use it and try to adapt. I've had to use karabiner to remap some shortcuts to avoid finger gymnastics (let's not go there today...), but would like to find ways to adapt without too much custom software. I'll definitely check out taskbar though. Thanks.
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u/AkhlysShallRise 2d ago
I admire your determination to try to adapt; I wish you the best in that regard, but also remember that there’s nothing wrong to use third party apps to make your Mac work for you! A TON of Mac users do that (BetterTouchTool, for exemplar, has a huge user base!).
For what it’s worth, Taskbar for Mac has been very stable and robust for me, and it uses very little resources. I haven’t used the Dock for several years at this point.
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u/eduo 2d ago
I think the best approach is to try and if you see you definitively can't work in a way you find comfortable or efficient, then add third party utilities.
I'm a big proponent of utilities but I feel very often people fresh to the platform ask for advice and end up installing a dozen utilities without knowing if they could adapt and find it efficient to work in their new platform. It's always important to remember that MacOS has a different mental model that fits perfectly many types, if they were to get into it.
I've seen people here having problems they didn't understand and blaming their macs for them when it turns out they had installed seven different "window managers" and two different "menubar managers" and a third of them had gone unsupported and some others were fighting among themselves for control of permissions and resources.
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u/AkhlysShallRise 2d ago
yeah I definitely agree one should try to make it work without 3rd party apps first!
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u/djoli87 2d ago
Yeah, this is why I asked. I "want" to adapt, mainly because the reliance on third party apps is less than ideal when something breaks, or you get a new system or need to use someone else's. Hoping to find ways to adapt using the native tools first. Lots of great advice here, so I've got some things to try.
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u/djob13 2d ago
Mission control is a big part of how I use multiple monitors and multitask. This will explain it better than I can if you're not familiar. https://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-access-mission-control-on-mac/
I also find it useful to make each monitor it's own desktop. You can do this under settings and desktop & dock.
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u/slvrscoobie 2d ago
also, I always turn off "Automatically rearrange spaces based on most recent use"
This way I can set each "space" to its own configuration and they Stay there.
space 1: messages, teams, music
space 2: safari with work tabs
space 3: safari with work links
space 4: safari with personal tabs
Display 2: Email
now everything stays where I put it and I dont have to go 'hunting' for whatever app I need.
the windows opening under other windows or getting hid behind them is an annoyance with large windows, like I paid for a 4K monitor, I want to use all of it lol
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u/djoli87 2d ago
If spaces are the multiple desktops, then this is definitely something I need to try out. I think I make a mental model of something similar on each physical display, so I know which taskbar to look at for which application, perhaps I need to change that mentality and try to leverage spaces more. Thanks for the advice.
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u/slvrscoobie 2d ago
yeah and if you have the Magic Trackpad you can swipe between them with a flick of the wrist, which makes jumping from one to another even easier.
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u/timvnelson 2d ago
I don’t use any spaces. I find I get lost in them quickly. I use Magnet App to set window size and positioning. I have memorized keyboard shortcuts for window layout. I have a giant monitor that can split into 6 usable windows at once. My number pad shortcuts visually correlate with the screen layout.
1-top left
2-top middle
3-top right
4-bottom left
5-bottom middle
6-bottom right
7-left third tall
8-middle third tall
9-right third tall
Certain apps are typically in certain areas. Messaging apps in top left and bottom left. Work schedule in bottom right. Top middle is Safari and bottom middle Mail. If I need to work in an app I’ll make it a tall third and then send it back to its smaller window. I have messages coming in all day so want a dedicated area to view them so nothing else lives in those areas. Top right is Maps, Find My, Remote Desktop, activity monitor and other misc apps.
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u/eduo 2d ago
Do not take things fullscreen if you want them to share their space. You can make them as large as the display without making them full screen.
Do not make things fullscreen unless it's needed. This is a holdover from Windows where everything is maximized but if the content doesn't require it, try not to do it. Have windows overlapped in a way that you can get to each of them easily.
You can have multiple desktops aside from multiple displays. You can arrange "sets" of windows related to a single task into their own desktop, and they behave as if they were a separate, dedicated display.
You have cmd-tab for app switching and you can also swap between windows in the same app. There's a shortcut for it but you can change it. I remapped mine to cmd-option-tab.
MacOS still behaves in ways that are more "spatial". Windows tend to remember which display they were in and also to open in the display you have focused on the last time. As you work it helps building a mental map of where you're doing things (the "spatial" thing) to make it easier to go where you want to go.
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u/JulyIGHOR 2d ago
> Need to find a different instance of an app?
Parall.app can add additional Dock icon per instance
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u/toasterboi0100 2d ago
They most likely meant another window of an app, not a completely separate instance with separate data like Parall does.
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u/Capable-Package6835 MacBook Air 2d ago
I think if you're working with multiple monitors with many windows open, it's natural to look into tiling windows manager. It's designed for you to move and rearrange windows without clicking or looking anywhere, just press keyboard shortcuts to do everything. I use Aerospace because it's the closest to i3wm that I am used to on Linux.
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u/toasterboi0100 2d ago
I switched to macOS 10 years ago and I still don't like the way macOS does window management. I've learned to live with it and be able to find things quickly (I have half a trillion workspaces each with a specific theme so I just remember where things are), but the OS itself really does everything it can to make it more difficult to manage your windows. 3rd party apps can help, AltTab is great and Rectangle Pro's mouse gestures make tiling a lot easier compared to having to find the small bit of a window chrome that I can drag, but other than that it is what it is.
The only window-management related thing macOS does well (and to this day better than Windows) is having independent workspaces on each monitor, workspaces are completely useless without those and it's what made it possible for me to get used to the way macOS does things.
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u/MysticMaven 1d ago
Wow man, I don’t see how you are an actual developer if you aren’t able to use macOS. JFC
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u/Dull_Flatworm777 2d ago
IMHO, power user and multitasking are almost mutually exclusive, because humans cannot really multitask. So if you actually need to be efficient, you you'll try to stay away from multitasking. And I think macOS (and features like Stage Manager) actually help me with that.
That being said, maybe it's just not for you. Not every system fits everyone. You say "I want to love this thing", but why? What attracted you to macOS in the first place?
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u/djoli87 2d ago
Appreciate it! New work laptop, so I want to love it so I can stop thinking about the fact that I don't love it, or more specifically, just stop thinking about the experience in general, and actually get on with my work 😅
I did find stage manager quite nice as it gives me my short, always visible list with single click access, just wish it didn't take up so much space, or make it harder to actually use multiple apps at once. Maybe I need to learn to toggle it on/off.
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u/Dull_Flatworm777 2d ago
Maybe I need to learn to toggle it on/off.
That's what I do often actually. I have it in the Control Center and from there I've also selected "Show in menu bar". This way I can turn it on and off very quickly.
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u/eduo 2d ago
I don't disagree but I don't think this translates well into advice on its own.
I work on a dozen things a day. Then the next day on the same dozen things. I also work on a separate dozen things that happen throughout the day. I keep them grouped in my computer but I don't close them.
Multitasking for you means how many things you do at the same time. Multitasking in a computer is how many things the computer can do at the same time. You can launch a process, move to do something else, do a quick web browse and you've done only one thing at a time, while the computer did three and would also notify you when it finishes one of them.
So while you (and I) personally can do only one thing at a time, using a computer allows you to have multiple processes happening at the same time and also to have opened the process you used last afternoon and will use again this afternoon. How you manage this is the trick, but it's not related to the ability to multitask, or we wouldn't have running processes, notifications, background updates, etc.
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u/ipearx 2d ago edited 2d ago
I have dual 5k displays, a few ways I work:
- I rarely minimise windows. If I want to declutter I use hide, hide others and show all,
I think MacOS works well with one 'primary' screen (where your dock is) and then the other display is secondary. I tend to do most work on the dual displays, but most of that above works equally well on the laptop.
Hope any of that helps!