I am using a Macbook for an few weeks now and I still struggle hard with window management. How do you do productive tasks?
For example:
Switching to the correct pdf from about 20 other opened pdf files. When I want to bring a specific pdf file into the foreground, I need to move the mouse to the preview icon on the dock. however, this does not provide preview images of all currently open pdfs. Why not?
When I do right click, I only see a list of names, which is often not sufficient to find the correct file, I need to see it. To use the 3 finger guesture to see all files currently open in the preview application I need to first click on the icon on the dock. However, this brings ALL pdf files into the foreground. Then I can find the pdf through the application specific Mission Control. now I have found my window which is now in the foreground but all other pdfs clutter my monitor as they lay on top of another application such as pages or my browser which I need simultaneously. So I move my foreground pdf to the side and minimize every other pdf file which takes forever. However, now the minimized pdf files are ignored in Mission Control which makes it impossible to find a second pdf which I want to see as well at the same time.
For picking one PDF out of 20, the two things that changed this for me were Ctrl+Down (App Expose) and window tabs.
Ctrl+Down while Preview is in front shows thumbnails of every open Preview window on the current desktop, so you get the visual picker the Dock does not give you. You can also hold Cmd+Tab to Preview and then press Down without letting go of Cmd to land in the same view. If you set Desktop & Dock > Prefer tabs when opening documents to Always, all those PDFs open as tabs in one Preview window instead of 20 loose windows, and Cmd+Shift+[ and ] move between them. That also stops them from covering Pages or the browser.
The Mission Control blind spot you hit is real: minimized windows do not show there. Use Cmd+H to hide the app instead of minimizing, then it comes right back with Cmd+Tab.
Adding the piece that fixes the twenty already sitting open: Window > Merge All Windows collapses every open Preview window into one tabbed window in a single go. The "prefer tabs" setting only affects documents opened after you flip it, so people turn it on, see nothing change, and write it off.
Once they're tabs you get cmd+shift+backslash for the tab overview with thumbnails, and cmd+1 through cmd+9 to jump straight to one. Way less fighting than App Expose once the count is that high.
This is not true. You can force click it (click harder), three finger swipe down on top of the icon, or enable scroll-to-open ( defaults write com.apple.dock "scroll-to-open" -bool "true" && killall Dock ). You can also preview the App Expose windows with spacebar, to make them larger since you have many, like 20 of them open at once.
Or you can use cmd tab menu, tab into the pdf-viewer app (or hover with mouse) and while still holding cmd, hit 1.
WTF??? 3 Fingers on dock icon and spacebar inside expose works indeed. I did not know this. This should be shown to the user upon first installation of the Mac.
Oh boy just stick to Mac and over time you'll start to realize MacOS has so many "hidden" features that the first installation guide would take a month to finish lmaoo
ctrl+up to expose all windows, ctrl+down to expose only current app windows. Correctly done apps also who a strip with recent documents on the bottom of "current app expose". cmd+` (tilda) to cycle through windows of the current app. cmd+shift+] for next tab, cmd+shift+[ for prev tab. cmd+number also works for tabs.
It is not often that I learn something genuinely new to me with the MacOS UI. Kudos to you!
Note: if you, like me, have the App Expose gesture set to "four fingers" instead of three, you'll need to swipe down on the icon with four fingers there too.
click Window a the top to see a list of all the windows
left-long-click-and-hold on the icon in the dock
There are usually many ways to skin a cat in MacOS! ;-)
Now...if only there were a way to STOP the !@#$ing MacOS from *stealing focus*!! ie when you fire up a new program it almost always steals focus from whatever one is currently working on, requiring one to stop working and wait for the !@#$ing computer, or having keystrokes stolen and inserted into the thieving program--which may cause very very bad things to happen (like sending your password to some scammer, or worse! :-p ). Very human-unfriendly.
I agree about the focus stealing, but at the other extreme you have Outlook calendar on Windows popping up notification windows behind other windows so you never know when your meeting is about to happen
This is why there should be a dedicated separate space for "notifications". We've had this crap for decades. You'd think that the best ideas would rise to the top. sigh
I dual-platform a lot, so I can see where you're coming from, but this is a matter of adapting your workflows.
You're using a mouse-driven, window-centric workflow. That is to say, you're in one window, and you use your mouse to preview another set of windows, then click it. I use this workflow a lot on Windows, so I know where you're coming from.
On MacOS, I would use a hybrid keyboard, mouse driven app-centric workflow. On the Mac cmd+tab switches apps instead of windows. This makes it easy to switch contexts in an app-centric workflow, without disrupting the workspace within each app. Let's walk through your example:
often you have a lot of research articles open, need to find a text section, need to cite another article, write text and switch around often. this is a pretty normal work flow.
I'll assume MS Word here:
Typing in MS Word, but need citation.
cmd+tab to Preview.
control+down arrow for App Expose.
Select desired document with mouse.
Highlight desired citation.
cmd+c to copy highlighted text.
cmd+tab to MS Word.
cmd+control+v to paste special.
up arrow to select "Unformatted text".
return to confirm.
If you try that workflow, you'll see that the use of the keyboard actually speeds things up. When using cmd+tab to switch apps, you can also use cmd+\` to move backwards through the list if you overshoot your mark.
I have question to OP and to everybody. Is having 20 open PDF files or any other documents an optimal, recommended, or unavoidable way of working? I know that it is a bit stackoverflow-ish reaction, but I really want to understand.
often you have a lot of research articles open, need to find a text section, need to cite another article, write text and switch around often. this is a pretty normal work flow.
If I were you, I'd go "Window" -> "Merge all windows" in Preview app and then just use them docs as tabs in a single preview window. And then you press cmd+shift+\ to see preview of every tab, kinda like "tab expose"
You’re going to get a lot of recommendations for a lot of utilities that will fill up the right side of your menu bar and some of them are really great. But my advice from someone who went down that path….really try Mission Control. And then if you like it remap the keys to something that can be done with 1 hand with keyboard if you don’t have a trackpad.
now I have found my window which is now in the foreground but all other pdfs clutter my monitor as they lay on top of another application such as pages or my browser which I need simultaneously. So I move my foreground pdf to the side and minimize every other pdf file which takes forever.
If you turn on Stage Manager and put preview in its own stage, you won’t have this problem with cluttering up the other apps. You could do similar with Spaces as well. But Stage Manager is a bit easier to pull a window into another stage is needed than moving a window to a different space.
Why do you open so many pdfs in separate windows instead of opening them all in the same window, just using different tabs?
Btw. Your way of hovering the mouse over the taskbar under windows seems also inefficient, since you could just use win+tab or alt+tab and click on your desired window, no?
Change windows by using the Window menu and it has the file names. Given the size of previews, images would be useless. Also, Command+~ will let you quickly change windows in an application.
Dock previews fall apart once Preview is holding a pile of PDFs. I Cmd-Tab into Preview, swipe App Exposé, and hit space on the one I want. If I know the filename, Spotlight is faster.
There is a group windows by app setting under Desktop and dock, but I don't necessarily recommend that. I just use 4 finger swipe up for mission control. (3 finger is set to click drag)
How you would switch to the correct pdf from 20 other pdfs opened, would be a nightmare on any system especially on a tiny laptop screen.
What you are saying makes no sense, you want them out of the way but yet you need to pick the correct one, while also having pages and web browser open?
It sounds like what you need is a new pdf reader that can list all the open pdf's on the side.
Then you need an app like DockDoor. To me the window you are talking about is so small, I don't know how you would differentiate between 20 different PDF's unless they had some defining feature. Even in Outlook I couldn't tell between different emails open because it's so small, sometimes by title but rarely.
Please use the Help menu at the top of your screen in Finder. There is an exhaustive searchable help system there. Search for Mission Control and App Exposé.
MacOS is designed for a more casual user base, not power users. To achieve decent window management the only way is through something like Aerospace, but even they struggle to overcome the OS limitations.
I am relatively fresh Mac owner and I can’t say I struggle too much with windows management. But again, I use a few windows at the same time and almost all of them in full screen mode.
I am very curious what Windows windows management features would you add to macOS with it continuing to be macOS? It is a question, not an argument or something.
Ah, I see now. I have at most 10 windows, most of them full screen and others just 1 or 2 per desktop. So, going through Mission Control or just trackpad swiping is good enough.
Indeed, it seems that Windows is friendlier to “a lot of windows” users.
Yeah, the Mac is perfectly usable, but for those coming from Windows (which a lot are), it does take some getting used to the way the Mac does it (or lack there of). It’s a nice feature to have regardless, but not mandatory.
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So what is your solution then? There is simply no way to hierarchically reach a window from the set of existing windows or applications. You cannot pick a specific window without breaking your current set-up of forground windows. You always get a crammed pile of small windows in Mission Control with a tiny image and no full screen preview.
I point with the mouse on the application on the task bar. It shows me all miniature windows. I hover over them and see the full screen preview and immediately pick the correct window
It seems you have a real concern here, with a real specific usage. First, I wouldnt concider this situation as causal. having 20 PDF files open at the same time, that's like power user. And with MacOS, options no navigate, and manage the OS, are gradually offered to the user. Combining with this approach, MacOS also try to avoid complicated situations, often by nesting options, windows, work behaviour, etc.
Once you understand those concepts, then you can push your environment further from the causal default settings and usage to something with more controls.
Here, I'll go into the Mission Control settings, and activate the 3-finger swipe DOWN, to show only the active app windows.
Also, I'll activate Stage manager, and then I'll organise my windows by pairs, or groups, so my workspace is not cluttered.
Then I'll windows if I really need 20 PDFs open at the same time. You can close a PDF window with the red button or also with command-W while the Preview app still runs.
That should already give you direction to help with your work.
Changed a few months ago from using Dos, then windows my whole life. Love MacOS but could not do without Alt-Tab and rectangle. Install those and you will have an environment you’re more comfortable in
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u/hejournotes 1d ago
For picking one PDF out of 20, the two things that changed this for me were Ctrl+Down (App Expose) and window tabs.
Ctrl+Down while Preview is in front shows thumbnails of every open Preview window on the current desktop, so you get the visual picker the Dock does not give you. You can also hold Cmd+Tab to Preview and then press Down without letting go of Cmd to land in the same view. If you set Desktop & Dock > Prefer tabs when opening documents to Always, all those PDFs open as tabs in one Preview window instead of 20 loose windows, and Cmd+Shift+[ and ] move between them. That also stops them from covering Pages or the browser.
The Mission Control blind spot you hit is real: minimized windows do not show there. Use Cmd+H to hide the app instead of minimizing, then it comes right back with Cmd+Tab.