Mission Control

Master the pre-eminent timesavers for multitaskers

Constantly switching apps? Screen cluttered? Take charge

with Mission Control. Press its dedicated key or ≈+…, double-tap two fingers on a Magic Mouse, or swipe three fingers upwards on a trackpad to open it. 1 Group app windows By default, Mission Control spreads out the windows of all your open apps (but not hidden or minimised ones, or those in any additional workspaces you’ve created). If you turn on ‘Group windows by application’ in its System Prefs pane, it’ll stack windows belonging to the same app together – easier to navigate if you have many windows open in many apps.

2 One app at a time

Mission Control can get crowded. To view only the current app’s windows, either: press ≈+æ; ≈- click an app in the Dock and choose Show All Windows; double-tap two fingers on a Magic Mouse; or turn on the special trackpad gesture in System Prefs > Trackpad > More Gestures. In this mode, press † to cycle through open apps in turn, or click one’s Dock icon to see its windows immediately.

3 Recent documents

Instead of using an app’s File > Open Recent list or  > Recent Items to reopen what you were working on earlier, enter App Exposé and look to the row of thumbnails shown across the foot of the screen. They represent recently opened files and minimised windows; click one to reopen that item/restore the window.

4 Faster app switching

You don’t have to hold ç and then repeatedly press † (or ß+†) to reach the app you want in the app switcher – just move the pointer over an app icon, then release ç to switch to that app.

5 More quickly quit apps

With an app selected in the switcher, press q to quit it. You can repeat this while ç is held – a fast way to quit several apps safely. The previous tip, about what is under the pointer, also applies to this.