Mission Control

Master the pre-eminent timesavers for multitaskers

Always switching apps? Cluttered screen? Use Mission Control. Press its dedicated key or Ctrl+Up Arrow, 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 minimized ones, or those in any additional workspaces). Turn on ‘Group windows by application’ in its System Preferences pane and it’ll stack windows that belong to the same app together — which is easier if you have 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 Ctrl+Down Arrow; Ctrl-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 Preferences > Trackpad > More Gestures. In this mode, press Tab to cycle through open apps in turn, or click one’s Dock icon to see its windows.

3 Recent documents

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

4 Fa ster app switching

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

5 quickly quit apps

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