13
3
On my Mac, Using Command+Tab to switch windows seems to work only sometime.
Other posts suggest pressing OPTION key and it works.
Though it is not clear to me why Command + TAB works only sometimes to switch the windows and is there a way to fix this? Am I missing something?
I am on MacOS High-Siera 10.13.3
Amol
Posted 2018-01-27T22:32:38.217
Reputation: 270
4
On MacOS you would get best switching experience if you DO NOT MINIMIZE your windows.
Command + Tab : to switch to windows that are not minimized
Command + Tab followed by Option : to switch to a minimized window
When I asked this question, I was a newbie MacOS user with years of Windows experience.
Now, it feels like MacOS design is optimized towards leaving your windows open (irony)
Amol
Posted 2018-01-27T22:32:38.217
Reputation: 270
By "Alt" do you mean "Command"? "Alt" and "Option" are the same key on a mac (although not all keyboards show this). – CupawnTae – 2019-07-20T09:40:07.030
18
Open Terminal and type "killall Dock" without the quotation marks. Hit return.
Your Dock will disappear for a second and then reappear but open apps will not be affected.
Try Cmd+Tab now.
Custom Soundtrack
Posted 2018-01-27T22:32:38.217
Reputation: 303
4
If you're running a Virtual Machine manager like VirtualBox sometimes it seems that an open Virtual Machine window grabs the ⌘ key (which is often used switch from VM keyboard capture mode).
In this case you'll need to bring the VirtualBox Console window up (e.g. using the Dock bar) and tap the ⌘ key again and it should release it properly.
Pierz
Posted 2018-01-27T22:32:38.217
Reputation: 880
1
Command+Tab allows you to switch between open applications (whereas Command+` allows to switch between open windows within an application).
If these options are not working properly, the Modifier Keys options may have been remapped.
These options are found in System Preferences - Keyboard - Modifier Keys.
Scot
Posted 2018-01-27T22:32:38.217
Reputation: 238
0
It just happened to me on my MacBook Pro.
Turns out, I've been using HyperSwitch to manage app-switching and windows-switching, and HyperSwitch recently expired (not sure why). After installing new version of it, cmd-tab is back to working order.
Wayne
Posted 2018-01-27T22:32:38.217
Reputation: 1
What version specifically did you install? Edit your answer with this information – Ramhound – 2019-07-18T19:28:52.840
@Rambound - I think the specific version is immaterial. The key is, when HyperSwitch detects there is a newer version, and possibly after some days of using older version (or other factors), the current/old version gets blocked, causing Cmd-Tab to not work at all. – Wayne – 2019-07-19T20:18:58.853
0
Do you use any remote controlling software such as Anydesk or TeamViewer?
In my case, they were grabbing certain keyboard inputs.
Close them all if any other answers don't work.
Lead Developer
Posted 2018-01-27T22:32:38.217
Reputation: 101
-1
My experience is that command + tab works if the current window isn't maximized. If it is (i.e., fit to the screen), command + tab switching doesn't work.
Krishna
Posted 2018-01-27T22:32:38.217
Reputation: 101
This is not related to window being maximized – Amol – 2019-10-10T22:10:49.637
@Amol one of the situations where command + tab doesn't work is when the current window is maximized; so it's related to command - tab issue and a specific case under that... – Krishna – 2019-10-11T16:21:44.340
I have same issue. When you command+tab to say chrome, intellij or skype, it sometimes jumps to that running app, sometimes does nothing. Its fairly random. There are some apps, such as slack, that it never switches to, you always have to click on its icon in the bottom to switch to its open window (or close the windows above it). Its frustrating as a developer that there is no reliable way to switch running apps. – John Little – 2019-02-08T08:09:41.427