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In this episode of Mac Tip Podcast;
Application Switching
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Show Notes:
Your Mac provides you with a number of ways of switching between applications (programs), in this episode I will teach you how to use the multiple ways to switch between applications
To try this out, open a number of applications at the same time — for instance Safari, Mail, Address Book, Text Edit, and iCal.
Having done so, you should have a pile of windows one on top of the other. So, what’s a good way of switching from one to another?
Hold down the Command (~) key with your left thumb and with your left index finger tap the Tab key. Across the middle of your screen appears a row of large icons-those of the applications you opened. The icon of the application you were working in is at the left hand end of the row and the next to the right is highlighted.
Continue to hold down the Command key and tap the Tab key repeatedly. Each of the icons will be highlighted in turn, moving from left to right. Keep holding down the Command key and this time tap the tilde (~) key — the one above the Tab key — repeatedly. Now the highlight moves from right to left.
When the application you wish to switch to is highlighted, simply release the ~ key, and that application’s window will move to the front.
Now try this. Note which application you are working in, and then press Command/Tab just once and release the Command key. you can also press Command and tab but hold down the command key and use the mouse pointer to select the application you want. Note which application is now at the front. Repeat the simple Command/Tab keypress and you’ll notice that you’re back in the application in which you started. See how easy it is to switch back and forth between two applications?
If you are Command/tabbing your way across the row of program icons and see one that you’d prefer to quit right away, just highlight that icon and while continuing to hold down the Command key, press the Q key. If you see one you’d just like to hide, press the H key instead of Q.
It may be useful to know that after the first Command/Tab, you can directly click the icon you want, using the mouse.
Finally, you can also drag a document onto the application icon of your choice to open it. How? In the Finder, click the icon of a document and begin to drag it. Without releasing the mouse button, pause and press Command/Tab, then continue to drag the document onto the appropriate application icon. Maybe not something you’ll want to do often, but you never know
and then you have exposé, Exposé is a built-in feature that can give you fast access to any open window with a few keystrokes, temporarily hide all open windows, or scale all windows down so you can get an overview of all of them
If you currently don’t have any windows open, other than your web browser window, open a few so you can see Exposé in action.
To show windows by application, press F10; Exposé highlights one application’s open window(s) while dimming everything behind it. To toggle through other application windows, press the Tab key. Click a window to select it, or press F10 to return everything back as it was.
To view all your open windows, press F9. To select a window, click it. To return your view back to normal, press F9 again.
To hide all windows so you can see your Desktop, press F11. Press the key again to display the clutter.
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