Query on CMD-Tab function

[Vanilla]

Hi
As a recent switcher I have what may be a silly question to ask.

On Windows XP, if you have multiple windows open, clicking on Alt-Tab will display a window with an icon for each open application. You can spin through each one by continually hitting the Tab button while holding down the Alt button.

This is a very nice feature and I was relieved to find the equivalent on the Mac using CMD-Tab, but unless I am doing something wrong there is one important omission.

On Windows XP, if you have multiple windows open of the SAME application (IE say or a couple of Excel workbooks etc.) you will see each one identified seperately when using Alt-Tab. However, on the Mac, if you have the same situation, you only ever get ONE icon, which means you cannot easily refocus on a different instance of the same application.

The obvious answer is to use Expose I guess, which I of course do, but being able to CMD-Tab would be handy as I find that a faster way of working.

Am I missing something or is this just one of those differences between the two OS's?

Vanilla


same

 

[mkrishnan]

CMD-~ (tilde) and CMD-shift-~ will cycle through windows of an open app in X, albeit without a graphical list center-screen.

 

[MemphisSoulStew]

Yes, CMD+Tab will only switch between open applications, and not between multiple windows in the same application. You can move between open windows in most applications by using Cmd+Shift+~ (tilde) if that's any help. I use this regulalry in Safari, Mail and AppleWorks but I don't often have multiple windows open in other apps so I can't say how widespread the shortcut is.

 

[MemphisSoulStew]

Ah, beat me to it...

 

[Vanilla]

Hey thanks guys, I tried the CMD-Shift-Tilde and yeah it works fine. Its a shame though that its not all wrapped into the one function.

Iit kind of defeats the purpose of being able to quickly spin through all your open windows - both of different applications and of windows within applications - when typing away if you have to have one set of keystrokes to get to the application and another set to spin through the windows within that app. Also, with the CMD-Tab function, I have got confused when selecting an app icon and not having it appear, because its "closed" (in the dock with a black triangle on it).

Ahh well, guess I'll have to just get used to using Expose then....

Vanilla

 

[stoid]

I'm glad that it's too separate functions. On average I have 15-20 windows in 10 or so applications open at the same time. I think that trying to sort through them in all cmd-tab function would be counterproductive. It's faster for me to command tab to an application, then if it has more than one window to snap to the one I want.

PS. I really don't like the 'multiple application' instances in windows anyway. I think it's a confusing silly programming notion.

 

[MrSugar]

Hey thanks guys, I tried the CMD-Shift-Tilde and yeah it works fine. Its a shame though that its not all wrapped into the one function.

Iit kind of defeats the purpose of being able to quickly spin through all your open windows - both of different applications and of windows within applications - when typing away if you have to have one set of keystrokes to get to the application and another set to spin through the windows within that app. Also, with the CMD-Tab function, I have got confused when selecting an app icon and not having it appear, because its "closed" (in the dock with a black triangle on it).

Ahh well, guess I'll have to just get used to using Expose then....

Vanilla

Personally I love the way it's set up. Because you may have a program open to exactly what you want to work on and when you cmd tab to it you don't want to have to deal with all the other BS windows from all programs. This way you only deal with other open programs, it's also a nice plus that you can quit programs while cmd tabbing.

The whole system in my opinion is awesome, you keep your view on items more organized and are still able to quickly browse. Unlike in windows where I have to hit ALT tab about 100x just to get to the window I want.. what a pain.

 

[Vanilla]

Just been reading the other replies. I can see the point being made and I'll try the "two sets of keystrokes" approach for a while to see how it feels.

Maybe I'm still too close to the Windows environment I came from, instinctively looking for equivalents rather than learning a new approach.

Bottom line is that apart from this "issue" I have been utterly overjoyed with my experience to date and just wish I had switched sooner.

ciao and thanks for the advice, all
Vanilla

 

[ChrisFromCanada]

I think just CMD + ~ works just as well as CMD + SHIFT + ~

 

[MrSugar]

I think just CMD + ~ works just as well as CMD + SHIFT + ~

cmd ~ moves forward in windows cmd shift ~ works to cycle backwards.

Just like cmd shift tab cycles backwards through the list instead of forwards. it's all about usability

 

[mkrishnan]

Maybe I'm still too close to the Windows environment I came from, instinctively looking for equivalents rather than learning a new approach.

This drove me *insane* for the first two or three weeks after I got my iBook. But since then I've come to really like it (so I'm just chiming in with the others). FWIW, there are things I think XP does better than OS X too, but this I ended up liking. (side-rant -- automatic multisession when burning CDRs from Finder, for the love of God!!!! ) If it had some kind of graphical preview center-screen or it went into Expose mode during the tabbing or something, it'd be even better, but it is nice. It'd be cool too if the Expose function was wrapped into the CMD-Tab cycling too, somehow, so that the icons of the apps were supplemented by the Expose previews of the windows. I thought Expose was mad sweet when I first got my iBook and now I use CMD-Tab and CMD-~ much more heavily....

 

[osprey76]

A cool Expose trick I found one day might be useful for you. Trigger "Show Application Windows" in whatever your front program is. Now, use CMD + ~ to switch between applications. As it does this it shows all windows in each application one app at a time. It's still two commands, but it's probably easier to find a certain window if you have too many open to see them easily in "Show All Windows."

 

[whooleytoo]

I like the Exposé + Cmd-Tab option.

Press F9 or F10 to activate Exposé, then Cmd-Tab to the app you want, then click on the window you want. Or you can just use Tab to immediately switch from app to app.

A nice extra feature of Apple's Cmd-Tab is being able to use the mouse if desired to select one of the icons.

 

[mkrishnan]

I like the Exposé + Cmd-Tab option.

I maybe pulling a space cadet here, but I just noticed that once you activate Expose, either in F9 / all apps or F10 / all windows of current app mode, you can use the arrow keys (without any command / ctrl / option) to cycle between apps, and it highlights the app and lists the name over it. I never knew you could do it from the keyboard. That's actually pretty cool!