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App Switcher on wrong monitor ( Command-Tab)

M

morriske

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 6, 2003
3
1
Anyone know how in Mavericks to move the command-tab app switcher display to another / main monitor?

I have my cinema display set as the main monitor when connected to my macbook pro, but no matter what I do the app switcher windows stays on the MBP display.

Small thing, just find it irritating.
 
Tab switcher follows the menu bar in Display Preferences, Arrangement. If it doesn't, file a bug report.

EDIT: It's been a while since I had dual monitors on a Macbook (Anything) so I suppose it's possible it's somehow different on laptops. But following the menu bar would still be the behavior I would expect to see in any OS version.
 
Looks like it uses the last monitor you actually moused over the dock on.. So for example I have the doc hidden on my machine. If I goto the bottom of the screen on my MBP, which in turn displays the dock, then the next time I use switcher its on the MBP. If I then goto the Cinema display and show the dock there, then the next time I use the switcher its on the Cinema display.

Not sure I like the implementation, but maybe at least understanding it will help restore sanity when using multiple displays :)
 
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Please let Apple know if you find this behaviour non ideal. Personally I would prefer either of the following behaviours:

1) The Application Switcher is always displayed on the monitor on which the menu bar has been placed under System Preferences > Displays > Arrangement

2) The Application Switcher is displayed on the display with the active (opaque) menu bar.
 
Thank you. This thread helped me. I prefer the legacy behavior, which is the command+tab UI follows the opaque menu bar. Thanks for the feedback link, I have used it and submitted my feedback. :)

Here is what I said:
In Mavericks, the command+tab switcher UI is displayed on the screen where the dock was last displayed (I use a hidden dock). I do not like this behavior at all. I would like the command+tab switcher UI to follow the opaque (main) menu bar as it did in the past versions of OS X, or allow the user to choose which behavior they want.
Click to expand...
 
Got it back on the right screen

As a clunky work-around, I went to display preferences and moved the menu bar over to the other monitor (the one where the app switcher and the dock were showing up) and then switched it right back. Fixed the problem.
 
Here's the behavior that I've picked up on--if it hasn't been specified in another thread. Click on an application on the monitor you wish the dock/app switcher to be on. Then "double dip" the mouse on the dock at the bottom of the screen. This should switch the dock/app switcher to the monitor.
 
Last edited:
jhfenton said:
It appears to follow the dock, not the active menu bar.
Click to expand...

BAZINGA!

You're totally right! If you accidentally fly the mouse over to the other screen even while watching TV on it and the mouse hits the dock unbeknownst to you, YUP, it switches the App tabbing to that screen! I thought it was a Mavericks bug and kept rebooting, but NOPE, it's just different.

This was driving me absolutely crazy!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for solving this! :D
 
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Follow the dock, and not the menu bar

+1

Just wanted to reinforce this answer for others. Just interact with the dock on the screen you want the menu bar to appear on. Hooray!
 
sheriffderk said:
+1

Just wanted to reinforce this answer for others. Just interact with the dock on the screen you want the menu bar to appear on. Hooray!
Click to expand...

This sucks for me as my MBP sits directly below my 30" ACD both at home and work. So, in order to trigger the dock on the ACD I have to move the pointer within a mm or so of the bottom of the ACD's desktop without crossing over to my MBP's screen.

Additionally, and I know I'm not alone in how I use this as I've seen others do the same, I tend to command-tab then pick an app with my trackpad, so having it show up on whichever screen currently has the pointer would be ideal.
 
jhfenton said:
It appears to follow the dock, not the active menu bar.
Click to expand...

I think you're right. If I just click on a dock icon on my main screen, the Command + Tab app switcher shows up on the main screen again.

Alternatively, clicking on an app icon in the secondary screen dock moves the Command + Tab app switcher back to the secondary screen. So that's definitely a cause and effect.

Additionally, I was adjusted the wallpaper of the secondary monitor and it caused the Command + Tab app switcher to move to the secondary monitor (no dock app icon click required!). So who knows.

Easy enough fix, tho. Thanks!
 
dyerucf said:
Looks like it uses the last monitor you actually moused over the dock on.. So for example I have the doc hidden on my machine. If I goto the bottom of the screen on my MBP, which in turn displays the dock, then the next time I use switcher its on the MBP. If I then goto the Cinema display and show the dock there, then the next time I use the switcher its on the Cinema display.

Not sure I like the implementation, but maybe at least understanding it will help restore sanity when using multiple displays :)
Click to expand...
[doublepost=1538598589][/doublepost]genius! it worked!!!
 
Word of the day: counterintuitive. Although I guess it's good if you're doing a presentation that you can keep your own stuff on your own monitor.

Thanks to the posters above for an answer

BTW - this is moJavE
 
Wow after all these years and Apple has done nothing to fix this, i guess all those feedback that apple gets they just ignore them
 
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So annoying you can't just specify where you want crap to show up. For those of us who do presentations/live productions I NEVER want anything other than specific outputs to show on my external monitors.

Such a freaking PITA...
 
I have two monitors (left connected via USB-C, right via HDMI). Dock and top bar are on both on Big Sur. In Display setting, I have dock on left monitor. App switcher was on right monitor and I wanted it on the left one.

I fixed this by simply opening the display settings -> arrangement and I moved the top bar to the right monitor. Then I moved it back to the left monitor. The app switcher is now on the left monitor as I wanted.

This is surely a bug in OS and I hope we have a settings for the app switcher in the future, would be great.
 
dyerucf said:
Looks like it uses the last monitor you actually moused over the dock on.. So for example I have the doc hidden on my machine. If I goto the bottom of the screen on my MBP, which in turn displays the dock, then the next time I use switcher its on the MBP. If I then goto the Cinema display and show the dock there, then the next time I use the switcher its on the Cinema display.

Not sure I like the implementation, but maybe at least understanding it will help restore sanity when using multiple displays :)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the solution!
 
dyerucf said:
Looks like it uses the last monitor you actually moused over the dock on.. So for example I have the doc hidden on my machine. If I goto the bottom of the screen on my MBP, which in turn displays the dock, then the next time I use switcher its on the MBP. If I then goto the Cinema display and show the dock there, then the next time I use the switcher its on the Cinema display.

Not sure I like the implementation, but maybe at least understanding it will help restore sanity when using multiple displays :)
Click to expand...

It's 2025 and this comment from 2013 still helps :D
 
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