On a Mac, Cmd+Tab switches between apps, not windows. If you have three browser windows open, Cmd+Tab shows one browser icon, and you have to find the right window after switching. If you are used to a switcher that lists every window, this takes some getting used to. Here are the ways the Mac gives you to reach a specific window, and what to do if you want a list of all of them.
Disclosure: we make Acclimach, an app mentioned at the end. The first five sections use only what is built into macOS.
1. Cycle through an app's windows with Cmd+`
Press Cmd+` (the key above Tab on a US keyboard) to move to the next window of the app you are in. Press it again to keep going, and add Shift to go back. If your keyboard has a different layout, you can see or change the shortcut in System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Keyboard, under “Move focus to next window”.
2. Open an app's windows from Cmd+Tab
Hold Cmd and press Tab until the app you want is selected, then press the Up or Down arrow while still holding Cmd. macOS shows that app's windows so you can pick one.
3. See every window with Mission Control
Press Control+Up (or the Mission Control key, or swipe up with three or four fingers on a trackpad, depending on your settings) to spread out all your windows. Click one to bring it forward. It is good for finding a window you cannot place, and slower for switching back and forth.
4. See just one app's windows with App Exposé
Press Control+Down to spread out only the windows of the front app. On a trackpad, you can turn on App Exposé with a swipe down in System Settings › Trackpad › More Gestures.
5. Use the Dock or the Window menu
- Dock: right-click (or Control-click) an app's icon to see a list of its open windows and choose one.
- Window menu: in most apps, the Window menu in the menu bar lists that app's windows.
6. Get one list of every window
macOS has no built-in switcher that lists all windows of all apps in one list, the way an Alt-Tab switcher does. If you want that, you need an app. Several exist, and they differ in price, permissions and how much they show. Whichever you pick, check what it asks permission for: window switchers need Accessibility, and live window previews also need Screen Recording.
Acclimach does this with Option+Tab: it lists every window, most recent first, and you keep tapping Tab and let go to switch. The free version shows a clean list; Pro adds live previews, search, and minimized windows and other Spaces. It leaves Cmd+Tab alone, and the previews are optional. See the Acclimach page for what it includes and how it works.
Which should you use?
- Two or three windows of one app: Cmd+`.
- A window you cannot find: Mission Control.
- Switching between many windows of many apps all day: a window switcher app.