Command + Tab Issue – Fix Command + Tab Not Restoring Minimized Apps

macos

I'm on a Mac for the first time in 25 years. It is running macOS Sierra version 10.12.6.

When I press Cmd + Tab on the keyboard, I can cycle through the open applications, but if I Tab and release Cmd key on an app that is minimised, the minimised app won't open.

Is this the normal behaviour?

Best Answer

I am running system version: "10.13.3" and the behaviour is the same. I can't say whether this has always been the case with OS X/macOS, or whether it's a recent development, but it's reasonable to assume there's nothing wrong with your Mac.

The following thread on Reddit corroborates this as standard behaviour, and also offers some alternative solutions from frustrated former-Windows users who recommend hiding apps, rather than minimising them:

How to Command + Tab to minimized or hidden apps?

One user recommends the following:

To improve your Hide functionality, do the following two things in the Terminal. First:
defaults write com.apple.Dock showhidden -bool YES
Then:
killall Dock
Hidden applications' icons will now become translucent in the Dock. I love this feature and I think it should be the default. No idea why it's tucked away like it is.

Another recommends a piece of software called HyperSwitch as an alternative app-switcher, although having just looked at the website, it states that there is no solution for viewing minimised apps just yet. A solid recommendation, then.

Related Solutions

Keyboard Shortcuts – Restoring Applications from the macOS Dock

Command + Tab until you get the app's icon.
Before releasing the Command key, press and hold the Option key.

You must switch to another app and let it take focus first. In other words, you can't just Command + Tab to another app and before actually selecting that app (by releasing the Command and Tab keys), switch right back to your minimized app, which you might attempt to do if you minimized it by accident or just simply changed your mind shortly after minimizing.
Both the Command and left Option keys must be pressed on the same side (left or right) of the keyboard.

MacOS – Weird bug: Cmd+Tab sticks in Mavericks

The command ⌘+tab ⇥ app switcher lives in Dock.app, as many other things do, like the desktop background, menu bar, Spaces, Exposé, and most obviously the Dock. So to fix this the easiest way would be to simply clear the Dock preferences using this Terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app) command:

defaults delete com.apple.dock; killall Dock

For anyone not familiar with the defaults command, it is used to set or remove preferences, most of the time hidden ones. This line simply uses the defaults command to delete the preferences associated with the bundle ID of com.apple.dock, which is just a unique identifier for Dock.app. If you want to be a little more technical and see if you can salvage your Dock's app order and Stacks, try running

defaults read com.apple.dock

and looking for anything suspicious or corrupted, and then use defaults delete on the offending key.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Keyboard Shortcuts – Restoring Applications from the macOS Dock

MacOS – Weird bug: Cmd+Tab sticks in Mavericks

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