application-switcherkeyboardmacos
I am using Mac OS X 10.7.3. ⌘+tab is used to switch among different applications, but sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. I guess it is because some applications are hidden or minimized.
Is there a way to really switch among all the applications by shortcuts no matter whether they are hidden or minimized?
Let’s reply in parts (as Jack The Ripper may say).
So far, so good.
Why do we have Minimize and Hide?
At first they tend to be very confusing, especially because the hide part is rather new to people coming from other Operating Systems. Windows only has minimize.
It is confusing but the reason for both becomes apparent when you analyze the limitations of each. Independently of the particular implementation that OS X does for handling with this situations, there’s a reason for each.
Hide ⌘ cmd + H will effectively hide most of the applications (and I say most because there are some notable exceptions out there). You will want to hide an application when you want to get it out of the way, completely, in all its forms, windows, and palettes. There will be two traces of the application after it has been hidden. It will be on the Dock with a dot (where you can click to perform the usual dock’s magic) and it will be once in ⌘ cmd + Tab regardless of the number of windows/palettes/etc.
So in conclusion, hide is an all-or-nothing mode. If you have a multi-document application (e.g.: Pages) with a few documents open (each in its own window), and you want to not see all of them at the same time, Hide is the way to go. It disappears. Until you bring it back, again, all of it. It also doesn’t show in Exposé, so you can’t find it there. You’ve hidden it.
Minimize
⌘ cmd + M will perform an old trick and will send the current window to the dock. In older OS X versions, there was a dedicated space (next to the trashcan) for these minimized windows. Snow Leopard changed (for better in my opinion) the way this works, and now you can see them in Exposé or when clicking (and holding) on the application icon in the Dock. This subtle distinction is the first important difference, as hidden apps are invisible to Exposé (except when you click on the Dock’s Icon, exposé will show all the windows, separating the minimized ones in the lower portion, but you can still see the ones that were open before you hide the whole application).
You want to use Minimize when —following the above example with Pages— you have this Application with three windows (Pages Docs) and you want to hide one of the documents, but not all of them. Minimize it, and it will go to the Dock, but you can still work on the other documents you have open.
But what about Applications with one Window?
Well, here’s where things get “gray”. Technically, unless you really like Minimize (or have any other reason), hide should be the way to get rid of that Application. Minimize is more clumsy and harder to bring back without the mouse, but hidden windows do not show up in Exposé, so you really have to decide.
Ok, I know I minimized something, how do I bring it back without the mouse?
That’s a tricky one since the age of Panther (OS X 10.3). Perform this simple test.
Let’s get real… really, how do I bring it back?!
Technique Number One:
Use Exposé. You can type the name of the window while expose is activated (or use the arrow keys) to select a window, including the minimized ones.
Technique Number Two: (this one is trickier)
⌘ cmd + Tab until you have TextEdit selected but don’t release ⌘ cmd, instead press ⌥ alt (both at the same time now) and release them together. It’s hard.
Now this doesn’t always work (especially if the Application has multiple windows open and you have switched a few times away), so the best way to bring minimized apps back is Expose.
Enough trickery, how do we deal with this?
This is subjective and a matter of personal preference, and I didn’t even include Spaces in the mix, that would have make it more interesting… all these window handling mechanisms are confusing and have gotten more confusing with the newest additions to OS X. But it’s usable and you get used to it kind of fast.
What I do is usually hide an application I don’t use. I don’t really use Spaces, I hide. If I happen to have a lot of windows of an application open, I start to minimize the ones that I really wish I could hide but I can’t because then I’ll lose the others (are you following me here?). So the key for me is Hide as much as possible. Only minimize when more than one Window within the same application and I want to keep at least one visible.
I have recently started using HyperDock (still Beta and Free) and I like the Window 7 approach to the Dock (and the fact that It can show all safari tabs as “windows”). So I’ll be likely getting that. I don’t use the Mouse that much, but that’s a nice addition for when I do.
In Mac, users tend to hide rather than Minimize, at least that’s my experience after spending years with other Mac users (mostly programmers and graphic designers).
As they say in Internet, ymmv. :)
Almost all of the keyboard shortcuts you've learned on Windows are the same on the Mac. The difference is which modifier key you use to invoke them.
On Windows, shortcuts are typically invoked with the Ctrl modifier key.
On the Mac, you use the 
key, also known as the "command" key. It's in the same physical position as the Alt key on a Windows keyboard, but is nothing like the Alt key.
The Mac has its own Alt key, labeled Opt/Alt. Its primary use is a secondary modifier for keystrokes. Command-Option-S might be "Save As", for example, while Command-S is regular "Save".
The Ctrl key is there on a Mac keyboard, too, but it's hardly ever used for anything.
The relative layouts look something like this:
PC: Ctrl Windows Alt
Mac: Ctrl Opt/Alt
The problem is that you're most likely using a PC keyboard on your Mac. In that specific case, the Opt/Alt and keys are reversed. You can change this in System Preferences, under Keyboard. Truly a huge pain in the rear for switchers. That layout looks like this, instead:
PC keyboard on Mac: Ctrl Opt/Alt
Apple's website has some pretty good hints and tips for Windows switchers. Start here for answers to your specific question about keyboard shortcuts. Then go here and read everything!
Best Answer
If you use ⌘+tab to go through your open applications, you should see even minimized ones, but if you select them, they don't automatically maximize/unminize. If you however press the option key after you've selected the desired minimized application but before releasing the ⌘ key with ⌘+tab, the app window that was minimized to the dock will return to its previous view.
I know this probably isn't exactly what you're looking for, but perhaps it'll help nonetheless.
Following this tip should also create a window for apps with no active window (works for Mail, iTunes and Keynote).
You can also switch from an app to "itself" (by hitting shift+tab once) then holding option before letting go of command will unminimize or create the window.