2 ms·

Press escape to close dialogs, and command-click to activate background UI elements without bringing the window to the foreground.

• nkurz 16y ago
  I appreciate the response. Yes, I tend to press "Cmd-W" about three times before I realize that I'm dealing with a dialog and not a window. Then I'll either reach for the mouse or press Escape. Similarly, if I know that a window is in the background, I might manage to remember to Command-click (only needed on the links, not the icons in the title bar?). Occasionally when the stars align I can even copy text from a window without bringing it (and all other windows belonging to that application?) forward. But my real question is why I should have to distinguish a small 'window' from a large 'dialog'? Shouldn't Cmd-W work in both? And why should I have to distinguish between a foreground and a background app? Especially in the multi-monitor situation she has set up, it seems like it would be more 'polished' to have all the apps act the same. This is ignoring the non-standard applications, and the absurdity that clicking on one window often brings many of them to the foreground. My point is not that there aren't workarounds that one can warp one's behaviour to, but that I don't think the mental model itself is that coherent.