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As someone who grew up with Windows XP, the first thing I do when I get a new Macbook is install Hyperswitch [1] which makes Cmd+Tab cycle through all windows o

As someone who grew up with Windows XP, the first thing I do when I get a new Macbook is install Hyperswitch [1] which makes Cmd+Tab cycle through all windows of all applications of the current desktop. The regular OSX workflow seems to be only good for a workflow that includes a single maximised Chrome window with a million tabs open. [1] https://bahoom.com/hyperswitch https://bahoom.com/hyperswitch

chris37879 5y ago
I completely agree on keyboard nav, but when I'm using my laptop, even at my desk, I position it so I can reach and do gestures on the trackpad, sometimes it's just easier for me, and I find myself missing them on my desktop machine that doesn't have a trackpad.
ascagnel_ 5y ago
I also grew up on WinXP, but I prefer how macOS separates application & window switching. I'd like to see per-tab support added in the mix somehow, but that could be tricky. Safari supports a gesture (pinch inwards) and a keyboard shortcut (Command-Shift-\) to get a zoomed-out view of all tabs in a window, but a window with a bunch of tabs is hard to scan like that.
kitsunesoba 5y ago
It’s been quite the opposite for me. I find that the “windows” model of alt-tab quickly breaks down — the number of windows the switcher can comfortably handle is reached and exceeded quite quickly, which then drives me to try to do everything in a couple of maximized windows. The logical separation of applications and windows sidesteps this problem nicely.
kergonath 5y ago
MacOS is application-oriented, and it is great. I can't stand the precise behaviour you like when I am forced to use a Windows computer at work. My windows currently open: ~50 iTerm2 (with loads of tabs and tmux sessions), 5 TextMate (quite a lot of tabs as well), 6 Safari (ditto), 1 Messages, 1 Mail, 1 Music. Cycling through the 50-odd windows to swap to mail would be insane. The use case you mention is precisely where application orientation is useless, I am not sure why you bring that up.
- mFixman 5y ago
  I don't see it that way. As far as I'm aware there's no way to switch to one of your iTerm screens using the keyboard without raising all 50 up to the foreground. In most cases I have several windows open but I want to cycle between 2 or 3. I find Windows-like window switching much better, but I guess your mileage may vary.
  - kergonath 5y ago
    There's the application windows switcher for that (it used to be called application Exposé; not sure it has a name these days). Once you are in an application, just command-down to see its windows in a much better way than what you get with alt-tab on Windows. Switching between 2 windows works fin with command-tab, because it brings only the window that was in the foreground, not all the application's window. So, for example, when switching repeatedly between the same windows in TextMate and iTerm, a single command-tab always brings the other window to the front. Another of my common use cases is looking for papers in Safari, reading them in a bibliography manager, and writing manuscripts in a TeX editor. Again, everything is as smooth as it could be. It is actually a bit more cumbersome when you have to switch e.g. between 2 windows in one application and a window in another one. Overall, these drawbacks make much more sense to me than Windows' alt-tab's, and the system fits my workflows much better. You can also switch between applications by using tab whilst in this mode (though it is not too convenient because there is little feedback about which application os selected).
- benhurmarcel 5y ago
  It's just a matter of preference. I prefer to think in terms of document rather than application. I don't care whether my previous document is opened in Word, VSCode, Text Edit, Notes or whatever, but I want to go back to it.
WeZzyNL 5y ago
I’m always surprised Contexts [1] isn’t mentioned more in this, eh, context. It’s absolutely wonderful as a window switcher for macOS, second to none in my view. [1] https://contexts.co/ https://contexts.co/

chris37879 5y ago

I completely agree on keyboard nav, but when I'm using my laptop, even at my desk, I position it so I can reach and do gestures on the trackpad, sometimes it's just easier for me, and I find myself missing them on my desktop machine that doesn't have a trackpad.

ascagnel_ 5y ago

I also grew up on WinXP, but I prefer how macOS separates application & window switching. I'd like to see per-tab support added in the mix somehow, but that could be tricky. Safari supports a gesture (pinch inwards) and a keyboard shortcut (Command-Shift-\) to get a zoomed-out view of all tabs in a window, but a window with a bunch of tabs is hard to scan like that.

kitsunesoba 5y ago

It’s been quite the opposite for me. I find that the “windows” model of alt-tab quickly breaks down — the number of windows the switcher can comfortably handle is reached and exceeded quite quickly, which then drives me to try to do everything in a couple of maximized windows. The logical separation of applications and windows sidesteps this problem nicely.

kergonath 5y ago

MacOS is application-oriented, and it is great. I can't stand the precise behaviour you like when I am forced to use a Windows computer at work. My windows currently open: ~50 iTerm2 (with loads of tabs and tmux sessions), 5 TextMate (quite a lot of tabs as well), 6 Safari (ditto), 1 Messages, 1 Mail, 1 Music. Cycling through the 50-odd windows to swap to mail would be insane. The use case you mention is precisely where application orientation is useless, I am not sure why you bring that up.

mFixman 5y ago
I don't see it that way. As far as I'm aware there's no way to switch to one of your iTerm screens using the keyboard without raising all 50 up to the foreground. In most cases I have several windows open but I want to cycle between 2 or 3. I find Windows-like window switching much better, but I guess your mileage may vary.
- kergonath 5y ago
  There's the application windows switcher for that (it used to be called application Exposé; not sure it has a name these days). Once you are in an application, just command-down to see its windows in a much better way than what you get with alt-tab on Windows. Switching between 2 windows works fin with command-tab, because it brings only the window that was in the foreground, not all the application's window. So, for example, when switching repeatedly between the same windows in TextMate and iTerm, a single command-tab always brings the other window to the front. Another of my common use cases is looking for papers in Safari, reading them in a bibliography manager, and writing manuscripts in a TeX editor. Again, everything is as smooth as it could be. It is actually a bit more cumbersome when you have to switch e.g. between 2 windows in one application and a window in another one. Overall, these drawbacks make much more sense to me than Windows' alt-tab's, and the system fits my workflows much better. You can also switch between applications by using tab whilst in this mode (though it is not too convenient because there is little feedback about which application os selected).
benhurmarcel 5y ago
It's just a matter of preference. I prefer to think in terms of document rather than application. I don't care whether my previous document is opened in Word, VSCode, Text Edit, Notes or whatever, but I want to go back to it.

WeZzyNL 5y ago

I’m always surprised Contexts [1] isn’t mentioned more in this, eh, context. It’s absolutely wonderful as a window switcher for macOS, second to none in my view. [1] https://contexts.co/ https://contexts.co/