Cmd-Tab behavior is inconsistent

Flipping between applications is simple using the Cmd-Tab key combination.
But I find that it's not consistent.
If for example I am using a web browser and want to check mail with the e-mail client, pressing Cmd-Tab (and repeating the Tab press as needed) brings up the e-mail application.
But if, after checking mail, I press Cmd-Tab once, I am not always returned to the web browser.
Sometimes when I press Cmd-Tab, the order of apps displayed across the screen is not the order I've recently visited them. For example, the most recent app I visited might be 3rd or 4th, as displayed.
This has puzzled me for a long time. Why does OS X not consistently take me back to the previously-used application with one press of Cmd-Tab? It frequently does, but not always. The order is random.
This has persisted across both Leopard & Snow Leopard.
Am I alone in this experience? Ideas?
Thanks.

I haven't noticed that.
Can you try it in another user account?
That will help narrow down the problem to your account. I'm not sure where to go from there, but it's a start.

Similar Messages

Leopard reversed mouse wheel behavior in cmd+tab switcher

in Tiger when you have many apps open, pressing cmd+tab brings up the app switcher, and then pulling towards you on the mouse wheel scrolls to the right, and pushing away on the wheel scrolls to the left.
leopard has reversed this, making a pull on the wheel scroll left & push goes right.
is there any way to fix this?

Hi
Re: bug reporting
https://bugreport.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/RadarWeb.woa/wa/signIn (will have to become ADC member to use it)
http://www.apple.com/feedback/
Steve

Cmd-TAB is not working in 10.9

Hi,
since Mavericks the application switcher is not working correct. When I switch to an other application using cmd-TAB the menue of the other application is shown, but no windows of this application will be shown. In older versions of OS X the app switching via cmd-TAB was no problem.
Is ist possible to bring back the old behavior of the shortcut cmd-TAB?
Gerhard

1. This procedure is a diagnostic test. It changes nothing, for better or worse, and therefore will not, in itself, solve your problem.
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Here's a summary of what you need to do: Copy a line of text from this web page into the window of another application. Wait for the script to run. It usually takes a couple of minutes. Then paste the results, which will have been copied automatically, back into a reply on this page. The sequence is: copy, paste, wait, paste again. Details follow.
4. You may have started the computer in "safe" mode. Preferably, these steps should be taken in “normal” mode. If the system is now in safe mode and works well enough in normal mode to run the test, restart as usual. If you can only test in safe mode, do that.
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6. The script is a single long line, all of which must be selected. You can accomplish this easily by triple-clicking anywhere in the line. The whole line will highlight, though you may not see all of it in your browser, and you can then copy it. If you try to select the line by dragging across the part you can see, you won't get all of it.
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PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin; clear; Fb='%s\n\t(%s)\n'; Fm='\n%s:\n\n%s\n'; Fr='\nRAM details:\n%s\n'; Fs='\n%s: %s\n'; Fu='user %s%%, system %s%%'; PB="/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c Print"; A () { [[ a -eq 0 ]]; }; M () { find -L "$d" -type f | while read f; do file -b "$f" | egrep -q XML\|exec && echo $f; done; }; Pc () { o=`grep -v '^ *#' "$2"`; Pm "$1"; }; Pm () { [[ "$o" ]] && o=`sed '/^ *$/d; s/^ */ /' <<< "$o"` && printf "$Fm" "$1" "$o"; }; Pp () { o=`$PB "$2" | awk -F'= ' \/$3'/{print $2}'`; Pm "$1"; }; Ps () { o=`echo $o`; [[ ! "$o" =~ ^0?$ ]] && printf "$Fs" "$1" "$o"; }; R () { o=; [[ r -eq 0 ]]; }; SP () { system_profiler SP${1}DataType; }; id | grep -qw '80(admin)'; a=$?; A && sudo true; r=$?; t=`date +%s`; clear; { A || echo $'No admin access\n'; A && ! 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Quick dock question---Using cmd-tab

Hello,
I am very used to using alt-tab to cycle through all the windows in XP. In XP it would cycle through all the open windows regardless if they were maximized, minimized, etc...
In OS X if you minimize a window cmd-tab wont bring it out from the dock (it will bring the program forward on the top of the screen but the window will remain locked in the dock until you click on it). Is there a keyboard shortcut to bring a minimized window out from the dock?
Thanks!

Oh yeah, I didn't notice you had a Macbook which means the Fx buttons have special functions. So, you would have to use the sequence fncontrolF3 to focus on the dock.
Note that you can change the settings for the Fx keys in System Preferences->Mouse & Keyboard to make such that they operate like a desktop model. When you do that, the modifier key (fn) is required to get to the special functions like volume, screen brightness, etc.
The window behavior in Mac OS X is not like Windows. The maximize button does not make the window fill the screen such that it takes over the whole thing. You can manually size it full screen by dragging the bottom corner though. This window behavior is bothersome to Windows users, but you'll get used to it. I do recommend using Expose as opposed to trying to make the Dock work like the Taskbar.

Why is the CMD-TAB app switcher still unable to properly focus apps?

On my MacBook Pro running OSX Lion 10.7.5, and on previous versions of OSX, I've noticed a very strange defect in the way the graphical environment switches applications.
To reproduce the problem, I open three apps (it does not seem to matter what apps are opened). At least two of the apps are on the same mission control (previously space) desktop so that they overlap. When I use CMD-TAB to switch between the same two apps on different miss.ctl. desktops, very often, as in, about every other switch, the app I'm switching to is underneath another application's window. It fails to rise to the top of the stack.
It is not regular. That is, sometimes the switched-to window does rise to the top. About half the time, it does not. This makes the app switcher a capricious interruption when I'm programming. I used to use spaces 2D spacial layout to spread out my windows and avoid the buggy behavior, but Apple jettisoned that with Lion.
I don't know if this is a problem with OSX's GUI, the libraries, or with the way developers write applications, but it has been a long standing issue. Has anyone else experienced this? It seems like it should have been fixed by now.
Anyone have any clues or fixes ?

Never mind. Apparently a duplicate of other threads. Possible fix: update the defective OSX Lion to Mountain Lion.

CMD+Tab Issues In Mountain Lion (consolidated)

I've seen CMD+Tab Mountain Lion issues myself and some others have posted online, so I'm consolidating them here:
CMD+Tab fails to show all running apps that are running (includes native OS apps such as iPhoto, Mail, etc.)
Pressing CMD+Tab does nothing (no pop-up), although the cursor does appear as if the command is partially being processed. (window prepping?)
CMD+Tabbing OUT of a full-screen application takes you to desktop, but then hides app icon from dock and CMD+Tab menu won't appear again... effectively leaving you stuck outside of the full-screen app (SC2). Only option is to go to activity monitor and kill process.
Interesting Side Note: I also use Alfred (CMD+Spacebar) for a shortcut/index app, and whenever CMD+Tab fails, Alfred also fails and I'm forced to manually used Spotlight to open apps. This suggests something could be tying up the CMD button and preventing it from executing combination key presses... maybe?
FIXES: The only solutions so far involve killing the processes of the perpetrating apps, i.e. finder, dock and any full-screen apps which caused the problem. Even doing so, the problem will manifest itself once again within a few hours.
Cheers!

I haven't tried experimenting with a guest user account as I solely use my admin account, but I'll play around a bit tonight. I only posted as it's manifested itself multiple times on my machine, no matter whether I sleep my computer, power nap it, restart it completely, etc. and it seems as though others have been experiencing similar issues:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19236413#19236413
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19171533#19171533
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19106906#19106906
https://discussions.apple.com/message/19137798#19137798
It seems as though the problem may lie more with applications running but not displaying as if they're running, i.e. won't appear on dock, or if it's a native app, icon won't have indicator light, and also not available in cmd+tab menu.
Certainly odd behavior.

Mail does not show as running nor is it displayed in Cmd-Tab rotation

I know that with Lion, the idea was that it shouldn't matter to the user if a program is currently running or not. So the blue dot in the dock was by default off. A lot of beta testers complained and the option to turn it back on was included. Somewhere in the last few months, Lion updates have changed something behind my back. When I run Mail, the dock blue light never shows even though it does for programs not provided by Apple. But Mail, Safari, iCal, and probably others do not show the blue dot when running. (BTW, in case you haven't read clearly what I wrote, since non-Apple dock icons show the blue dot, it means i HAVE SET THE SHOW INDICATOR lights option in Settings / Dock.)
What is far far worse is that when I press Cmd-Tab, none of these Apple programs (standard programs installed with OS X or programs from iWork or Aperture) are displayed in the cycle of programs I may switch among! I now must either click on the dock Icon with a MOUSE (extra hand movement) or click on a part of ghe window again with a Mouse. While I use the mouse a lot, having many years of pre GUI experience with only a keyboard, I developed a style of minimal movement. If my hands are on the keyboard, I don't want to pick up the mmouse unless there is no other way. Similarly if I'm using the mouse I don't want to go to the keyboard except for a good cause. Up until now, I've been able to do this with OS X (or dare I say with Windows). I've used a version of Mountain Lion and don't recal seeing this issue.
I have looked through out the setttings pages and tried preferences in each Apple application and I cannot find an option to re-enable the proper behavior of Cmd-Tab. Anyone know a way to fix this?
Thanks,

Some info regarding IMAP
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2585
http://email.cityu.edu.hk/faq/popimap.htm
http://help.yahoo.com/kb/index?page=content&id=SLN3769&locale=en_US&y=PROD_MAIL_ ML
http://techchannel.radioshack.com/difference-between-imap-pop-account-apple-mail -2189.html
It is a newer protocol for mail, almost every provider has switched to it, and POP is virtually gone. It helps in syncing across multiple devices, and everything happens at the server (for the most part) at first you will see lots of activity that you will not recognize, but in time it seems to calm down and you will become used to it. When I first switched I thought I was going to lose my mind..be patient, it has become much better after some time As long as you get your mails, you may see some syncing occurring, not to worry.
Also you can contact your email provider for further info as to how "they do it"(some set-ups are different for each provider) and if there are settings that you may want to use to make it more to your liking.
Hope you find some help here

How do I restore tab behavior back to the way it was in FF 3.5??

I just upgraded to FF 3.6.13, I generally wait to upgrade until any new bugs have been identified and corrected. In FF 3.5, when I opened a new tab from a link, the new tab appeared to the right of the current tab (NOT at the very end of the tab bar) and the focus STAYED ON THE CURRENT TAB. If I opened multiple new tabs, they each opened to the right of the previously opened new tab, as in <original tab sequence> Yahoo Facebook GMail MyBlog <New tab sequence after opening links> Yahoo Facebook NewFBLink1 NewFBLink2 NewFBLink3 NewFBLink4 GMail MyBlog, with the focus remaining on the CURRENT TAB (in this example Facebook, from which I was opening the links). In 3.6.13, the tabs SOMETIMES open to the right of the current tab, sometimes at the end of the tab bar, and no matter how I fiddle the settings, I cannot make them CONSISTENT. Have tried the extensions 'Tab Mix Plus' and 'New Tab at End' - these do not give me consistent behavior - sometimes they do as I wish, sometimes not. In addition, sometimes the focus stays on the current tab (which is what I want) - sometimes the focus changes to the new tab just opened, sometimes it stays on the current tab until I've opened 3 or 4 new tabs, then jumps to one of the new ones. In the 'options', I do NOT have 'when I open a link in a new tab, switch to it immediately' checked; yet sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. HOW do I achieve consistent behavior?? This is why I don't upgrade often. Very frustrating. I have not changed any plugins, other than trying Tab Mix Plus and New Tabs at End after upgrading to 3.6.13, once I realized that the tab behavior was not consistent. How can I go back to FF 3.5 ???

First of all, sometimes Extensions can interfere with one another. That '''''<u>MAY</u>''''' be the case with your using both Tab Mix Plus and New Tabs at End. They both have a function that you can set for where new tabs appear. TMP has options concerning focus on new tabs.
My suggestions are:
#Un-install New Tabs at End (Tools > Add-ons > Extensions, click New Tabs at End, click Uninstall, then exit and restart Firefox).
#*If using no other extension that affect where tabs appear (to the right of current tab or at end of all open tabs), a simple preference change can affect that change for you, <u>and you have one less extension to be concerned with</u>. I have also made this change as TMP did not have the Focus options to do this when the "new tab at end" feature first appeared or when I first started using the version of Firefox in which this feature appeared:
#*#Type '''about:config''' in the URL bar and press the Enter key.
#*#*See: http://kb.mozillazine.org/About:config
#*#If you see the warning, accept it (promise to be careful).
#*#Filter = browser.tabs.insertRelatedAfterCurrent
#*#Look at the "Value" column ('''false'''=open at end, '''true'''=open after current tab); Value = true is the default.
#*#Double-click that preference to toggle the value from true to false, or false to true
#*#Restart Firefox (File > Restart Firefox)
#*#See: http://www.mydigitallife.info/2010/02/01/change-firefox-to-open-new-tab-at-far-right-end-of-tabbar-disable-insert-next-to-current-active-tab/
#Tab Mix Plus settings
#*Open the Tab Mix Plus Options (Tools > Add-ons > Extensions, click Tab Mix Plus, click Options)
#*Click on Events > Tab Opening
#*#Place a check mark before "Open new tabs next to current one"
#*#I have checked "Open other tabs next to current one"
#*##I have un-checked "Only if related to current tab"
#*##I have un-checked "Change opening order"
#*#I have checked "Open duplicated tabs next to original"
#*Click Events > Tab Focus
#*#If you ALWAYS want to stay on the current tab and let the new tabs open in the background, un-check everything. These selections will/should over-ride Tools > Options > Tabs, "When I open a link in a new tab, switch to it immediately"
See if the above changes give you the results you are seeking. Tab Mix Plus has lots of options. You may need to change one or two settings at a time until it behaves the way you desire. Keep track of the changes you make so that you can easily re-trace/re-set when the results are not what you want.

The new tab behavior is driving me nuts. It keeps re-centering on tabs nearest the start of the list when I move a tab. How do I change this?

The new tab behavior is driving me nuts. It keeps re-centering on tabs nearest the start of the list when I move a tab. How do I change this?
I don't want to download an app. I would rather add a new string in about config or just change of the ones in there to false. It's making my work life rather difficult, to be forced to go all the way back to the end of my list after moving one tab just to have to do it again. I mean it's to the point where I might consider changing browsers if they had tab scroll bars.
Edit: At this point I will download any app. Please make this stupid feature stop.

The result of setting up that code will do exactly as you described: the tabs will be crowded together. I had not noticed any change in behaviour of Firefox with tabs because all the tabs are crowded together, so they cannot scroll, and I very seldom move tabs.

Screen Sharing and CMD+Tab

Hi,
yes, my problem is solved. CMD+Tab now works within the screen you are sharing!
But, now of course, there's another issue. How to leave the shared screen using the keyboard? Meaning, how can I switch controls back to my own Mac using the keyboard.
Using the mouse works! But as a geek, I often prefer the keyboard.
Regards,
Roger

Before the cmd-tab was sent through to the remote computer I installed a control panel called liteswitch X which allows you to map alt-tab to switch apps. If installed on main computer, you could probably switch away from the screen sharing window with an alt-tab. However, I would really like to switch off the cmd-tab being sent to remote and the fix for ARD 3.3 (defaults write com.apple.RemoteDesktop DoNotSendSystemKeys -bool YES) does NOT work for me.
anyone ?

CMD Tab not switching to apps in different Spaces

This has been a problem in the past and looks like it's still lingering in Mavericks. Yes I do have the Preferences option set btw
I think it seems to be triggered for me when disconnecting my external monitor (connected via Thunderolt aka MiniDisplayPort to DisplayPort cable). So once I'm using the laptop screen only then CMD+Tab doesn't switch to the correct Space. Not sure if it's when I disconnect when my MBP is sleeping or awake, something else I can test I guess..
Anyone else still getting this, and in the same situation re ext screen?
killall Dock makes it work again though.

Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a way to do that, or at least in my testing I can't make that happen.

Dear all, I have a MacBook Pro bought in April 2011. Last April, it got stuck while the wheel was spinning and I had to force it shut. That cost me my hard drive. Now, it's stuck again. I tried esc, cmd tab, moving the trackpad on the apple, but no. HELP!

Dear all, I have a MacBook Pro bought in April 2011. Last April, it got stuck while the wheel was spinning and I had to force it shut. That cost me my hard drive. Now, it's stuck again. I tried esc, cmd+tab, moving the trackpad on the apple, but no. HELP!

Dear John,
thank you for your prompt reply. After I sent the email, I left the wheel spinning to see if it would eventually stop. It didn't, but after a while the screen turned blue, so I decided to switch everything off with a forced shut-down. I could not restart with the OS DVDs because I am currently away from home, but fortunately everything was more or less fine after restarting. It then got stuck again, I forced it shut again, restarted again, and now it seem to work but I won't overdo it and will switch off smoothly after writing this (unless it gets stuck again). Last April I have replaced the HD, so it's now just under 6 months old. And, of course, since the crash occurred when I was abroad and had backed up just before I left, I have lost only a few days' work. Still, and I know this will make me hugely unpopular here, with my 5 previous laptops running on MS Windows I never had a problem. Which does not mean I loved the OS, or I would not have switched to Mac.
Anyway, and this is the main reason for this message, thank you very much again for your speedy intervention.
Claudia

Wierd Problem with task switching ( cmd+tab)

I rather put an image, because it's rather difficutl to explain:
[img]http://img123.imageshack.us/img123/5439/14060612097cu.th.jpg[/img]
I'm using shapeshifter, no way I change the theme (or use the original one), the problem is still there.
I repaired permissions and all that stuff with Onyx, same thing
any idea?¿
Mini 1.42 80 Gb HD + EZ Mini 250 Gb / 1gb RAM/Bt/Ap/Sd Mac OS X (10.4.6) Apple BT Keyboard & NGS "Snake" BT Mouse + Samsung 913v + M-Audio Mobile Pre

I don't remember when it showed, but in any case, it's been a long time I use shapeshifter, and I don't remember having this problem.
So long, I have disabled shapeshifter, logged into a newly created account, moved non-essential fonts, cleared font cache... the problem remains.
I have made some extra few caps to explain better:
When I press cmd+tab, all open apps show on top
When selecting the first app (starting from the left), you can notice de name of the app is "slightly" shifted to the left.
This "sums" for each app, so at the third o fourth, looks like this:
If you have 7-8 open apps, the last one selected has no more the text inside the grey spot
And this is how it looks (yeaks)
Hope it's explained better....

Cmd+tab not functioning correctly

CMD+Tab to switch windows works correctly when i am trying to switch windows within the same desktop space.
However, it does nothing when i choose an application window running in a different desktop space.
I am on the latest update 10.10.3
Everything was working fine and still works fine, when i do a restart. However, it suddenly stops working. I havent figured out what is causing the switch to fail.

Ok. Small correction. The restart doesnt help. It simply doesnt work - across desktop spaces. within a desktop/space, it works fine.

CMD + Tab and dock spotlights not working

I've noticed the CMD+TAB intermittently no longer shows the open applications. It's only showing Finder. I can have any application open and still just the finder. At the same time, the blue spotlights under open applications no longer work. A restart seems to fix it.
Any idea what's going on and what I need to do besides conintually restarting my machine?
Thanks,
Jeff

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up a guest account” (without the quotes) in the search box.
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem(s)?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault in Mac OS X 10.7 or later, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The Guest login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled under Mac OS X 10.7 or later, you can’t boot in safe mode.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem(s)?
After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

Cmd-Tab behavior is inconsistent

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