Mac OS X Panther in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

The Application Switcher

You can also cycle forward through active applications by pressing -Tab from within any application. This opens the Application Switcher, shown in Figure 1-20, which lists the applications currently running on your Mac.

Figure 1-20. The Application Switcher

Tip

In earlier versions of Mac OS X, -Tab (and Shift--Tab) cycled through active application icons in the Dock, highlighting them as you hit the Tab key.

To select an application in the Application Switcher, hold down the Command key and press the Tab key until the application you want to use is highlighted; then release the Command key to bring that application forward. If you hold down Shift- and press Tab, you will cycle backward through the active applications.

You can also use the mouse in combination with the Application Switcher. For instance, you can use -Tab to bring the Application Switcher into view, and then use the mouse to click on one of the application icons in the screen. When you click on an icon in the Application Switcher, that application comes to the foreground, and the Switcher fades away.

To toggle back and forth between the same two applications, press Command and Tab briefly and let go. When you don’t hold the keys down, you’ll be switched to the previously used application. Pressing them again brings you back to the other one.