throwing windows out the window
December 29, 2020 6:54 AM Subscribe
Please tell me what to even call this function on my macbook air, then how to delete it.
I think this is windows but actually I have no idea if this is actually windows.
It is not something I purposely installed, it showed up one day unannounced with either a software update or maybe a new OS. I have MacOS catalina, but i think this was here with the previous OS.
It's when you are working and suddenly without knowing what you did... the entire screen changes to another world... like you see a quick slide and there are now different open word documents, or a different set of open pages on Chrome. You have to toggle back by clicking the application icon.
This often prevents me from, for example, taking notes from a PDF onto a word document because evidently I opened each on different screens (windows?) and can't look at them at the same time.
At the same time, sometimes it... doesn't happen? I never have any idea why, whether or how I have created things in different windows.
I *hate* this. I don't want it. I never, ever intentionally try to create different windows (if that is what these are.) I want everything visible on the same screen all the time.
I googled how to remove windows. The explanation was a process that involved saving everything in the window and then removing the window partition. But I don't see anything called windows in my applications or in my system preferences.
THANK YOU! Even if I get the right vocabulary here, it will help.
I think this is windows but actually I have no idea if this is actually windows.
It is not something I purposely installed, it showed up one day unannounced with either a software update or maybe a new OS. I have MacOS catalina, but i think this was here with the previous OS.
It's when you are working and suddenly without knowing what you did... the entire screen changes to another world... like you see a quick slide and there are now different open word documents, or a different set of open pages on Chrome. You have to toggle back by clicking the application icon.
This often prevents me from, for example, taking notes from a PDF onto a word document because evidently I opened each on different screens (windows?) and can't look at them at the same time.
At the same time, sometimes it... doesn't happen? I never have any idea why, whether or how I have created things in different windows.
I *hate* this. I don't want it. I never, ever intentionally try to create different windows (if that is what these are.) I want everything visible on the same screen all the time.
I googled how to remove windows. The explanation was a process that involved saving everything in the window and then removing the window partition. But I don't see anything called windows in my applications or in my system preferences.
THANK YOU! Even if I get the right vocabulary here, it will help.
This sounds like multiple desktops. There’s a few ways you can accidentally switch between desktops. One is to make an app fullscreen (the green button in the top left of the window) - that will give it its own desktop. Then switching to it will make all the other windows go away. Another is a three-finger sideways swipe on the trackpad: that will switch between active desktops. There’s also a button with a bunch of little squares on it that zooms out to see all your desktops and let’s you move application windows between then, but I don’t recall off the top of my head if it includes the desktops for fullscreen apps or not, and it’s Lisa likely you used that accidentally.
posted by aubilenon at 7:09 AM on December 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 7:09 AM on December 29, 2020 [3 favorites]
Here's a list of the MacOS touchpad gestures, it sounds to me like you're accidentally doing the App Exposé gesture (Swipe down with four fingers to see all windows of the app you're using) or maybe Swipe between full-screen apps (Swipe left or right with four fingers to move between desktops and full-screen apps). Either one of these would jump you between different windows of currently running apps.
If this is indeed what you're doing, you can follow instructions to disable the gestures you no longer want to have.
posted by tiamat at 7:09 AM on December 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
If this is indeed what you're doing, you can follow instructions to disable the gestures you no longer want to have.
posted by tiamat at 7:09 AM on December 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
P.S. References to removing windows and it's partition are a references to removing the Microsoft Windows operating system from a Mac that had it installed beside MacOS via Apple Bootcamp.... and you should absolutely NOT go down that road. You've run into a linguistic quirk of Google where your meaning of "windows" has been read as "Windows".
To close the window for an app you just close that app, or tab in the case of a browser with multiple tabs in one or more windows. "How to remove a window on MacOS" or similar google searches are unlikely to be helpful because it's too basic a question to be written up online, and as previously mentioned, removing Microsoft Windows is a thing, so you're getting that instead.
Here's a couple ways to view all open apps on a Mac, and also to quit them. Quitting an open application will close that applications windows.
posted by tiamat at 7:17 AM on December 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
To close the window for an app you just close that app, or tab in the case of a browser with multiple tabs in one or more windows. "How to remove a window on MacOS" or similar google searches are unlikely to be helpful because it's too basic a question to be written up online, and as previously mentioned, removing Microsoft Windows is a thing, so you're getting that instead.
Here's a couple ways to view all open apps on a Mac, and also to quit them. Quitting an open application will close that applications windows.
posted by tiamat at 7:17 AM on December 29, 2020 [2 favorites]
This is definitely multiple desktops; it drives me crazy as well although I haven’t tried to disable it and have slowly gotten used to it. You can imagine literal multiple desktops— like a whole extra desk next to your regular desk or whatever— and that’s the paradigm. I’m newly inspired to figure out how to avoid triggering it.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 8:19 AM on December 29, 2020
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 8:19 AM on December 29, 2020
I knew someone who was pretty adept at using this feature. She had one desktop set up for admin type work tasks - calendar, email, task app. Another was for coding and checking code. And a third was for graphics tasks. Or something like that. It was impressive. Maybe knowing that this is one way of using those will help you understand how to control those windows and options.
posted by amanda at 9:38 AM on December 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by amanda at 9:38 AM on December 29, 2020 [1 favorite]
Tiamat has your answer above; you can disable this by going to the "trackpad" control panel in system preferences, and unchecking anything under "More Gestures" that you don't care for.
(FWIW, as bewildering as it is when triggered accidentally, it's a really useful feature when you're expecting it and doing it on purpose. You can control the number of desktops in the 'Mission Control' view -- swipe up with three fingers -- mouse up to the top of the screen and click either the + (to add) or x (to remove) desktops. Fullscreen apps also act as their own 'desktops', and can be rearranged or closed from the mission control view as well.)
posted by ook at 9:42 AM on December 29, 2020
(FWIW, as bewildering as it is when triggered accidentally, it's a really useful feature when you're expecting it and doing it on purpose. You can control the number of desktops in the 'Mission Control' view -- swipe up with three fingers -- mouse up to the top of the screen and click either the + (to add) or x (to remove) desktops. Fullscreen apps also act as their own 'desktops', and can be rearranged or closed from the mission control view as well.)
posted by ook at 9:42 AM on December 29, 2020
Oh also you can switch between them with the keyboard with Ctrl+➡️ and Ctrl+⬅️
posted by aubilenon at 12:17 PM on December 29, 2020
posted by aubilenon at 12:17 PM on December 29, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cellar door at 7:08 AM on December 29, 2020