On Windows when I do alt+tab I can switch between windows. If I have 5 firefox windows open then using alt+tab will switch between them.
On my MacBook, cmd+tab switches between applications, not windows, so it will switch between firefox and xcode, but not between two different firefox windows.
I am sure there is some way to use keyboard shortcuts to switch between active windows. What am I missing?
Cmd-` toggles through the windows forward.
Cmd-Shift-` toggles through the windows in reverse.
Cmd - alt - arrowkey switches between tabs
There's a 3rd party app called Witch which will let you cycle through all windows of all apps.
Along with the other suggested shortcuts, you could always use Exposé.
On a recent MacBook, or aluminium keyboard, the 'F3' key is dedicated to Exposé. If you don't have a keyboard with an Exposé key on it, you can use 'F9' and 'F10':
F3 or F9 to show all windows on the current space.
Ctrl-F3 or F10 to show all windows belonging to the current application on the current space.
For even easier access, I use the four-finger upward swipe to activate Exposé.
On my Swedish Mac keyboard the ´ and ` are on the same key. For the back-tick is a shifted forward-tick.
So, I can only use cmd-shift-` to cycle the windows in one direction, and it doesn't work in all apps, like the terminal. Very annoying.
As Doug Harris pointed out Witch is a really nice way of "solving" this problem for Windows to Mac switchers that have alt-tab the muscle memory.
You're looking for Cmd+`, or if you're not sure, the one with the ~.
This will cycle through all open windows for a single application.
Just a small clarification:
CMD+`
Switches between open windows for the same application, in OS "El Capitan" this works only when the windows are not in fullscreen mode. Maybe this is the reason because some guys reply saying that this shortcut doesn't work.
Optimal Layout is another commercial app that gives you a simple way to switch between application windows from the keyboard.
Disclaimer: I'm the developer of Optimal Layout.
You can use Mission Control. CTRL + ARROW UP will activate Mission Control and it will show you all active windows separately. CTRL + ARROW DOWN will show you all active windows of the current applications. So if you just want to switch between Chrome windows, this might be your solution!
CMD-` will cycle through open windows.
CMD-Shift-` will cycle through them in reverse.
For switching through tabs, I prefer these shortcuts:
Cmd-{ to move left.
Cmd-} to move right.
I find those keys more comfortable than the arrow keys.
I'm using HyperSwitch https://bahoom.com/hyperswitch/ these days as it not just supports window switching (as opposed to app switching) but also shows previews of windows in a way MS Windows started to do since Vista (or was it Windows 7?).
The best app for MS Windows like window switching is Contexts https://contexts.co/
Beautiful, perfect in every way and too cheap when considering how much everyday pain of OSX suboptimal window management it fixes.
If you want command + tab to switch between all windows, you can try Contexts. I love it.
I'm the author of Command-Tab Plus application which allows you to quickly switch between applications, and additionally between windows (using the ability of Mac OS cmd+tilde https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL8CgMVptug
