Mac users: When do you hide and when do you minimize?
I was a long time Windows user before recently switching to Mac. I never really used either function in the beginning, until I found the usefulness of hiding things and having them pop right back up when clicking on its icon in the dock. I still don’t use much of the minimizing function, except to minimize VLC while I “float on top” and need to concentrate on something.
I feel like I’m missing out on efficiency by not using these two functions to their maximum potential, so I’d like to hear about when other people use hide and when they use minimize.
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i just cmd + tab. i only minimize if something is actually in the way.
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Spaces also works well when I’m doing multiple tasks. I enable spaces from System Preferences, and set up 3 windows left-to-right. Placing my communication apps on one space (email client, skype, etc.), research apps/browsers on another, and office apps on the third really keeps it clutter-free.
Command-Tab works great too, and while tabbing, you can hit the “H” key to hide apps while using the pop-up application switcher.
@sndfreQ – Agreed. I used to do use Spaces a lot when I took my Mac to work. I’d have one for work, and one for… fun stuff. Ha. Yes, certainly useful.
(And thanks for the useful trick about hiding apps while switching! Didn’t know that! Only knew that you could hit ‘Q’ while switching to quit them. Never occurred to me that it would work for hiding, too.)
@Pseudonym You can reset your Mac’s settings by resetting the PRAM. Restart the computer, and before the restart chime sounds, hold down the “P” “R” “Command” and “Control” keys; keep holding them down until you hear a second start-up chime. Then release the keys and allow the boot up process to complete.
I never minimize. Never found a reason to over hiding.
@johnpowell Clean up your desktop man! Gross! ;)
@johnpowell That is awesome-I’ve never seen that usage of hot corners before! Grabbing files from a directory and dragging them to another hot corner-smooth!
@johnpowell – Yes! Love hot corners. I use bottom left for dashboard and top left for expose. Except I mostly use the four finger swipe up to see my desktop. Had to disable bottom right because I kept accidentally “bumping into it” too much. (Cyberduck! Growl!)
@johnpowell Just dump it all in a folder at least. * shudder * I recommend this web site Minimal Mac. It will… help you.
And Plex for all that media you have sitting around on the desktop.
@StellarAirman :: This system works for me. I keep the stuff I use the most on the Desktop.
Now imagine what my bedroom looks like. :-)
Wow! I just got a MacBookPro about 2 weeks ago and I love it. I just know there are so many things it can do that I have absolutely no idea.
I always minimized my programs before, now I use spaces more – had no idea you could simply hide your program – loving it :) I guess there’s always something new for me to learn!
@cinddmel – “I guess there’s always something new for me to learn!” That’s how I feel about my Mac, too!
I recently became a mac user too, I still get confused sometimes with closing or minimizing things because they were on the opposite side that I was used to on pc’s. I close the icon because I don’t like that many things on my little bar thing.
Hey, while all of these Mac users are on here, I’m currently using a computer that somebody lent me for a few hours. Mine is broken right now, as you can see from an earlier post of mine. I restarted it already. Twice. Can anybody help? The computer’s around 2 years old. It’s a MacBook, running on Leopard.
Thanks so much to anyone who can help. I would really appreciate it.
Now, to answer the question: I never really hide, because I don’t see the need. I usually like to keep all of my online stuff in multiple tabs on the same browser window. It works for me.
I use both. I almost always have iTunes hidden, since it’s generally always open and I just use the remote to change the songs/volume. I use minimisation for a few things. Namely multiple windows from the same program, since you can’t +tab between them.
I also hide ventrilo when I use it, since I don’t really need to see the window.
@Tink1113 :: That is why you need to check it.
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