Show Your Desktop with a Quick Keyboard Shortcut

You Mac’s Desktop is a great location for current documents & screenshots, but only if you can get to it easily. Read on for these two little-known tricks for temporarily moving your open windows out of the way.

May 8, 2023

The Mac’s Desktop is a remarkably useful place. It’s a good spot for in-progress documents, screenshots, images dragged out of Web pages, and more. However, app windows tend to obscure the Desktop, making it harder to use. There are two quick ways you can temporarily hide windows, making it easy to access icons on the Desktop. In macOS 13 Ventura, in System Settings > Desktop & Dock, click the Shortcuts button at the bottom and assign a keyboard shortcut to Show Desktop (we like the Right Option key). Or click Hot Corners and choose Desktop for one of the corners. (In macOS 12 Monterey and earlier, look in System Preferences > Mission Control.) Then, press that keyboard shortcut or put your pointer in that corner to move your windows aside temporarily. When you’re done, press the key or move the pointer there again to put the windows back.

You May Also Like…

Make Emojis Easier with Text Replacements

Finding and entering a desired emoji can be tedious. For those you like to use regularly, creating a text replacement lets you type a few characters to get a particular emoji quickly and easily.

read more

Apple Explains Its Approach to Device Longevity

Apple has published a white paper that offers an illuminating look at how the company works to increase device longevity while balancing environmental impact, protecting customer privacy and safety, and enabling transparency in repair.

read more