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How to Work More Efficiently By Using Exposé

By J. Benjamin Stevens on Posted in How Do I ... ?, Mac OS X

Expose_mac_os_x If you regularly work with multiple applications and windows open at the same time, like I do, you should certainly know about Exposé. This built-in feature of Mac OS X allows you to see at once as thumbnails all open windows in all applications or even in a single application. As Apple describes it, “Find the window you need. Now.”

The basic functions of Exposé work as follows:

  • See All Open Windows at Once: When you press the F9 key, Exposé instantly tiles all of your open windows, scales them down, and neatly arranges them. As you move your mouse over each tile, its title is displayed in the center of the window. By clicking on a tile, all windows returns to full size and the window you clicked becomes the active window.

  • See All Open Windows in the Current Application: Similarly, by pressing the F10 key, you can have Exposé tile the open windows in the current application, while dimming the open windows of all other applications. Again, you can click on any window to make it the active window. Also, you can use the Tab key to switch between open applications and thus view the open tiled windows for each.

  • See Your Desktop: Finally, you can use the F11 key to have Exposé hide all open windows and give you instant access to your desktop. This could be handy if you wanted to get to a document on your desktop without having to minimize or hide all other open windows to get there.

    • Note: If you’re using a PowerBook, you may need to press the function (fn) key at the same time as the F9, F10, or F11 keys, depending on your machine’s settings.

    • http://www.homeofficelawyerblog.com Grant Griffiths

      I LOVE Expose. In fact, I have my Mighty Mouse set to take full advantage of it. If you use a multi-button mouse, you can set it to use Expose.