Mission Control is a handy macOS tool that lets you see all open applications and windows in one place. This has been on Macs for long (since Mac OS X Lion, 2011). Once you start using this convenient feature, you will start liking it. There are several ways to access Mission Control on a Mac.
You have three simple ways to access the selection of Emojis & Symbols in the Mail app on your Mac. With an email open that you are composing, replying to, or forwarding, simply do one of the following. Use the Menu Bar. Click Edit from the menu bar. Select Emojis & Symbols. The Emojis & Symbols window will pop open. Secure the My Passport Wireless dashboard used to maintain your drive. On your computer, open the list of Wi-Fi networks and select the My Passport Wireless drive (default name: MyPassport). Open the My Passport Wireless dashboard by entering the URL in your browser: mypassport (Windows) or mypassport.local (Mac).
How to Use Mission Control on Mac
Here are six different and easy ways to access and use Mission Control on Mac.
Method #1. By Using the Keyboard Button
By a single press of the Mission Control key, you can access it. This key has three rectangles of different shapes with the word F3 written at the bottom right.
Note: If you have turned on ‘Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys’ under System Preferences – Keyboard, then you will have to press the fn (Function) key and the Mission Control key to access it.
Method #2. By Swiping on the Trackpad
On your Mac’s external Apple trackpad or MacBook’s inbuilt trackpad, if you swipe up with four (or three) fingers, you will get access to Mission Control. You may change the number of fingers from three to four or four to three under System Preferences ⟶ Trackpad ⟶ More Gestures ⟶ Mission Control.
Method #3. Using Keyboard Shortcut
Another way to access Mission Control is by pressing and holding together the Control + Arrow UP keys.
Method #4. Using Magic Mouse
When you Double-tap with two fingers on the surface of your connected Magic Mouse, you get access to Mission Control.
Method #5. By Mission Control Icon in Launchpad
Apple has a separate icon for Mission Control in the Launchpad. If the Launchpad icon is not in your dock, you can access it by pinching with thumb and three (or four) fingers. Now click on the Mission Control icon.
Note: You can add the Mission Control icon to your dock for quick access. For this, keep your mouse pointer on the Mission Control icon and drag it to your dock.
Method #6. Using Hot Corners
Hot Corners are incredibly useful and helpful. Any Mac I have to use for a day, if I find it disabled, I immediately turn it on. Setting Hot Corners is easy.
Step #1. Launch System Preferences on your Mac.
Step #2. Click on Desktop & Screen Saver ⟶ Screen Saver ⟶ Hot Corners (option is in the bottom right)
You can also go directly by System Preferences ⟶ Mission Control ⟶ Hot Corners (option is in the bottom left)
Step #3. Here you have four dropdown menus which represent the four corners of your Mac’s screen. You can also see a small representational image in the middle highlighting the corners. Now you may use any of the four corners for accessing the Mission Control. To do this, click on one of the dropdown menu and then click on Mission Control. Now click, OK.
From now onwards, whenever you take your mouse pointer to that corner of the screen, Mission Control will be launched.
Tip: Similarly, you can set hot corners for the other three screen corners. I will tell you about my preferred settings. For the top left, I have ‘Application Windows’, for the top right ‘Mission Control’, for the bottom left I have ‘Desktop’ (I used to have Dashboard which I loved, but that has been removed in macOS Catalina) and finally for bottom right ‘Put Display to Sleep’. All these let me perform these actions quickly and effortlessly.
What is the Use of Mission Control on Mac?
Mission Control shows all your open windows in one place. Thus, it allows you to switch or move to the window of choice quickly. It lets you create Split View windows. You can also use Mission Control to move one of the windows to a different virtual desktop (Spaces). You can even use Mission Control to add new desktop screens (Spaces/workspaces).
Extra Read: Mission Control can be used to turn off full-screen mode for a window and return it to its original size. For this, launch Mission Control and take your mouse pointer to the top left corner of the small window thumbnail. An icon with two arrows facing each other will be formed. Click on it. Another method is to drag down the thumbnail of the full-screen app down into the open area.
How to Add a New Desktop Screen on Mac using Mission Control
Launch Mission Control using any of the six ways mentioned above. Now from the top-right, click on the plus icon.
How to Move Window to Different Desktop on Mac
Step #1. Launch Mission Control using any of the six ways mentioned above.
Step #2. Now drag any window to the top right of your screen where you see a plus icon (or other desktops if you already have more than one desktop screens). After dragging and placing the Window on the plus icon, release your hold (i.e., leave your mouse button or remove fingers from the trackpad).
You will see that the Window has been placed on a new desktop. Now you can go to this desktop by clicking on it. To navigate from one desktop screen to other:
#1. Swipe right/left with four fingers or launching Mission Control and click on the Desktop 2 (or whatever its number is).
#2. Swipe left or right using two fingers on the surface of your Magic Mouse.
#3. Use Control + Right Arrow or Control + Left Arrow.
How to Create Split View Windows using Mission Control
Step #1. Have an app in full screen mode (by clicking the green maximize button from top left)
Step #2. Launch Mission Control. Drag another window on to the thumbnail of full screen app. Now you will see both the windows in Split View.
Wrapping up…
So, this was all about the little, powerful tool called Mission Control. It is quick and easy to use. For me, this is very helpful. I have been using it since 2011. If you want, you may also change/tweak a few of its settings by going to System Preferences ⟶ Mission Control.
Note: Mission Control does not show windows or apps that have been minimized.
Some helpful posts you should check out…
Suraj is a digital marketing expert on the iGB's team. He contributes to the social media section along with tips and tricks for iPhone, Apple Watch. Apart from blogging, he likes to work out as much as he can in his gym and love to listening to retro music.
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First introduced with OS X Tiger in 2005, Dashboard organizes Mac widgets — program shortcuts and precursors to apps that we are all more familiar with. Many of these widgets still come as part of the standard package with every Mac and new operating system.
Dashboard is useful to keep close at hand. Mac widgets include contacts (which you can sync with iOS contacts), to calculators, flight trackers to stock market information, the weather app, games, and a wide range of extra tools you can add when you tap the + icon in the lower left of the Apple dashboard.
If you want to take a look at what you can access via the Dashboard, here is the complete list of 1703 Widgets currently available and supported. Now, here is how you use the macOS Dashboard to improve your productivity.
Mac Dashboard shortcuts
Since MacOS Yosemite was launched, Dashboard is something you may have to enable to use. On Macs using an older operating system it is something that automatically sits in the Dock.
To enable Dashboard:
Go to System Preferences > Mission Control
Click the Dashboard pop-up menu
Here it gives you options for how Dashboard appears:
- As Space: Dashboard can inhabit its own area of your Desktop. Get to it when you press the keyboard shortcut for Dashboard, or move between spaces. There are a few other ways you can use space on your Desktop which we will outline below.
- As Overlay: Dashboard occupies a permanent space on your Desktop (which you can switch off via Mission Control).
Now that Dashboard is enabled, there are several ways you can access it (and set shortcut to give you access quicker). Access Dashboard through one of the following shortcuts:
Use Launchpad > Open > Dashboard.
Using Siri. Open Siri in the Menu bar and ask “Open Dashboard”, or something similar.
If you have set Dashboard as a space, use a Trackpad to access. Simply swipe right with three fingers.
In Mission Control Preferences, set a Mouse or keyboard shortcut; then use that to access Dashboard.
Now you can use any of the widgets you need, and add any as needed using the Add button ‘+’ in the lower-left corner of the screen. Remove them using the ‘-‘ minus symbol.
How to use Dashboard as a web monitor
- Go to the website(s) you want to monitor. Choose File > Open in Dashboard.
- The page or website will grey out, opening a purple border around part of the page you want to monitor.
- Now you can adjust the size of the border around the web source.
- Tap ‘Add’ and it will take you to the Dashboard with the source website pulling the information through to your Mac, making a shortcut to a specific website for quicker monitoring.
How to close Dashboard on Mac
When you want to close dashboard, either click anywhere on the screen and the widgets will fade, or press the escape key, or use the mouse, trackpad or keyboard shortcut to close.
Dashboard is also incredibly useful for monitoring website you want to keep an eye on. Whether this is the status of a delivery or recent Amazon order, or a news outlet you read often.
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