You can quickly switch to the desktop on a Mac by pressing a keyboard shortcut, swiping the trackpad using certain gestures, or creating your own custom shortcut.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Using Keyboard Shortcuts
Step 1. Press Fn + F11.
After that, the desktop will be displayed.
Alternatively, you can press the shortcut Command + F3
Method 2 of 3: Wiping the Trackpad
Step 1. Place your thumb and first three fingers on the trackpad
Make sure there is currently a program window open (eg a browser) so you can switch to the desktop.
Step 2. Slide the thumb and the other three fingers in a different direction
After that, the desktop will be displayed.
- For a demonstration of the gesture, click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of the menu bar.
- Click System Preferences.
- Click the "Trackpad" icon.
- Click More Gestures.
- Click "Show Desktop". An example animation will be displayed on the right side of the window.
Method 3 of 3: Adding Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
Step 1. Click the Apple icon in the top menu bar
If you want to create your own shortcut to quickly access the desktop, first open the shortcut menu.
Step 2. Click System Preferences
Step 3. Click the “Keyboard” icon
Step 4. Click Shortcuts
Step 5. Click Mission Control
It's on the left side of the window.
Step 6. Click Show Desktop on the right side of the window
Step 7. Click the option again to mark the typed text
Step 8. Type in the desired keyboard shortcut
If you are using the "Fn" function key, you will need to hold down the Fn key to type a command
Step 9. Click the red "X" button
Keyboard shortcuts will be saved afterwards!
