Manage windows on Mac

When you open an app or the Finder on your Mac, a window opens on the desktop. Only one app at a time is active; the name of the app (in bold) and the app menus are shown in the menu bar.

Some apps, such as Safari or Mail, let you open multiple windows or different types of windows at the same time. macOS provides several ways to manage open apps and windows.

Move, align and merge windows

On your Mac, do any of the following:

Move a window: Drag the window by its title bar to where you want it. Some windows can’t be moved.

Align windows: Drag a window close to another one — as the window nears the other one, it aligns without overlapping. You can position multiple windows adjacent to each other.

To make adjacent windows the same size, drag the edge you want to resize — as it nears the edge of the adjacent window, it aligns with the edge and stops.

Merge an app’s windows into one tabbed window: In the app, choose Window > Merge All Windows.

To make a tab a separate window again, select the tab, then choose Window > Move Tab to New Window, or just drag the tab out of the window. See Use tabs in windows.

Maximise or minimise windows

On your Mac, do any of the following in a window:

Maximise a window: Press and hold the Option key while you click the green maximise button in the top-left corner of an app window. To return to the previous window size, Option-click the button again.

You can also double-click an app’s title bar to maximise the window (as long as the option to do so is set to “zoom” in Dock & Menu Bar preferences).

Minimise a window: Click the yellow minimise button in the top-left corner of the window or press Command-M.

You can set an option in Dock & Menu Bar preferences to have a window minimise when you double-click its title bar.

Most windows can be manually resized. Drag the window’s edge (top, bottom, or sides) or double-click an edge to expand that side of the window.

Quickly switch between app windows

On your Mac, do any of the following:

Switch to the previous app: Press Command-Tab.

Scroll through all open apps: Press and hold the Command key, press the Tab key, then press the Left or Right arrow key until you get to the app you want. Release the Command key.

If you change your mind while scrolling through the apps and don’t want to switch apps, press Esc (Escape) or the Full Stop key, then release the Command key.

Close windows

On your Mac, do any of the following:

Close a single window: In a window, click the red Close button in the top-left corner of the window, or press Command-W.

Close all open windows for an app: Press Option-Command-W.

Closing one or all windows for an app does not close or quit the app. To do so, press Command-Q, or click the app’s name in the menu bar, then choose Quit [App]. See Quit apps.

You can hide the active app by pressing Command-H.

Use Mission Control to quickly arrange open windows and spaces in a single layer to easily spot the one you need.

Connect to a Windows computer from a Mac

You can connect to Windows computers and servers on your network from your Mac.

For instructions on setting up the Windows computer, see Set up Windows to share files with Mac users.

Connect to a Windows computer by browsing

In the Finder on your Mac, choose Go > Connect to Server, then click Browse.

Find the computer’s name in the Shared section of the Finder sidebar, then click it to connect. You may need to click All to see all the shared computers.

When you locate the shared computer or server, select it, then click Connect As.

In some cases you need the network area or workgroup for the shared computer. If you don’t have this information, contact the computer’s owner or your network administrator.

If necessary, enter your username and password, then select volumes or shared folders on the server.

Passwords for Windows computers and servers are often 14 characters or fewer. Check with the owner or administrator to be sure.

To make it easier to connect to the computer in the future, select “Remember this password in my keychain” to add your username and password for the computer to your keychain.

Connect to a Windows computer by entering its address

In the Finder on your Mac, choose Go > Connect to Server.

Type the network address for the computer in the Server Address field using one of these formats:

For information about the correct format for network addresses, see Network address formats for shared computers and servers.

Follow the onscreen instructions to type the workgroup name and a username and password, then choose the shared folder you want to access.

If you don’t know the workgroup name and the network name (called the computer name) for the Windows computer, contact the person who owns the computer or your network administrator.

If necessary, enter your username and password and select volumes or shared folders on the server.

Passwords for Windows computers and servers are often 14 characters or fewer. Check with the owner or administrator to be sure you have the correct password.

To make it easier to connect to the computer in the future, select “Remember this password in my keychain” to add your username and password for the computer to your keychain.

Connect using an Ethernet cable

Connect your Mac to the Windows computer using a standard Ethernet cable. If your Mac doesn’t have an Ethernet port, try using a USB-to-Ethernet adapter.

Connecting the two computers creates a small local network that consists of just the two computers.

On the Windows computer, turn on file sharing. Refer to the instructions that came with the Windows computer if you’re not sure how to do this.

Make sure the Internet Connection Firewall is turned off on the Windows computer, or if it’s on, make sure TCP port 445 is open to allow sharing connections.

For more information, refer to the user manual and onscreen help for the Windows computer.

On your Mac, choose Go > Connect to Server, then click Browse, or type the network address for the computer in the Server Address field.

Reconnect to recent computers or servers

Here are some ways to make it easy to reconnect to shared computers and servers you frequently use:

On your Mac, choose Apple menu

> Recent Items, then choose from the list of recent servers.

In the Finder on your Mac, choose Go > Connect to Server, click the pop-up menu to the far right of the Server Address field, then choose a recent server.

Add shared computers, network areas and workgroups to the Finder sidebar. Select the item, then choose File > Add To Sidebar or press Command-T.

Add a shared computer or server to your list of favourites. In the Finder on your Mac, choose Go > Connect to Server, enter the network address, then click the Add button .

If you can’t locate a shared computer or server or connect to it, it may not be available, or you may not have permission to connect to it. Contact the person who owns the computer or the network administrator for help.

Move your data from a Windows PC to your Mac

Use Windows Migration Assistant to transfer your pictures, documents, and other data from a Windows PC to your Mac.

Windows Migration Assistant transfers your contacts, calendars, email accounts, and more from a PC. It migrates this data to the appropriate places on your Mac. After migrating data to your Mac, authorize your computer for iTunes Store purchases. It’s important to authorize before you sync or play content that you download from the iTunes Store.

If you’re migrating from one Mac to another Mac, follow the steps to move your content to a new Mac.

Before you begin

To prepare for a smooth migration:

• Make sure that Windows is up to date. Migration Assistant works with Windows 7 and later.
• Make sure that you know the name and password of an administrator account on your PC.
• Connect your Mac and PC to the same network, such as your home Wi-Fi network. Or connect an Ethernet cable between the ports on your Mac and PC to create a direct network connection. Some Mac models require an Ethernet adapter, such as the Belkin USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter or Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.
• If you’re using Microsoft OneDrive on your PC, follow Microsoft’s instructions for uninstalling OneDrive before continuing. You can reinstall OneDrive after migration is complete.

Then use the check disk (chkdsk) utility on your PC to make sure that your Windows hard drive doesn’t have any issues:

1. Right-click the Start button, then click Run.
2. Type cmd and press Enter. Command Prompt opens.
3. At the prompt, type chkdsk and press Enter.
4. If the utility reports that it found problems, type the following, where drive is the letter that represents your Windows startup disk, such as D:
5. Press Enter.
6. At the prompt, type Y , then restart your PC.
7. Repeat this process until the check disk utility reports no issues. If the utility can’t fix every issue that it finds, you might need to have your PC serviced. Then migrate your data to your Mac.

Move your data

This section guides you through migration, post-migration, and what to do if the steps don’t work for you.

How to move your information from a PC to your Mac

1. On your PC, download and install the appropriate Windows Migration Assistant, based on the version of macOS on your Mac:
   • Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Big Sur
   • Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Mojave and macOS Catalina
   • Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Sierra and High Sierra
   • Windows Migration Assistant for OS X El Capitan or earlier
2. Quit any open Windows apps.
3. Open Windows Migration Assistant, then click Continue.
   
4. Start up your Mac. Setup Assistant automatically opens the first time you turn on your Mac. If you’ve already set up your Mac, open Migration Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
5. On your Mac, follow the onscreen prompts until you get to the migration pane of the assistant. Select the option to transfer your information “From a Windows PC,” then click Continue.
   
6. When prompted, enter an administrator name and password.
7. Click Continue to close any other open apps.
8. In the migration window on your Mac, select your PC from the list of available computers. Then wait for the PC to show the same passcode that your Mac shows.
9. When both computers display the same passcode, click Continue on your PC and Mac.
10. Your Mac scans the drives on your PC to build a list of information to migrate. When the scan completes, select the information that you want to migrate to your Mac and click Continue. Learn about some of the data that you can transfer.
    

You can watch the progress and estimated time remaining on both the PC and your Mac. They tell you when migration is complete.

After you move your data

When migration completes, close Windows Migration Assistant on your PC. Then log in to the new user account on your Mac. The first time you log in to a user account migrated from your PC, you’re asked to set a password. You can use the same password that you used on your PC, or create a new password.

After logging in to the user account that you migrated, authorize your computer for iTunes Store purchases. It’s important to authorize before you sync or play content downloaded from the iTunes Store.

If you have issues moving your data

• Quit all open apps on your PC, then try migrating your content again. For example, you can press Alt-Tab to choose an open application, then press Alt-F4 to quit it.
• If your PC doesn’t appear in the Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant window on your Mac, make sure the computers are connected to the same network. You can create a network by connecting a single Ethernet cable between your Mac and PC. If that doesn’t help, check for firewall software on your PC and turn it off. After migration completes, you can turn firewall software on again.
• If Migration Assistant doesn’t open on your PC, turn off any antivirus software on your PC. Then try to open Migration Assistant again. After migration completes. You can turn that software on again.
• If you still can’t migrate your information successfully, you can use an external drive or file sharing to manually copy important data to your Mac.

What data can I transfer?

Migration Assistant lets you choose the data to move to your Mac. Here’s what moves over for specific apps and data types:

Email, contacts, and calendar information
Email messages, email-account settings, contacts, and appointments move based on which version of Windows you’re using and which accounts you have.

Outlook 1
Data from 32-bit versions of Outlook in Windows 7 and later move as follows:

• People move to Contacts 2
• Appointments move to the Calendar app
• IMAP and Exchange settings and messages move to the Mail app
• POP settings and messages move to Mail 2

Windows Live Mail
Data from Windows Live Mail in Windows 7 and later moves as follows:

• IMAP settings and messages move to Mail
• POP settings and messages move to Mail 2

Windows Mail
Data from Windows Mail in Windows 7 and later (excluding Windows 8) move as follows:

• IMAP settings and messages move to Mail
• POP settings and messages move to Mail 2
• People move to Contacts

Bookmarks
Bookmarks from Internet Explorer, Safari for Windows, and Firefox move to Safari.

System settings
Language and location settings, and custom desktop pictures move to System Preferences. Your web browser homepage moves to Safari preferences.

Pictures
Photos and other images move to your home folder. You can then add them to Photos, or open Photos and let it search your Mac for photos to import.

iTunes content
Migration Assistant transfers your iTunes media as follows: music to the Apple Music app, videos to the Apple TV app, podcasts to the Apple Podcasts app, and audiobooks to the Apple Books app.

Other files
Migration Assistant also moves these files:

• Files from the top-level folder of the currently logged-in user’s home directory
• Non-system files located in the Windows or Program Files folders
• Top-level folders located on the Windows system disk and other attached disks

1. Migration Assistant doesn’t support 64-bit versions of Outlook. You can manually migrate Mail, Contacts, or Calendars from Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016 by signing in and entering the content on your Mac manually.

2. Migration Assistant transfers only the Mail or Contacts data that belongs to the logged-in Windows user. To transfer data from another user account, use Migration Assistant again while you’re logged in to another Windows account. Each time you migrate, your Mac creates a new user account.

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