How to show the desktop on a Mac
Every way to clear the windows off your Mac's screen and see the desktop: the keyboard, the trackpad, a hot corner, and clicking the wallpaper.
The quickest way: ⌘ F3, or Fn F11 on most Mac keyboards. Every window slides to the edges of the screen and the desktop shows. Press it again and they come back.
Every way to show the desktop
- Keyboard: ⌘ F3 (Mission Control key), or F11 / Fn F11 depending on your keyboard settings.
- Trackpad: spread your thumb and three fingers apart. Pinch them together to bring the windows back. Turn it on in System Settings, Trackpad, More Gestures, Show Desktop.
- Hot corner: System Settings, Desktop & Dock, Hot Corners, and pick Desktop for a corner. Move the pointer there to clear the screen.
- Click the wallpaper: since macOS Sonoma, clicking the desktop moves windows aside. To make that happen only in Stage Manager, set Click wallpaper to reveal desktop to Only in Stage Manager, in Desktop & Dock.
Show Desktop does not minimise or close anything. The windows are pushed aside, and the next click on one, or the same shortcut, brings them all back.
Minimise every window instead
To minimise all windows of the front app, press ⌘ ⌥ M. To hide every app except the front one, press ⌘ ⌥ H. There is no single built in shortcut that minimises every window of every app.
If you reach for it to find something
Many people use Show Desktop to get at a file, then fight to get their layout back. If that is most of the reason, the real trouble is windows covering each other.
With ClutterFreeMac every window sits beside the others on a strip, so nothing covers the desktop for long: scroll the strip to an end, or press ⌃ ⌥ P to pause it, and the windows go back where they were until you resume.
Questions
What is the shortcut to show the desktop on a Mac?
⌘ F3, or F11 (Fn F11 on many keyboards). Press it again to bring the windows back.
How do I minimise all windows on a Mac?
⌘ ⌥ M minimises every window of the front app. To clear the screen of all apps at once, use Show Desktop (⌘ F3) or hide other apps with ⌘ ⌥ H.
Why do my windows disappear when I click the desktop?
macOS Sonoma and later reveal the desktop when you click the wallpaper. In System Settings, Desktop & Dock, set Click wallpaper to reveal desktop to Only in Stage Manager.
Read next
- Guide
Minimise or hide? What each one does on a Mac
⌘ M minimises a window to the Dock, ⌘ H hides a whole app. What each one does, when to use which, and why neither stops windows piling up.
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How to close all windows on a Mac at once
Close every window of an app with one shortcut, quit apps in bulk, and stop old windows reopening each time you start up. The keys and settings that do it.
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How to keep a window on every desktop on a Mac
Make an app follow you to every Space with Assign To All Desktops. How to set it, which apps it suits, and why it applies to the app rather than one window.
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