Mission Control gives you a bird’s-eye view of open windows, full-screen apps, and desktops. Spaces lets you create separate virtual desktops so work, browsing, and full-screen apps do not crowd one view.
These features work on recent macOS versions with a trackpad, Magic Mouse, keyboard, or Dock controls.
Does This Affect You?
Use Mission Control when you lose a window in a busy desktop. Use Spaces when you want different work areas for different tasks.
Open Mission Control
- Swipe up with three or four fingers on a trackpad, or swipe up with two fingers on a Magic Mouse.
- You can also press the Mission Control key, usually F3, or press Control + Up Arrow.
- Click a window to switch to it.
- Press Escape or swipe down to leave Mission Control without choosing a window.
Mission Control is also available from Launchpad and can be assigned to a Hot Corner.
Create and Switch Spaces
- Open Mission Control.
- Move the pointer to the top of the screen to show the Spaces bar.
- Click the + button to add a new desktop.
- Click a desktop thumbnail to move to that Space.
- Swipe left or right with three fingers, or press Control + Left Arrow and Control + Right Arrow, to switch Spaces.
- To remove a Space, hover over its thumbnail and click the X. Its windows move to a neighboring Space.
Spaces Tips
Full-Screen Apps Become Spaces
When an app enters full screen with the green window button, macOS places it in its own Space in the same top row.
Assign an App to Every Desktop
Right-click an app in the Dock, open Options, and choose All Desktops if you want that app to appear no matter which Space is active.
Use a Hot Corner
Open Desktop & Dock settings and assign Mission Control to a screen corner for pointer-based access.
Multiple Displays
By default, each display has its own Spaces. To change that behavior, use the Displays have separate Spaces setting in Desktop & Dock, then log out and back in if required.
Reorder Desktops
In the Spaces bar, drag desktop thumbnails left or right to put your most-used Spaces where you expect them.
Sources
- Apple Support: Use Mission Control on Mac
- Apple Support: Use Spaces on Mac
- Apple Support: Change Mission Control settings on Mac