Mac OS: Key Commands for Application Switcher

The Application menu, available in Mac OS 8.5, 8.6, and 9, can be viewed in a number of different formats. The name of the active application now appears next to its icon in the menu making it easy to determine which application is currently active. In addition, the application menu can be "torn off" and appear on the desktop as a floating window (miniwindow) displaying all applications running on the system:

• The Application Switcher miniwindow can be used to select or activate any program running on the system by simply clicking its name or icon in the Application Switcher miniwindow. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command-Tab to switch between programs or use Command-Shift-Tab to switch between programs in reverse order. To change the keys used for this shortcut, see the link "Help me modify the keyboard shortcuts" in the Switching between open programs section in Mac OS Help.
  
  Options for the Application Switcher can be accessed by using the keyboard and mouse. Additionally, many functions can be scripted using AppleScript:

• Hide Application To hide an application, hold down the Option Key while clicking on a different application in the miniwindow.
• Collapse the miniwindow Click the collapse box in the upper right corner of the miniwindow (Note: available only while displaying in vertical orientation).
• Resize the Application Switcher miniwindow To resize the miniwindow, move the pointer to the edge of the right side of the miniwindow until the pointer changes, then click and drag the miniwindow to the desired size.
• Open document Drag and drop the document onto the compatible application name in the Application Switcher miniwindow.
• Hide/Show application name Click the zoom box to hide and show the application names.
• Toggle between small and large icons Hold down the Option Key while clicking the zoom box.
• Toggle between vertical and horizontal orientation Hold the Option and Shift keys down together while clicking the zoom box.

Note: Some features of the Application Switcher are available only via AppleScript. See Mac OS Help for more details on using AppleScripts with Application Switcher.