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I am using MacBook Pro Mac OS 10.5. I am new to this development environment. I am previous working on Windows. I am wondering whether there is similar function like "show desktop" (shortcut is Windows Key + D) on Mac to Windows, which will hide all applications and show a clean desktop? THis function is very convenient for my development on Mac.

thanks in advance, George

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5  
Exposé will do that for you. There's also command-alt-H to hide others. – Williham Totland May 11 '10 at 12:56
What is Exposé? – George2 May 11 '10 at 12:57
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migrated from stackoverflow.com May 11 '10 at 13:02

9 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

Yes, it's one of the exposé keys. Look in your system preferences to see which one it is.

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The expose for show desktop is F11, but when I press F11 the sound volumn control appears. I am using MacBook Pro. – George2 May 11 '10 at 13:00
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@George2: Use Fn-F11 then. On new macbook pros, function keys are mapped to volume, contrast, ... keys by default. – Peter Štibraný May 11 '10 at 13:06
Cool, question answered! – George2 May 11 '10 at 15:31
You can specify for example that F1 and F2 without function key are brightness, and F11 also without function key is show desktop. See this app to set it up like that kevingessner.com/software/functionflip – ridogi Jul 3 '10 at 19:23
up vote 19 down vote

A few options. If F11 by default decreases volume for you, you need to instead press Fn-F11. You can change that setting in the Keyboard System Preference: Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys . After enabling that, F11 will show desktop, and Fn-F11 will decrease volume.

If it's a new MacBook Pro, you can also use a 4-finger swipe up to show the desktop. Check out Trackpad in the System Preferences for a demonstration of that.

Also, in the Exposé System Preference, you can set up an Active Screen Corner where you can send the mouse to to show the desktop.

What others are referring to as Apple-H or Cmd-H refers to the ⌘H on your keyboard. That hides the current application and shows whatever's behind it, which may or may not be the desktop depending on what other applications are running. Switch to the Finder, close any Finder windows, and ⌥⌘H will hide all other applications, revealing the desktop. This would not show the edges of other windows.

EDIT
Some people have mentioned that ⌘F3 also works to show the desktop. Learned something new!

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Thanks! Your reply is very comprehensive and informative! – George2 May 11 '10 at 15:32
You didn't mention Command F3 also works – Casebash May 18 '10 at 1:43
I didn't know it until I saw jweede's comment below. Works too! – fideli May 18 '10 at 1:48
Option click on Finder in the Dock will also Hide All, and will bring up a minimized Finder window or open a new Finder window if none are minimized. – ridogi Jul 3 '10 at 19:25
up vote 4 down vote

Pressing F11 sends all the windows to the borders, showing the desktop. F11 again restores everything in its previous place.

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F11 is for sound for my MacBook Pro. – George2 May 11 '10 at 12:59
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For newer macs it is the <kbd>Command</kbd> + <kbd>F3</kbd> key. – jweede May 11 '10 at 13:28
up vote 3 down vote

F11, by default, will Expose the Desktop, and shove all the open windows to the side.

Personally, I tend to Apple-H all windows I'm not using, keeps them in the background but out of the way. You could also look into using spaces.

Here's a good cheat sheet for keyboard shortcuts on OS X.

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F11 is for sound for my MacBook Pro. – George2 May 11 '10 at 13:00
"I tend to Apple-H" -- any key called Apple for MacBook Pro? – George2 May 11 '10 at 13:01
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"Apple Key" -> Command Key – jweede May 11 '10 at 13:28
Thanks! Your reply is very helpful! – George2 May 11 '10 at 15:33
up vote 3 down vote

Cmd+H will hide the active app and cmd+alt+H will hide all Windows. But you should use Exposé. Just take a look into the settings. There you can configure an screen corner: When you move the mouse in this corner it will move all windows away from the screen und you can see the desktop.

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"Cmd+H will hide the active app" -- not working for Entourage. – George2 May 11 '10 at 13:05
up vote 2 down vote

F11, as the others have recommended, though seeing the edges of other windows makes me irrationally nervous. Also, I use CMD + ALT + [click on the desktop], but that's not perfect either.

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up vote 2 down vote

On a MacBook pro you can use four finger swipe up to show the desktop.

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up vote 1 down vote

What is Exposé? Steve will show you!

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up vote 0 down vote

Check http://displaydesktop.com

Put it in your bar.

Simplest display desktop program ever. The one I personally used. No settings. NOTHING. Just put it on the bottom bar. Click when you want to clear desktop.

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