* Hold down Command and press Tab until the application icon representing the minimised window is highlighted.
* Release Tab but DONT let go of Command.
* Now press Option too so you are holding down Command + Option
* Now release Command so you are just holding down Option
* Finally release Option
Amazingly this will then maximise the window whose application icon you selected in the first place.
Sounds crazy but it works. Try it!
In fact, my command-tab workflow is: command-tab to open the Switcher and then arrows to switch application/window
It put me off so much that I really can't be bothered to work out why it works, what the underlying switching philosophy is, or if there are any other commands to use.
I learned a few things from idly perusing them when I had nothing better to do.
The Dock shows you any minimized windows on the right.
If for some reason this is no longer default (I don't remember the last time I setup a new Mac and didn't carry over settings) Right Click the dock >> dock preferences >> Uncheck "Minimize windows into application icon"
That being said there is an option. The first is if you are in an application you can do control-down or (if you enable it under gestures >> more gestures for your trackpad) you do 3 fingers down you will see the minimized windows for your current application at the bottom. I did also just look it up and apparently if you do cmd-tab and press up on an application it does the same thing.
Not exactly what you are looking for, but you can at least do it on a per application level for anything minimized.
A while back I had the Raspberry Pi 400 computer on my desk and a newish M1 Mac. It was interesting how much better the window management was on the Pi. Frankly, for things like file management, that little computer was Snappy as hell.
And it does dual monitors like a champ!
And don't get me wrong here, I've used a lot of systems, and I'm fine with my Mac. I know how to use it, I get things done and the M1 chip is really sweet.
I generally go with the flow figure out what the flow is and I just don't worry about it past that. I just had to comment on this particular topic because I thought it was kind of humorous.
Sometimes the silly shadow around the top window gets too big, but then you can Option-Cmd-H to hide all other apps.
I never minimize windows on purpose. I think the only reason the concept exists is because it predates virtual desktop switching.
Also, instead of Alt-Tab, flick four fingers up or down and select the window of interest.
The whole virtual desktop can get quite clunky fast when you have multiple windows opened or ephemeral programs that you temporarily need.
I find macOS alt-tab'ing works better for me with the addition of https://contexts.co/
Alternative: Cmd-Tab to desired app, arrow up (while holding Cmd) to see all windows of that app, then pick the desired one (with arrows or mouse).
There is a rare case that I minimize a window, but it's generally because I don't want to work with that window any time soon, but I don't want to close it either, and I have multiple windows open in the app. Since I'm not frequently switching to the window in this situation, its fine if the easiest way to get back to it is to use my mouse.
Not once have I had to sit there mashing alt-tab and guessing then.
Invoke "Application Windows" and it will show you all the visible windows of the current application tiled so you can see them all, and it will show you all the minimized windows of the current application across the bottom of the screen. (Some applications, such as TextEdit and BBEdit also show recent documents there).
While in the "Application Windows" ctrl-tab cycles between all open apps while remaining in "Applications Windows" view.
Most of the time, though, I don't bother minimizing windows on macOS, whereas I minimize windows often on Windows. Although they're similar actions, they wind up serving different functions, and trying to treat minimized windows on macOS like minimized windows on Windows is just a recipe for frustration.
2. Ctrl-down for "Mission Control > Application windows"
3. Down arrow to select minimized
4. Enter
This even works when all windows of application are minimized.
It's a tradeoff: takes more keypresses to access the minimized window, but prevents the minimized window from getting in the way most of the time. Which is what you want if you've minimized it.
