How to switch desktops on Mac

With a mouse, a trackpad or the keyboard. Works on macOS Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia and later.

What are desktops (Spaces) on a Mac?

macOS lets you have several virtual desktops, which Apple calls Spaces. Each one holds its own set of windows, so you can keep, say, email on one desktop and your work on another, and move between them instead of shuffling windows. Full-screen apps get a desktop of their own, too.

You see all your desktops at the top of the screen in Mission Control, which you open with Control + ↑, the F3 key, or a three- or four-finger swipe up on a trackpad.

How to add multiple desktops on Mac

1. Open Mission Control (Control + ↑ or F3).
2. Move the pointer to the strip of desktops at the top of the screen.
3. Click the + button at the right end of the strip.

Each click adds another desktop. You can drag desktops in the strip to reorder them.

Switch desktops with the keyboard

• Control + →: move one desktop to the right.
• Control + ←: move one desktop to the left.
• Control + 1, 2, 3…: jump straight to a desktop. These are off by default. Turn them on in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts… > Mission Control, under "Switch to Desktop 1", "Switch to Desktop 2" and so on. They only appear for desktops that already exist.

Switch desktops with a trackpad

Swipe left or right with three or four fingers. Which one depends on your settings: go to System Settings > Trackpad > More Gestures and check Swipe between full-screen applications.

Switch desktops with a Magic Mouse

Swipe left or right with two fingers on the mouse surface. If it doesn't work, turn on Swipe between full-screen applications in System Settings > Mouse > More Gestures.

Switch desktops with a regular mouse (Logitech, Microsoft, any USB or Bluetooth mouse)

Most mice don't have a touch surface, so macOS gives you no swipe gesture. You have three options:

1. Use a mouse button for Mission Control (built in)

Go to System Settings > Desktop & Dock, click Shortcuts… at the bottom, and set Mission Control to Mouse Button 3 (the scroll wheel click). Clicking the wheel then opens Mission Control, where you click the desktop you want. It works, but it takes two clicks, applies in every app (including ones like Blender that need the middle button), and can't switch desktops directly.

2. Hold the scroll wheel and drag (free app)

Scroll Wheel Mission Control is a free, open source menu bar app that turns the scroll wheel into a desktop switcher:

• Hold the wheel and drag left or right to move exactly one desktop.
• Click the wheel to open Mission Control.
• Exclude apps like Blender so their middle-click keeps working.

It works with any mouse that has a clickable scroll wheel, needs no drivers, and costs nothing: no trial, no license key. Download it or read the setup guide.

3. Your mouse maker's software

Some mice come with software that can map a button or gesture to Mission Control or desktop switching, for example Logi Options+ for supported Logitech mice. Check whether your model is supported.

How to move a window to another desktop

• In Mission Control: open it, then drag the window onto a desktop in the strip at the top.
• While dragging: drag a window by its title bar to the left or right edge of the screen and hold it there for a moment. macOS moves to the next desktop with the window.
• Assign an app to a desktop: right-click its Dock icon, choose Options, and pick This Desktop or All Desktops.

How to remove a desktop

Open Mission Control, hover over the desktop in the top strip, and click the × that appears. Its windows move to another desktop; nothing is closed.

Switching desktops not working?

• Only one desktop: there's nowhere to switch to. Add one first.
• Keyboard shortcut does nothing: in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts… > Mission Control, make sure Move left a space and Move right a space are ticked.
• Desktops jump around: turn off Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use in System Settings > Desktop & Dock.
• Multiple displays: with Displays have separate Spaces on (Desktop & Dock), each display switches independently; the one under the pointer moves.