For years, macOS users have relied on Mission Control to view all their open windows at once. While functional, it can become incredibly chaotic if you have twenty different Safari windows and three Finder windows open simultaneously. To solve this window management nightmare, Apple introduced Stage Manager. This feature automatically organizes your active windows and applications, keeping your current task front and center while pushing everything else to a neat, visual dock on the side of your screen.
How to Enable Stage Manager
Stage Manager is not enabled by default, but you can toggle it on instantly from the macOS Control Center.
- Look at the top-right corner of your Mac’s menu bar (next to the time and date).
- Click the Control Center icon (it looks like two toggle switches).
- In the Control Center drop-down, locate the Stage Manager icon (it looks like a large rectangle with three smaller squares to its left).
- Click the icon to turn it on. It will highlight in blue to indicate it is active.
The moment you enable it, your desktop will completely transform. The application you are currently using will remain in the center of the screen, while all other open applications will instantly slide over to the left edge of your display, appearing as small, live thumbnails.
How to Organize Windows with Stage Manager
Stage Manager introduces a completely new way to interact with your workspace.
- Switching Apps: To switch to a different application, simply click its thumbnail on the left side of your screen. That app will instantly slide to the center, and your previous app will slide over to the thumbnail dock.
- Grouping Apps Together: If you are writing a research paper and you need both Microsoft Word and Safari open at the same time, you can group them. While Word is open in the center, click and drag the Safari thumbnail from the left dock directly into the center of the screen. The two apps are now paired. If you switch to your Mail app, both Word and Safari will slide to the left dock together as a single group.
- Accessing the Desktop: If you need to quickly grab a file from your desktop, simply click anywhere on your wallpaper. All active windows will slide out of the way, giving you clear access to your files.
Customizing Stage Manager Settings
If the default behavior of Stage Manager feels slightly off, you can customize it in System Settings.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top-left menu bar and select System Settings.
- Click on Desktop & Dock in the left-hand navigation pane.
- Scroll down to the “Windows & Apps” section. Next to the Stage Manager toggle, click the Customize… button.
Here, you can choose whether or not to show your recent apps on the side of the screen, and whether you want to show items on your desktop while Stage Manager is active.