Switch Desks

Each Space's Desks have a number, and ⌥1to⌥9 open them. Hold ⌥ and you see every Desk in the Space before you choose.

Open a Desk with a key

Press ⌥ and a number, then let go. The Desk opens straight away, with each pane where you left it: the same pages, the same dividers, and each page scrolled back to where you were reading.

The numbers follow the order of the Desks in the open Space, and the sidebar shows each one beside its Desk. Each Space has its own Desks, so ⌥1 opens the first Desk of whichever Space you're in. A new Desk takes the next number.

See every Desk first

1. Hold ⌥.After a moment the switcher appears, showing the Desks in the Space, each with its layout drawn small and its number.
2. Press a number.Keep holding ⌥ and press the number of the Desk you want. You can press another to change your mind.
3. Let go of ⌥.The Desk you chose opens. To close the switcher without opening anything, press Esc.

When you switch, pages that both Desks share glide to their new place, and the rest make way. A page can sit in more than one Desk.

Other ways to open a Desk

• The sidebar. Click a Desk under Desks. The open Desk is marked there and in the address bar.
• The Split View menu. It lists the open Space's first nine Desks, with their keys.
• The Start page. An empty Space shows its Desks as cards. See Lay out a Desk.
• Overview. Press ⇧⌘O to see every Space with its Desks and pages on one screen, then click a Desk to open it.

The open Desk keeps up

While a Desk is open, it takes in what you change: a pane added or closed, a page moved, a divider dragged. Switch away and back, and it opens as you left it. To keep a split you made by hand, save it with Save as Desk…, ⌥⌘S.

To go back to how a Desk looked earlier, see A Desk's history.

Shortcuts