How to Move Windows Between Spaces on Mac
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Step by step
Switch spaces with the arrow keys
Press Control and the Right Arrow to move one space to the right, Control and the Left Arrow to go back. This moves you, not the window you were looking at. The desktop slides across and the window stays where it was.
Note: This one is on by default. Almost everything else in this area is not, which is the running theme.Drag the window and keep holding
Press and hold the window by its title bar. While still holding it, press Control and the Right Arrow. The space changes and the window travels with you. Release the pointer to drop it there. This is the closest thing to a one-key move.
Note: The trick is not letting go. Release the mouse first and you have simply switched desks and left the window behind.Push the window against the edge
Drag the window to the far left or right edge of the screen and hold it there. After a moment the display shifts to the adjacent space and the window comes along with it. Release once the new desktop is showing.
Note: With Sequoia tiling switched on, an edge drag may snap the window instead. Use Mission Control if that keeps happening.Drag onto a desktop in Mission Control
Press Control and the Up Arrow to open Mission Control. The spaces appear as thumbnails along the top of the screen. Drag the window up onto the desktop you want and release it there. Mission Control closes back onto that space.
Note: Slower than the drag trick and far harder to get wrong. Use it when you are moving several windows at once.Assign the shortcuts you actually want
Open System Settings, then Keyboard, then Keyboard Shortcuts, and select Mission Control. The list holds Move left a space, Move right a space, and a Switch to Desktop entry for each space. Several of them are off until you tick them.
Note: Read those names carefully. They move you between spaces, not the window. macOS ships no shortcut that sends a window across on its own.