How to Minimize All Windows on Mac and Windows (Fast)

The "oh no" moment before a call

Call starts in 30 seconds. You have nine apps open. Slack, three browser windows, two Finder windows, Notion, a terminal, and Spotify. Someone asks you to share your screen.

You have about 10 seconds to look like a functional human being. Closing each window one by one is not going to work.

Here's how to minimize everything at once. And what to do when minimizing isn't actually enough.

How to minimize all windows on Windows

Windows key + M — minimizes every open window. Clean desktop, every app tucked down to the taskbar.

Windows key + D — technically "Show Desktop." Looks the same as minimizing but toggles back. Press it again and every window pops back to exactly where it was. I prefer Win + D for this reason.

Windows key + Home — minimizes every window except the one you're currently focused on. Useful when you want to keep your main work visible.

Shake the title bar — grab the title bar of the window you care about and physically shake it with your mouse. Every other window minimizes. This is called Aero Shake and I genuinely forget it exists until I accidentally trigger it every few months.

How to minimize all windows on Mac

Mac is a little less obvious because Apple wants you to use Mission Control, not minimize stuff.

Cmd + Option + M (while focused on a Finder window) — minimizes all Finder windows.

Cmd + Option + H — hides every other app except the one in front. Not technically "minimize" but the effect on your screen is the same, and your dock stays cleaner.

F11 or Cmd + F3 — Mission Control's "Show Desktop" on Mac. Every window slides off screen, you see the desktop. Press again to bring them back.

Three-finger spread on the trackpad — my favorite. Put your thumb and three fingers together on the trackpad and spread outward. All windows fly off the edges.

Option + click the yellow minimize button — minimizes every window of the current app to the dock at once, instead of just the one you clicked.

The problem nobody mentions

Minimizing all windows gives you a clean, empty screen. Empty except for:

Your desktop icons (all 47 of them)
Your actual wallpaper (the vacation photo)
Any notification that decides to pop up
The Slack badge on your dock
The browser tab title visible from your minimized windows

So you went from "chaotic desktop with nine apps" to "desktop that still has your life on it." Slightly better, still not something you want on a sales call.

What I actually use now

I built QuickPresent because I got tired of the minimize-and-pray approach.

One keystroke, all of this happens at once:

Every app minimized
Every desktop icon hidden
Wallpaper swapped to a neutral color
Notifications blocked across Slack, Mail, iMessage, Teams
System audio muted

Call ends, press the hotkey again, every app comes back where it was. Your wallpaper, your icons, your open windows. Exactly as you left them.

It's Cmd + Option + M but for your entire screen.

A quick comparison

Method	What it minimizes	Hides icons	Changes wallpaper	Blocks notifications
Win + D	All windows	No	No	No
Cmd + Option + H	Other apps	No	No	No
Three-finger spread	All windows	No	No	No
QuickPresent hotkey	All windows	Yes	Yes	Yes

If you only screen share once in a while, the built-in shortcut is fine. If you're on calls every day, you want something that handles the whole screen, not just the windows.

Download QuickPresent →

Keep reading

QuickPresent is available for Mac and Windows. See pricing · Setup guide