[andy06]

Recently moved to OS X and I always juggle at least 3 open windows (Browser, Word processor, Finder)

What is the workflow that suits you best and you find to be the quickest and most efficient? I was a long time Windows and Linux (Gnome 2.X/KDE 3.X) user and both had the simple way of clicking on Taskbar Window icons to multitask.

Dock: I have a Macbook Air and the limited screen estate means I'm often running in full screen with full screen apps and have no easy access to the dock (non Lion users: the dock does not show on hitting the bottom edge, rather its a two step process of hitting the bottom edge and then some additional movement downwards to activate it). So the Windows/Linux kind of multitasking is not practical on such a small screen with a large dock anymore.

Cmd+Tab: Seems kind of retro, also it does not allow selection of different windows of the same app. (Is there a modifier key for this?)

Mission Control: This is what I currently use and though it seems snazzy and visually attractive, its an in between step and objectively 200% slower at least (1. Activate Mission control, 2. Choose App/Window) as opposed to directly selecting the App/Window.

Whats your preferred method and why?

[P]

You can cycle through windows in the open application by holding command and hitting the key just above tab.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally Posted by P 

You can cycle through windows in the open application by holding command and hitting the key just above tab.

It's the key just above "Ctrl" - it's always the bottom-leftmost key, in the corner between Shift and Ctrl.

On German-localized systems, it's Cmd-< and Cmd-Shift-<, for example.

[Spheric Harlot]

Poll FAIL, btw.

I use all of the methods described, but can only select one.

[OreoCookie]

It depends very much on what I want to do. I use Spaces to organize my open windows. I usually use Command + Tab to go back and forth between two or three apps, e. g. my editor, the command line and a pdf viewer. Then I don't have to pay attention to the other 15 icons

[Waragainstsleep]

Command - Tab is my favourite. Still annoyed that Apple removed the four-finger horizontal gesture to get the app switcher up. Also annoyed that my particular Lion install has never allowed me to tab from Finder to a full screen app. Works the other way or between full screen apps.

[-Q-]

Originally Posted by P 

You can cycle through windows in the open application by holding command and hitting the key just above tab.

Tilde: ~

As P said, on US english keyboards, Command-Tab cycles apps, Command-~ cycles windows within an app.

And I use a combination of command-tab and expose. Not on Lion, so mission control isn't used (and on the Lion systems I've played with, not that big of a fan).

[turtle777]

Spaces foremost, then Dock and Quicksilver.

-t

[Kees]

I have an 11" MacBook Air, with the Dock on the right, not hidden, ever. I also never use fullscreen mode.
I multi-task both using mission control and dock, though sadly, mission control is far less usefull for shuffling between windows of several apps than exposé was.

[pottymouth]

I'm typically juggling InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, and Word, with regular jumps to Entourage, Firefox, and Transmit thrown in. After a couple hours in the office, I'll have a dozen apps or more open. Since I pretty much live by shortcuts, my left hand is always on the keyboard and cmd+tab is my go-to, but if the cursor's near the dock and my right hand is on the trackball, I'll go for the dock, too. Spaces and Expose are OK, and I've definitely found them useful at times, but I've been using OS X all day every day since long before they ever existed, so they're never my first option.

But another newish option I've actually grown to like: Spotlight. When I've been doing one task for a while, the apps for a completely different task may be open, but at the end of a list of a dozen or so other apps I've got open and several cmd+tabs away. Instead of moving my hands from where they are, I'll just hit cmd+space to open Spotlight, type the first couple letters of the app I want, and hit return. Very handy when a new message alert pops up and I can just cmd+space, e, n, t, return and I'm immediately reading the email in Entourage. I guess that doesn't sound THAT simple, but I can hit those 5 keys a hell of a lot faster than moving a cursor. Don't get me wrong, I still despise spotlight for file searching, but as an app switcher it's pretty awesome.

I've also got all the buttons on my trackball mapped to things like cmd+w and cmd+h for just a few more task-switching options. Very handy when, say, I'm posting this reply and I hear my boss coming and I have to close the window quickly and go back to the InDesign window behind it

[Thorzdad]

I tend to use the Dock, bouncing between Illustrator and Photoshop and Mail and whatever else I'm running. I keep the Dock hidden along the right side of my screen.

[lpkmckenna]

I mostly uses Mission Control, but I also swipe to other Spaces. I haven't really used Cmd-Tab much since Expose first appeared.

You can also swap between *all* open windows in *all* apps in the current Space: go to System Preferences, then Keyboard & Text Input, then Move Focus to Active or Next Window. I use opt-~ for the shortcut.

[FireWire]

I multitask preemptively!