How to Stop MacOS Sonoma from Hiding Your Active Application Windows

Owned by Marc Miller, created
Sept 27, 2023
1 min read

If you're reading this, it means you're experiencing the issue of your active Mac application windows hiding when you click on the desktop. Unfortunately this is a feature not a bug. Fortunately it is very easy to change this behavior.

 Instructions

  1. Go to the Settings app.

  2. Click on Desktop & Dock.

  3. Under Desktop, you will find the option Click wallpaper to show desktop items.

  4. Change the defaut settings from Always to Only in Stage Manager.

  5. (Optional) Turn off stage manager

 

Note that if you have Stage Manager enabled, clicking on the wallpaper will still hide all open apps. If you prefer not to hide active windows, the best approach is to turn off Stage Manager.