How do I alt-tab out of fullscreen Minecraft with the game still running (Mac)?

Solution 1:

Most fullscreen programs on Mac OS 10.8 will use the four-finger swipe to switch between it and the desktop, but Minecraft doesn't obey this protocol. It appears to use a borderless window the size of the desktop instead of creating and using a separate fullscreen space. It also appears to set itself to be always on top, so Minecraft won't relinquish focus when you use ⌘+tab.

The only way I've found to quickly switch is, as you have, to turn off fullscreen. Fortunately, there is a faster way to do this: F11 is bound to the "toggle fullscreen" function. If you're using a laptop then F11 probably defaults to adjusting your volume or similar, and you'll need to use fn+F11 instead. The fn key is usually located in the bottom-left, under shift.