Alt-Tab was one of the first Windows keyboard shortcuts I learned when I first used a PC two decades ago, which was right after Ctrl-C (copy) and CTRL-V (paste). The Alt-Tab app opens the switcher, which lets you quickly bring you a different app to the foreground. You can use it to swap quickly between two open apps, or to cycle between all your open apps. But what you don’t know is that the app switcher can be much higher than this. I am here to walk here through the best tricks hidden in the commonly used Windows feature.
Cycle through open apps
Keep the alt key down and keep pressing the tab to open the app switcher and cycle through all your open apps. Once you issue a shortcut, the selected app will come in the foreground. You can also ride a bicycle through this list by holding an alt-shift in reverse order and pressing the tab key repeatedly.
Stop the app switcher from auto-hiding
The temporary nature of the app switcher is sometimes a bit annoying. The moment you release Alt-Tab, the app switcher disappears. You can get around it by pressing Eight-CTL-TabNow, you are free to release the keyboard shortcuts and keep the app switcher happily floating on all your open apps. Use arrow keys to ride cycling through your list of open apps, or use the mouse directly to take the required app. To dismiss the app switcher, just click outside it.
If it is very difficult to press this shortcut, try using the Alt key on the right side of the spacebar with the tab. So, press Right And this app will also prevent the switcher from hiding automatically.
Use app switcher to leave apps
Once you open the app switcher, you can also use it to leave the application. To open the app switcher, press the Alt-contral-tab, then move the cursor to any thumbnail on the screen. You will see a little X The top-right corner of each thumbnail button. Click X to leave that app. Alternatively, you can use arrow keys to select any app and press delete Key to leaving the selected app.
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Enjoy full-screen view
Credit: Pranay Parab
If a small floating window is not enough for you, you can also make the app switcher a full-screen. Press Windows tab To open the task view, which shows the list of all open apps in full-screen. You can use it to switch to any app or leave the app. Press Esc to leave this scene.
While Windows’s default works well, you can also consider using third-party apps to customize the theme of the app switcher. Both Winaro Twicker And Attplustab You change the look and feel of the app switcher. You can use these apps to change the ambiguity, fonts, appearances, and more of the switcher.
