Windows Shortcut/Utility to switch between application windows

From using GNOME and MacOS, I’m accustomed to have Alt+` to switch between windows of one application and Alt+Tab to switch between applications.

I have not yet found any setting or utility which would yield the same functionality on Windows (8). Do you have any tips?

4 Answers 4

There’s no built-in way to switch between the windows of the same application. All top-level windows are displayed in Alt + Tab list. I mean if you have two instances of Notepad running, you’ll see two windows of Notepad in Alt + Tab window list.

If you activate two windows of the same application in row, you can switch between them with single Alt + Tab press.

Additionally you can press Alt + Ctrl + Tab to display the list of windows, and then use arrow keys to select the required window; press Enter to switch to the window.
You can also use mouse to select a window from this list.

As an alternative way you can use Windows + T : each press activates the next button on the Taskbar (including the pinned, not started, applications). When you reach the required application, press Enter or Up and then use Left and Right arrows to select the required window and press Enter to switch to it.

Definitely Windows + T is slower than Alt + Tab .

There actually is a way to do this and it’s probably the most often-used keyboard shortcut in my arsenal.

Simply type Windows + number , where number is a single digit, 1, 2, 3, . 9, 0. This allows you to access the first 10 applications that are currently sitting in your taskbar.
For example, I have Chrome pinned to the 1st location in my taskbar, so Windows + 1 always brings up Chrome. My favorite text editor (Vim will never die!) is tied to Windows + 2 . And on down the line. I have the first 10 locations in my taskbar pinned so that I always know what a given Windows + number combination will bring up.

But more to the point, since the OP asked how to switch between multiple windows of the same application, here’s where this keyboard shortcut gets really useful. To refine what I said earlier, Windows + number brings up the first instance of the application. But holding the Windows key brings up a list of windows of that application. (Similar to when you mouse over the grouped icons of an application in the taskbar.) Continuing to type Windows + number scrolls through that list.
For example, I earlier said I have Chrome tied to Windows + 1 . More specifically, I always make sure that my gmail and calendar are in the first window of Chrome, so that Windows + 1 always jumps right to my email. But if I want to cycle through any of my other Chrome windows, I just keep the Windows pressed down and keep typing Windows + 1 .

Another related and particularly useful variation of this is to add the Ctrl key. Windows + Ctrl + number brings up the last active window of the given application. This is very useful when you keep toggling back and forth between two different windows of the same application.

UPDATE Jan/2019: The above Windows + Ctrl + number shortcut appears to have been removed in Windows 10, starting from either version 1803 or 1809. I’ll update this answer if I figure out a way to re-enable this shortcut. See https://superuser.com/a/1388225/288800, where there seems to be consensus that this is a bug, not a feature removal. Hopefully that answer will contain useful information if I forget to come back and update this one.

Please note that this answer was originally written when I was using Windows 7, but these shortcuts are also applicable according to Windows 8 and 10. See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12445/windows-keyboard-shortcuts for an explanation of the shortcuts in all three of those versions of Windows. That link also explains Shift and Alt key variations which you may also find useful, so I recommend taking a look at it.

UPDATE Nov/2019: Microsoft appears to have restored the Windows + Ctrl + number shortcut in Windows 10 version 1903. Hooray!

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Windows: Switch Between Open Windows/Applications

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Windows: Switch Between Open Windows/Applications

You can switch between minimized/open application or windows by clicking the icons along the taskbar located at the bottom of your screen. You can also switch between application by using keyboard shortcuts. These methods are especially helpful when your applications will not all fit in your task bar.

Shortcut 1:

1. Press and hold the [Alt] key > Click the [Tab] key once. A box with screen shots representing all of the open applications will appear.
2. Keep the [Alt] key pressed down and press the [Tab] key or arrows to switch between open applications.
3. Release the [Alt] key to open the selected application.

Shortcut 2:

1. Press and hold the [Windows] key > Click the [Tab] key once. A row of screen shots representing all the open applications will appear.
2. Click the application you wish to open.

Keywords: go back and forth between screens, shortcuts, tricks, tips

Windows 10 Tip: Switch Between Open Apps and Desktops

In previous versions of Windows, ALT + TAB («Windows Flip»), WINKEY + TAB («Switcher,» «Windows Flip 3D») and their touch-based equivalents were used to quickly switch between running apps. These shortcuts and actions are still available in Windows 10, though they’ve changed and improved yet again.

ALT + TAB dates back decades, though in Windows Vista this keyboard shortcut was retroactively renamed to Windows Flip, a term that few people probably remember, let alone use. But the theory has always been the same: Using a UI that evolved only somewhat over the years, you can hold down on the ALT key and then tap TAB repeatedly to switch between the available running applications, using on-screen thumbnails. When you find the one you wish to switch to, just let go of both keys.

In Windows 8, Microsoft added an edge swipe alternative to Windows Flip, letting users flip between running apps by swiping from the left edge of the screen. With this form of app switching, you simply keep swiping until the app you wish is displayed on the screen.

In Windows 10, these interactions have evolved yet again. The ALT + TAB keyboard shortcut works much like it did before, but the app thumbnails are now much larger.

And the edge swipe—which was further confused in Windows 8 by being overloaded by a Switcher interface described below—no longer has an ALT + TAB connection. Instead, it works as does WINKEY + TAB only. So let’s look at that next.

In Windows Vista, Microsoft added WINKEY + TAB as an alternative to ALT + TAB. Dubbed Windows Flip 3D at the time, it provided a neat effect that utilized Vista’s hardware acceleration capabilities.

Windows Flip 3D disappeared in Windows 8 and was replaced by Switcher and the new edge swipe interfaces. So if you hold down WINKEY and tap TAB, the Switcher UI pops up on the left edge of the screen. Subsequent taps of TAB will move the focus to other running (Modern) apps, but not the desktop, which is confusing. Let go of both keys to switch to the current selected app, as before.

Switcher is on the left

This form of app switching was further complicated by the fact that the left edge swipe in Windows 8 is overloaded. A «full» swipe in from the left edge of the screen switches to the next app in the «app stack» as noted above, and is an alternative to ALT + TAB. But you can also do a partial swipe—one of the most difficult gestures in Windows 8—and bring up the Switcher UI if you do it just right. Then you can tap the app you wish to switch to. So it’s an alternative to WINKEY + TAB too.

But not in Windows 10.

If you type WINKEY + TAB in Windows 10, or swipe in from the left edge of the screen, you will see the new Task View, which will stay onscreen if you let go of the keys, a big difference from before. This interface combines the thumbnail-based app selection/switching capabilities with the new multiple desktops feature, so you can switch between both apps and desktops. (And can otherwise add and manage those desktops too.)

There’s even a mouse-based way to activate this screen: Click (or tap) the new Task View button in the taskbar. This is a special button, like Start and Search, that is part of the taskbar and not something you can add or remove. (Or move.)

These interfaces are only the tip of the multitasking iceberg in Windows 10. I’ll look at other aspects of this functionality—include new Snap features like Snap Assist and the new keyboard shortcuts—in future tips.

Application to automatically switch between two applications in Windows [closed]

Want to improve this question? Update the question so it’s on-topic for Super User.

Closed 5 years ago .

Does an application exist that will cause the computer to switch (bring in to focus) between two different applications, on a timer? This is for Windows 7.

I need this for a screen that will display publicly to customers. I want the screen to switch between two different applications every, say, 30 seconds. I figure there are enough businesses out there will customer-facing monitors these days that something simple like this must exist!

5 Answers 5

Yes, it is called AutoIt.

You would use something like this:

WinActivate() gives focus to the window with exact or closest matching title, in cases where there are two that fit, it gives focus to the most recently activated one. Sleep() is in milliseconds, so 30000 is 30 seconds.

AutoTab is very simple.

Why install a program (like AutoIt) when Windows can do this out of the box?

Save the following into a file called auto_switch.vbs :

Change the 30000 to be the number of milliseconds (so 30000 = 30 seconds) between Alt+Tab presses. Double click on it to start it running.

If you want to stop it, then you need to kill the process called «wscript».

If you want to switch between explicitly named programs then this code will flip between «Inbox — Microsoft Outlook» and «Firefox» every 30 seconds:

It’s worth noting that if the applications in the example above are minimized then they will remain minimized even after they are activated.

To restore the window as well, remove the ‘ in front of the WshShell.SendKeys . This will make the script active the window and then immediately send the restore key combination Alt + SpaceBar , r . If you’re using a non-English version of Windows, you may need to change this shortcut.

«); – Zimba Feb 28 ’20 at 12:27

If there will not be any interaction between the customers and the screens/applications, you should simply take a screenshot of the programs and then create a simple slide show with a 30-second timer and endless repeat.

Generally, companies that use customer facing monitors that display programs for advertisement purposes do not use «live» programs. You want to control the interface, and allowing the chance of some error to show is not what you want. They’ll record screen videos of the programs working, or simple take screenshots for static display.

Otherwise, there are specific dashboards that are used that display specific information, and these are not switched between, generally. Or, they’re switched using A/V equipment so that each program is running on a different computer so as to minimize, once again, the chance of failure.

In Mac OS, what is the keyboard shortcut to switch between windows of the same application?

I often use the Cmd + Tab shortcut to switch between different applications (for example: Xcode and Google Chrome), but is there a shortcut to switch between different windows of the same application (for example, from one window in Google Chrome, to another)?

9 Answers 9

The default shortcut is Cmd ` (that’s a backtick).

You can always change that shortcut if the given one does not work out for you. Go to System Preferences → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts.

Here, assign a custom combination to

Keyboard » Move focus to next window (under OS X 10.9 and above)

Keyboard » Move focus to the next window in application (until OS X 10.8)

This will allow you to toggle between the open windows of any application.

Cmd ` works only if all windows are on the same workspace (comment @thias)

This is what I found on my default US english keyboard setting.

Toggle between Different Apps -> Command + Tab

Toggle between Same App in Same Workspace -> Command + `

Toggle between Same App across different Workspace:

1. View same App windows across All Workspaces -> Control + Down Arrow
2. Then select with arrow keys or click the app window you want.

I’m on Mavericks and I was looking for a keyboard shortcut to quickly switch between tabs in Chrome. Cmd + ` didn’t work for me, although I made sure it was correctly setup in System Preferences → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts. What I found is that Ctrl + Tab works! So for me it’s Cmd + Tab to switch between applications, and Ctrl + Tab to switch between the same application’s windows, try this if other suggested solutions don’t work.

So I have found that sometimes certain applications do not want to cycle through the different open windows using Cmd + Tab or Cmd + ‘ — VMware is one example, especially when one of the windows has been minimized to the dock. So what I have found is using expose to view all windows helps — there is a mouse gesture for this which is a four finger clinch I think — or F3 .
Then you can select which window you want to view.

Hope this helps!

On my Macbook Air, with OSX Lion, to switch application windows:

Funnily enough, the option ‘Move focus to next window in application’ has gone from System Prefs → Keyboard → Keyboard and text input. I just played around with various keys until I found the right one!

Press ^ + ↑ to show all open applications

Press ^ + ↓ to show all open instances of the current applciation

(it’s not perfect but I found this better than the cmd + ` way, also if you have apps open full screen use ^ + left or right)

I believe command + option + ` change the tab between one app windows

On my Macbook Pro with a german keyboard layout and language setting it’s

CMD by default to «Move focus to the next window in application»

Not the answer you’re looking for? Browse other questions tagged macos keyboard keyboard-shortcuts or ask your own question.

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