Alt-Tab - Windows-specific Issues and Hacks

Windows-specific Issues and Hacks

Alt+Tab ↹ works even if Windows Explorer is no longer running. On Windows NT-based systems, Alt+Tab ↹ is managed by CSRSS (Client/Server Runtime Subsystem). It works even when Ctrl-Alt-Del and Ctrl-Shift-Esc (Task Manager) (which are managed by Winlogon) do not.

Alt+Tab ↹ may be intercepted (or effectively disabled) by means of a low-level keyboard hook. Such a technique is used by applications such as the Virtual Network Computing (VNC) viewer to pass Alt+Tab ↹ keystrokes to the remote desktop when the VNC window is active.

Under Windows XP, the Tweak UI PowerToy. can adjust the number of rows and columns in the task list window, or it can be adjusted via a registry edit. This is helpful if there are so many windows that the list would spill over into multiple pages.

Another Microsoft PowerToy, Alt+Tab ↹ Replacement, is available for Windows XP that displays a screenshot of each application in the task list rather than just its icon, and allows the user to use the mouse to select the desired application. A more advanced version of this functionality, named Windows Flip, is built into Windows Vista.

A number of third-party tools, similar to Alt+Tab ↹ Replacement, are also available that add additional functionality to Alt+Tab ↹.

Additionally, Windows Vista and Windows 7 allows the user to navigate through the Alt+Tab ↹ menu using mouse or arrow keys.

When the Aero Glass theme is enabled, Windows Vista also offers a 3D view of the windows themselves that animates as the user cycles through it. The behaviour is very similar to Alt+Tab ↹ and is accessed by holding down the Windows key instead of Alt while pressing tab. While this view is visible, windows can be selected and made active by clicking on them with the mouse, and the list can be scrolled forward or backward using the mouse scroll wheel.

If there is only one window on the system, Windows does not show a selector dialog at all when Alt+Tab ↹ is pressed; the key sequence will simply restore or give focus to that window in case it is minimized or not focused.

If you prefer the smaller XP icons over the larger Vista "thumbnail" icons, you can change the functionality by:

• Start → Computer
• Hit the "System Properties" button (on the Toolbar under the File | Edit toolbar)
• Select "Advanced System Settings" (under Tasks grouping in the left-hand column); this gives you "System Properties" dialogue box, the "Advanced Tab" should be displayed.
• Hit the Settings Button under Performance. Uncheck the "Enable Desktop Composition" checkbox (the 3rd checkbox from the top in the Custom list box).
• Hit OK

In Windows 7 Alt+Tab ↹, after a one-second delay, displays the full-sized application window immediately each time the cursor position changes, hiding all other windows. This is a part of Aero Peek feature, new in Windows 7. This behavior can be disabled along with Aero Peek: Control Panel - Performance Information and Tools - Adjust visual effects - uncheck Enable Aero Peek.

Delay is adjustable by setting the LivePreview_ms value in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AltTab registry key.

Some users report that the switcher dialog does not stay on top while it is displayed, but one can navigate through this dialog using mouse even if it is completely overlapped by some window. This bug is reported to be user profile specific. Some user profiles on the same machine may encounter this bug, some not. As discovered, the problem is caused by desktop gadgets system. After killing sidebar.exe process (which hosts the gadgets), the problem disappears. After restarting sidebar the problem appears again. This bug also happens when ipoint.exe, the Microsoft Intellipoint mouse driver, is running.

To show the XP icons in Windows 7 advanced users can add a new DWORD value AltTabSettings in the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ and set its value to 1.

Using Windows 7 the additional key combination Alt-Ctrl-Tab brings up the switcher dialog and it remains on screen after all the keys have been released. A user can move through the dialog in any direction using the arrow keys, or Tab through in a linear manner, wrapping at the end of the list back to the begnining. In this mode, the Enter key or a mouse click selects the desired window which gains the focus and the dialog is dismissed; Escape dismisses with no change of focus.

In Windows 7, to use a switcher dialog similar to that in XP, one can keep Left-Alt pressed, tap on Right-Alt and then press Tab.

There is a common problem associated with the use of Alt+Tab ↹. It is very easy for the user to mistakenly use Alt+⇧ Shift instead, changing the system language through the use of a default keybind. To solve this issue, go into Control Panel/Regional Settings/Languages/Details and there is a button that allows you to configure the shortcuts to switch languages - you can disable it or change it to something harder to press by mistake. This problem is reported on Windows XP and Windows 7.