Once you’ve been working on your computer for more than a few minutes, you no doubt end up with more than one window open. Many people I observe working with Windows instinctively grab for the mouse when they need to switch from one running application to another, not realizing there are other ways of accomplishing the same goal by using the keyboard.
Let’s say earlier you were reading this tip, and without closing the browser window, you launched Notepad (our favorite demo program). So you have feverishly been typing away when you suddenly have the urge to switch back here to Dingo Tips and continue reading. You could grab for that mouse, but that’s a lot of work when your hands are already on the keyboard. So of course, there’s an easier way: press Alt + Tab. That simple keystroke combo switches you back to the last window you were using (Notepad) where you can resume writing your poetry, memoirs or whatever you were doing before.
So you’re an über-multi-tasker? No problemo.
So what happens when you have more than two windows open? You may have noticed when you pressed Alt + Tab that a temporary window opened up in the middle of your screen. If you hold the Alt key down and keep holding it after you press the Tab key, notice the results:
In the example above, Windows XP displays the “Task switcher” window. By looking at the order of the icons from left to right, we can tell that I was actively working in Notepad before hitting Alt + Tab. Additionally, I was running Internet Explorer to view this site, and Microsoft Paint was also running. If I had more applications open they would appear to the right of the list in a “most recently used” (MRU) order.
The target application (the application that will be activated) is indicated by the blue box around the icon. If I were to release the Alt key, we’d be switched to the blue boxed application. Instead, if I hit the Tab key a second time, the blue box moves to the right. Hitting it a third time brings the box back to the first icon, and Notebook would remain the active application if I let go of Alt.
The text that appears in the box below the icons is the text that is displayed in the application’s Title Bar, generally the document name followed by a hyphen and the name of the application. If you have multiple instances of a program open, you can distinguish between them by examining this text.
Note that in Windows XP, you will only get the Task switcher window if you have more than one program running.
Shift into reverse
As it was way back in the olden days of typewriters, the Shift key is used to select between lower-case (“a”) and the capital or upper-case (“A”) version of letters. Other keyboard keys have two glyphs on them representing the base character and the shift character. The “7/&” key is an example.
With that in mind, take a look at the Tab key on your keyboard.
Most current keyboards include a “dual arrow” glyph below or to the right of the word “Tab”. Note the direction of the bottom arrow: it’s pointing to the right. The top arrow points to the left. There’s a reason for that. The Shift key modifies the Tab key to send a “backward tab” command. Turns out this is true all over Windows: Shift + Tab often does the opposite of what Tab key does.
So looking back at the screen shot above, remember I am still holding the Alt key down in the middle of the task switching operation. If I accidentally tabbed past the item I wanted to activate, hitting Shift + Tab moves the blue box to the left.
One last fun fact about the task switcher for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: while holding down the Alt key, you can use the right- and left-arrow keys to move the blue box to the right or left. If you get many windows open, this can be a time saver.
A hasty retreat
If you find you have accidentally hit the Alt + Tab operation and are still holding down the Alt key, or even if you simply have changed your mind and don’t want to switch windows after all (as Windows users, we are allowed to change our mind), remember our old friend the Escape key. Punch the Escape key and the task switcher window goes away and all is restored as it was before you hit Alt + Tab. As I frequently change my mind, it’s easy to see why the Escape key is perhaps my favorite on the entire keyboard. But please don’t tell that to any of the other keys for the obvious reasons.
Task Switching: The Next Generation
Users of Windows Vista and Windows 7 have more information in the task switcher window than Windows XP. In Windows Vista, the task switcher not only has the new glassy look as other elements in Vista, we also get a sneak peek at what the application’s window looks like. The Title Bar text has been moved to the top, and in addition to window peek, the application’s icon shows up in the bottom right corner of each window represented in the task switcher.
As was the case with Windows XP, the entries appear in the most recently used order from left to right, and the application to activate has a blue glass rectangle over it.
With Windows 7, the Task switcher gets a new feature called “Aero Peek” where, if you pause when using Alt + Tab to switch windows, all windows on the screen turn to transparent glass, and the activation candidate window is displayed in full size. As of this writing, Windows 7 is still in Release Candidate mode, so I’ll wait for the final release to show a screen shot of this. Trust me…it’s cool and useful as well.
In both Windows Vista and Windows 7, the Desktop is considered an application, and as such becomes a window to which you can switch. Looking at the above screen shot, the rightmost window is the Desktop, showing an improved integration for accessing this part of the Windows shell. We’ll discuss the desktop in more detail in a future tip.
Next time, we’ll take a closer look at menus and shortcuts. See you then!
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