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When I press Alt+Tab, then I get a window to switch between windows. With Ctrl+Alt+Tab, I get the same result. What is the difference between them?

G-Man Says 'Reinstate Monica'
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Wasif
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4 Answers4

132

Keyboard shortcuts in Windows

  • Alt+Tab Switch between open apps.
  • Ctrl+Alt+Tab Use the arrow keys to switch between all open apps.

In other words:

  • Alt+Tab Switches between open apps immediately after releasing the Alt key.
  • Ctrl+Alt+Tab Opens a quasi-dialogue window where you use the arrow keys to walk over all open apps and you need to press Enter (or click a mouse button) to confirm your choice.
G-Man Says 'Reinstate Monica'
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JosefZ
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    There's also shift+alt+tab which does the same thing as alt+tab but traverses the list in reverse – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Jan 16 '20 at 05:34
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    There's also CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+TAB which does what you'd expect! – Andy Robertson Jan 16 '20 at 08:22
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    There's also Win + Tab which does a similar thing to CTRL + ALT + TAB, but on multiple monitors and lets you create virtual desktops and switch between them – Zikato Jan 16 '20 at 08:30
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    Shift generally reverses navigation shortcuts. For example Ctrl+Tab switches to the next tab in a browser, Ctrl+Shift+Tab goes backwards. Tab moves to the next input, Shift+Tab to previous one etc. Some programs even use Ctrl+Shift+Z to redo (reverse undo which is Ctrl+Z). – gronostaj Jan 16 '20 at 10:10
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    There's also Alt+Escape which sends the current window to the back of the Z order, and Alt+Shift+Escape which brings the window at the back of the Z order to the front - which also avoids restoring all your minimised windows. – Muzer Jan 16 '20 at 10:24
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    You can still use the arrows in the ALT+TAB dialog, too. Just leave ALT pressed. – ForNeVeR Jan 16 '20 at 10:37
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    Don't forget Ctrl+Win+Alt+Tab, which cycles through the icons only. – Thomas Weller Jan 16 '20 at 12:22
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    @ThomasWeller You can't use arrows in the `Ctrl+Win+Alt+Tab` window but you can do `Ctrl+Win+Alt+Tab` to cycle forwards and `Ctrl+Shift+Win+Alt+Tab` to cycle backwards and I think that's a beautiful combination of keys to be able to press. Also, just tested, `Alt-Gr+Win+Tab` works too but that's no fun (If you don't have `Alt-Gr` key you might have some luck with the `Right-Alt` key. – John Hamilton Jan 16 '20 at 14:26
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    I can't say I've ever used the `Ctrl` variation, I've always just left `Alt` pressed like @ForNeVeR says. It ends up being quicker than having to hit `Enter` at the end. – Dan Jan 16 '20 at 15:48
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    This is wrong—the arrow keys are not the difference. Both modes do that. The difference is that the picker stays open after you release the keys if you used Ctrl—with just Alt+Tab, releasing the keys selects the one you chose. With Ctrl+Alt+Tab, releasing the keys does nothing, so you can still select from the options presented (by arrows, by mouse, by Tab or Shift+Tab, perhaps others). – KRyan Jan 16 '20 at 16:18
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    @JohnHamilton You can also do `Win + Alt + Ctrl + Shift + Caps Lock + Tab`, which does exactly what you’d expect (i.e., cycles backwards through icons while also toggling caps lock). – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 16 '20 at 23:43
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    @KRyan Not exactly wrong, but just has missing info. You could just suggest an edit though ;) – John Hamilton Jan 17 '20 at 06:41
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    Yes, but what good is the choice of modes? `Ctrl` works only before you press `Tab`, but the info you need to choose mode (the picker window) appears only after you press `Tab`. – Rosie F Jan 17 '20 at 10:43
40

Alt + Tab will let you select the application, and when you release the Alt key, you will be switched to the window you selected. With Ctrl + Alt + Tab, the selection screen will remain displayed, and you will have to press Enter to actually change the focus.

Lloyd Dominic
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Jeff Zeitlin
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8

  1. Alt + Esc Switches to the next open window

  2. Alt + Shift + Esc Switches to the previous open window

  3. Alt + Tab Cycles through open windows, and switches to the window when the Alt key is released. This is known as Coolswitch. Pressing Esc cancels switching windows.

  4. Alt + Shift + Tab Cycles backwards through open windows, and
    switches to the window when the Alt key is released. This is known as Coolswitch. Pressing Esc cancels switching windows.
  5. Ctrl + Alt + Tab Vista: Starts Windows Coolswitch. Use Arrow keys, Tab, or Shift + Tab to navigate and Enter or Space to activate.
    Pressing Esc cancels switching windows.
  6. Winkey + T Toggle speech dictation mode. Vista: Cycles through
    Taskbar buttons, Press Enter or Space to activate a window. This is same as Winkey + Tab in older versions.
  7. Winkey + Tab Cycles through Taskbar buttons, Press Enter or Space to activate a window. Vista: Cycles through open windows using
    Windows Flip3D. Release keys to activate window. Pressing Esc
    cancels switching windows.
  8. Winkey + Ctrl + Tab Cycles through parts of the desktop and
    taskbar. Vista: Starts Windows Flip3D. Use Arrow keys, Tab, or Shift + Tab to navigate and Enter or Space to activate. Pressing Esc cancels switching windows.

From Shortcut Keys and Key Modifiers at https://onedrive.live.com/?id=E2F0CE17A268A4FA%21121&cid=E2F0CE17A268A4FA

Worthwelle
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Mark
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0

There is just difference that Ctrl+Alt+Tab leaves your window selection on screen when you release the keys.

By the way, you can hover over the window with your mouse and click to select the chosen one.

ZygD
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Roman Michnica
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