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I would like to switch between programs, not individual windows from every program. I believe this is how Windows used to work back in Windows XP.

When you switch between programs in macOS, you switch between applications showing their icon. When you select the program, it opens every window for that program.

Switch app on mac

When you use Alt + Tab in windows, a thumbnail of each window shows.

Alt Tab in Windows

Is there a program or shortcut in Windows to make Alt + Tab function like macOS?

This is the opposite question as this one: Is there any program or way to make Mac OS X's ⌘-Tab behave like Windows' Alt-Tab? [closed]

The closest program I have found was from NeoSmart Technologies, Link: Easy Window Switcher

But I wasn't able to get it to work on Windows 11.

AndrewH
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    I don't have a Mac so can not compare, but does this help: https://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/classic-icons-on-alt-tab-windows-10/ – Joep van Steen May 16 '23 at 15:22
  • NVM, it's not exactly what you're asking, it still does icon for each individual instance. I applied it myself anyway because I think it's an improvement over thumbnails. – Joep van Steen May 16 '23 at 15:30
  • @JoepvanSteen this is much closer to what I am looking for. This would be perfect if it counted Explorer as 1 icon. I would submit this as an answer. I would still like to see if there is a better solution but so far this is closest to what I am looking for. It's a little odd that some icons do not show :/ They use a default icon for Spotify and settings on my end. – AndrewH May 16 '23 at 15:35
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    Well, first, you can set groups of apps and switch between them with AHK https://superuser.com/questions/1502213/is-it-possible-to-grouping-two-apps-and-showing-them-when-using-alttab-in-windo – Netan May 17 '23 at 05:31
  • Secondly, how about WIN+TAB? you'll need to arrange each app on its own desktop, but this might help? – Netan May 17 '23 at 05:32
  • @Netan this might be the best solution for my workflow. You should submit this as an answer. I will use virtual desktop, and then AutoHotKey from here [How can I change the keys to change desktop in windows 10 with autohotkey?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/32685314/how-can-i-change-the-keys-to-change-desktop-in-windows-10-with-autohotkey) to switch between desktops. I can then pin programs using the answer from here [Assigning a virtual desktop to a monitor in Windows 10](https://superuser.com/questions/965385/assigning-a-virtual-desktop-to-a-monitor-in-windows-10) for my second monitor – AndrewH May 17 '23 at 15:30
  • Yet **another** reason to stay faraway from Windows 11 (not that I needed one) and perhaps an incentive to go back to Win7 .... Thanks! This is valuable info., – GngrWtch May 17 '23 at 18:23
  • @AndrewH Glad it helps. Posted. I hope you'll find a better solution soon! – Netan May 17 '23 at 20:22

4 Answers4

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Not exactly what you want but:

Classic icons on Alt+Tab

Open the registry editor with admin rights and navigate to the following key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

Right-click the Explorer key and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new value AltTabSettings

Double-click it and set its value to 1 to get classic icons on Alt+tab.

enter image description here

Restart Windows Explorer to execute the change. To restart Windows Explorer, open the Task Manager and go to the Processes tab. Look for, and select Windows Explorer. Click the Restart button at the bottom right and when you next tap the Alt+Tab keyboard shortcut, you will see the following app switcher.

enter image description here

Source: https://www.addictivetips.com/windows-tips/classic-icons-on-alt-tab-windows-10/

Joep van Steen
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  • For some reason, several applications do not use their icon, see the first icon in your image. Applications (for me at least) like Spotify, InDesign, and settings use the same icon. You also cannot use your mouse to select an icon. Still I like this more. I can always use Windows+Tab if I want to select by thumbnail preview. – AndrewH May 16 '23 at 17:15
  • Yes, I see the same here. Quite annoying. – Joep van Steen May 16 '23 at 17:24
  • Seem to be MS Store apps, for one. – Joep van Steen May 16 '23 at 18:47
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As I said in the comments:

First, you can set groups of apps and switch between them with AHK like here

Also, how about WIN+TAB? you'll need to arrange each app on its own desktop, but it might be another resolution?

Hope you find a better solution!

Netan
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In Windows, you can switch between open windows and programs by pressing the shortcut Alt+Tab. Knowing the program number in Taskbar, you can use shortcut Win+Ctrl+n (where n is the program number in Taskbar) to switch between the windows of a specific program.

For example, if File Explorer is the third icon in Taskbar, Pressing Win+Ctrl+3 repeatedly will switch between all open File Explorer windows.

Amirhosain Shahsavari
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  • This doesn't really answer the question. – Toto May 12 '23 at 15:42
  • I already know about Alt+Tab, I wrote the shortcut wrong in my question, I have now fixed it. My question is about group same programs so I can easily switch between several programs and not individual windows. – AndrewH May 12 '23 at 16:01
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    @AndrewH, I completed my answer with new details. – Amirhosain Shahsavari May 12 '23 at 16:14
  • Pretty close to what I am looking for but I have some issues. It's not as convenient as macOS where you can cycle between programs and only have to use 1 shortcut. This method does not show all windows of that program when you select it. So if I have 4 Window Explorer open, then I have to do the shortcut 4 times to show them all. – AndrewH May 12 '23 at 17:46
  • That's right, but as far as I know, there is no other built-in feature in Windows for this. It's one of many differences between Windows and macOS. You need a dedicated software for that in Windows. – Amirhosain Shahsavari May 13 '23 at 10:50
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I have never needed nor tried to implement this in Winblows. However, you can try autohotkey and the following autohotkey script:

Autohotkey: https://github.com/AutoHotkey/AutoHotkey

Autohotkey script:

https://github.com/jendakol/autohotkey/blob/main/window-switch-multiple.ahk

user1800001
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