What is the Windows hotkey to minimise a single, currently active window?

Question

On Windows Vista, I'm familiar with Win + D to show the desktop but sometimes I just want to minimise two or three windows as they become active and not the whole lot.

What hotkey can I use to minimise only the currently active window?

score 207 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 08 '17 at 13:30

207

I've been using the shortcut Alt+Space followed by N for years. Works on any Windows version, all the way back to Windows 3.0! It should work with all keyboard layouts and probably even all Windows localizations.

Alt+Space opens the general windows menu. You can open it manually by left-clicking with the mouse on the top left window corner.

The menu contains the options to maximize, minimize, close the window, etc. It also underlines the key you need to press to select the appropriate option ("miNimize").

The N is not a general "hotkey" but an access key – a keyboard shortcut to an entry in a GUI menu that works only if/after the menu opens. The menu items texts differ across localizations (languages), which is why a different letter might be underlined and serve as the access key.

edited Sep 08 '17 at 13:30

Palec

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answered Sep 16 '10 at 07:31

Torben Gundtofte-Bruun

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This pauses alot of streaming audio sites (spacebar is culprit) – gregg Aug 21 '14 at 13:22
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Does not work if current language/layout is not English. – Dima Stefantsov Oct 17 '14 at 14:50
But one can make hotkey to switch to English and then execute alt+space-N. – Dima Stefantsov Oct 17 '14 at 14:58
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Duh. Hit Alt+Space and see what the keyboard shortcut is in your language. – Torben Gundtofte-Bruun Oct 17 '14 at 15:38
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They changed the hotkeys per language? Disturbing... – Timo Jan 15 '15 at 09:07
Doesn't work if the window is in fullscreen mode. – Ricibob Mar 11 '15 at 12:02
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@Timo It's hard to press the N key if your keyboard [lacks an N key](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Keyboard_Layout_Sanskrit.png). Considering there is more than one keyboard layout in existence (and use), I would hope they do change hotkeys to fit the language or keyboard. – 8bittree Oct 28 '15 at 19:48
@8bittree Lol, fair point! Nevertheless, I hope they have focused on maintaining easy positioning of the most common hotkeys. – Timo Oct 29 '15 at 21:44
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@8bittree that is not why, it's because the shortcut relates to the native word; otherwise the keystrokes would be the same in all of Europe (QWERTY, QWERTZ and AZERTY keyboards). In Portuguese Windows/Office: ctrl+a opens ("abrir"), and ctrl+t selects all ("tudo")... ctrl+n bolds ("negrito")...; we have all the letters from the English keyboard and then some (ç«» etc). – ANeves Feb 26 '16 at 16:35
@ANeves You seem to be confirming exactly what I said: that the hotkeys should and do change to fit the keyboard and language. – 8bittree Feb 26 '16 at 16:53
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As a guy coming from Mac this sucks. CMD + H is all it takes. No 3 key or 2 step process. And it works the same in all apps unlike windows where sometimes this does weird stuff. – P.Brian.Mackey Aug 06 '18 at 14:45

score 177 · Answer 2 · edited Oct 25 '16 at 18:35

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A small workaround is Alt + Esc – it doesn't minimize the active window but places it behind all other windows. The effect is similar however.

I know it's not precisely what the question asker wanted, but it's a built-in Windows one-step solution that works in a similar way.

edited Oct 25 '16 at 18:35

Gaff

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answered Oct 25 '16 at 18:25

Velda

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I like your solution the most because it requires the least amount of keystrokes and can be done with only the left hand! If all your windows are maximized, this achieves almost the same effect. – goweon Dec 27 '16 at 04:35
One downside to this is not being able to Alt+Tab back to it. The ideal is likely to have a hotkey that brings the window just behind to the front. – Andrew Mar 11 '19 at 15:47
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No it isn't. If you use Alt+Esc, you can get that window back with Alt+Tab as usual. At least for Windows 10 it is the case. – Velda Mar 11 '19 at 18:06
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Thank you, now I can parry between Alt Tab and Alt Esc – User101 Aug 22 '19 at 09:56
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Wow. That is even better, because what I usually want is to get it out of the way and/or access the window behind it. And it even leaves the Alt+Tab switching order intact! You have made my day. – Timo Sep 09 '19 at 12:38
On multiple displays this is not sufficient because a window might be the only one on a specific display and can't disappear behind another window (althought I still want it to be minimized so it doesn't attract attention) – Youp Bernoulli May 20 '20 at 09:11

score 102 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 07 '14 at 08:00

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In Windows 7 and later you can minimize the currently active window with: Win+Down.

(This may be an Aero feature that works with Vista as well.)

edited Jun 07 '14 at 08:00

nixda

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answered Sep 16 '10 at 05:35

KrakenSoup

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Note that you have to have Aero Snap enabled for this to work. – Sasha Chedygov Sep 16 '10 at 05:54
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Do you mean this: http://aerosnap.de/index_eng.htm ? Even with this on vista windows-down arrow only seems to work with about half the windows. alt-space n is a lot more reliable. – Ionise Sep 17 '10 at 01:11
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Doesn't work on any window that is maximised, or snapped to half a screen. – Coxy Nov 12 '12 at 05:18
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@Coxy It's a 2 step process if it's maximized or snapped. First stroke restores it to original form, second stroke minimizes it. Not very comfortable. – user Apr 11 '14 at 15:16
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@buffer Not only is it a 2-step process, but your window has also lost its maximized state when you go back to it. :( – Timo Jan 15 '15 at 09:06
If active window is in full screen mode, then this hotkey won't work! – Pran Jul 15 '16 at 07:27
doesn't work in win 10 – qwebek Jan 26 '17 at 10:57
It is a 3-step process in Windows 10 – Bilow Jul 31 '18 at 08:51
It was mentioned above basically this will go down to Restore or none full screen mode first so you do it twice. Unfortunately it will potentially scramble the widows frames and alignment which is worse then mousing over to the corner. Glad to find ALT-Space N now though ALT-ESC is also a good option. – Master James Sep 20 '21 at 10:56

score 62 · Answer 4 · edited Jun 28 '17 at 21:03

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When maximized:

Windows key + press the down arrow twice.

When not maximized:

Windows key + press the down arrow once.

edited Jun 28 '17 at 21:03

edmundo096

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answered Sep 20 '13 at 20:00

Ricky

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What's the difference between pressing once and twice? Pressing this once was already mentioned… – slhck Sep 20 '13 at 20:11
@slhck I don't think there is a difference. Pressing once minimizes the window that currently has focus, and moves the focus to another window. Pressing again simply minimizes that window, etc. etc. – John Bensin Sep 20 '13 at 20:16
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Actually Ricky is (with condition) right. Pressing Win+Down when a window is maximized will not minimize it, but only restore it down. You have to press Win+Down once more in order to minimize it. – Otiel Dec 11 '13 at 12:53
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For my Win10 computer it takes four down arrows – J-Dizzle Jun 11 '17 at 14:20

Sam Hasler · Answer 5 · 2020-11-12T10:23:40.797

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AutoHotKey script for Minimize:

;=============================================================================;
; WINDOWS KEY + Alt + Down  --  Minimizies Active window
;=============================================================================;
; instead of "Restore Down" for Win+Down
#!Down::WinMinimize, A

Explanation:

Format: [Key-Combination]::[Action]
#!Down - will execute when Windows-Key (#), Alt-Key (!), Down-Arrow-Key (down) are pressed together
WinMinimize, A will mimimize (WinMinimize) the active (A) window

edited Nov 12 '20 at 10:23

answered Mar 15 '16 at 09:57

Sam Hasler

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This doesn't work when I use the alt key. – wizlog Jun 27 '16 at 15:36
Perfect, works for me! – Liga Feb 06 '21 at 15:03
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In v.2.0 following script worked for me: ```#!Down::WinMinimize "A"``` – zergius Mar 02 '23 at 15:36

MaQleod · Answer 6 · 2010-09-16T05:08:41.513

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according to microsoft support, there isn't one, but it is easily scripted in autoit.

EDIT: Below is a very very basic sample of how to accomplish a hotkey to minimize the focused window, fully commented.

#include <WinApi.au3> ;include winAPI library

HotKeySet("!M",'_MinimizeActive') ;sets hotkey to Alt+Shift+m to trigger function

While 1 ;loop to keep alive

WEnd

Func _MinimizeActive()
    Local $v_Wnd, $w_Wnd ;declare variables
    $v_Wnd = _WinAPI_GetFocus() ;get focused window
    $w_Wnd = WinGetHandle($v_Wnd) ;get handle of focused window
    WinSetState($w_Wnd,"",@SW_MINIMIZE) ;minimize focused window
EndFunc

edited Sep 16 '10 at 05:08

answered Sep 16 '10 at 04:22

MaQleod

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Thanks for the quick answer, the link the Microsoft hotkeys, and what looks like a free solution! – Ionise Sep 16 '10 at 04:35
just added a basic template for what you're looking for, coded in autoit. – MaQleod Sep 16 '10 at 05:09
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Why a downvote? It is a viable solution and also can be customized to do a lot more than just the focused window. In a lot of ways, this can be far superior to the accepted answer, depending on preferences of OP (such as selecting the topmost 3 windows and isolate out certain ones that he/she never wants minimized and minimize the rest). – MaQleod Nov 01 '12 at 19:44

Hein A. Grønnestad · Answer 7 · 2015-03-19T16:13:25.497

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If what you want is an easy way to open and minimize a window you use often, just pin it to the task bar and move it to one of the first positions. Then you can use Windows+1, 2, 3 etc. to quickly toggle the window.

No more scrolling through loads of windows with ´Alt´+´Tab´ to maximize it again either.

edited Mar 19 '15 at 16:13

answered Mar 19 '15 at 15:52

Hein A. Grønnestad

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This works well, but only if it's the only window open from that application. E.g. I'm trying to minimize a browser window and switch to the one behind it and they're both from the same browser and it instead brings up peek (and selecting a new window won't minimize the current one). – Vala Oct 29 '20 at 21:45

xxxbence · Answer 8 · 2017-09-29T10:07:02.903

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Because windows doesn't have a shortcut key for it, you may use a 3rd party solution, like autoit to do that.

Below is a simple script for it. This first to set a hotkey (with HotKeySet()), than minimize current window (with WinSetState()).

#include <WinApi.au3>

HotKeySet("!M",'MinimizeWin') ;Alt+Shift+m

While 1
Sleep(100)
WEnd

Func MinimizeWin()
    WinSetState("[ACTIVE]", "", @SW_MINIMIZE)
EndFunc

edited Sep 29 '17 at 10:07

answered Oct 28 '15 at 14:17

xxxbence

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score 0 · Answer 9 · answered May 13 '23 at 21:00

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Although this is also another two-step solution, but I find it more nerve-friendly as it clears everything from my mind on the first step:

win + m: Minimize All Windows
alt + tab: Choose A Window You Want To Work With

answered May 13 '23 at 21:00

aderchox

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The task: minimize a single window. Your answer: minimize all but one. Does not fit. What am I missing? – Kamil Maciorowski May 13 '23 at 21:04
@KamilMaciorowski You are right indeed, it doesn't exactly answer what the OP has asked for, but I believe many people come here (this is my second time, personally) because they find `win+downarrow+win+downarrow` redundant and repetitive. All I want is to minimize some window I don't need so that it's closed in my mind too. So I think using `win + D` or `win + m` to minimize all windows, is not that bad, if it's followed by `alt + tab`. – aderchox May 13 '23 at 21:27

What is the Windows hotkey to minimise a single, currently active window?

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