Closing programs with middle-click in windows 7/10

Question

Is this possible? I want to close programs in the taskbar with middle-click, like tabs in firefox. The best approach I have so far is waiting for the mini-view that pops up when you point with the mouse in the taskbar and then middle-clicking there, but I would like to close them directly.

They never confirmed that it worked. – Synetech Feb 16 '12 at 03:18 — Synetech, Feb 16 '12 at 03:18
Done, I haven't tried it until now :) – JoePerkins May 06 '12 at 15:42 — JoePerkins, May 06 '12 at 15:42
For Windows 11 see https://superuser.com/q/1709896/269897 – Paul Mar 18 '22 at 14:05 — Paul, Mar 18 '22 at 14:05

score 19 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 23 '19 at 10:43

19

7 Taskbar Tweaker (source-code) allows closing windows by middle-clicking the taskbar, as well as some other stuff like "ungrouping" taskbar items.

Now I don't miss the pre-Windows 7 feature where I could CTRL-click multiple windows from the taskbar and close them all at once. Middle clicking is actually faster and I very rarely want to start a new instance by middle-clicking or use those jump lists (I got the standard menu back^^).

update: The 7 Taskbar Tweaker site doesn't play nice with some foreign IP addresses (returns 403:Forbidden). Download 7 Taskbar Tweaker v3.3.2 from a mirror.

edited Dec 23 '19 at 10:43

T.Todua

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answered Oct 30 '09 at 14:50

Leftium

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Holy cow thank you so much for this link. I've been looking for a way to get the standard right click menu back without having to hold shift ever since windows 7 came out! – Fopedush Dec 11 '09 at 17:07
The site is down. Well... If you trust me, you could get it from me: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/42655/eternity/7TaskbarTweaker_shared_for_superuser.exe – Tarnay Kálmán Jun 10 '10 at 19:12
That works pretty well I guess, thanks. It has also some very interesting options, such as the taskbar double/middle-click actions; too bad it doesn't allows to launch a particular program or document that way... – JoePerkins May 06 '12 at 15:40
the "7+ taskbar tweaker" works great even on windows 8 : http://rammichael.com/7-taskbar-tweaker . thank you for your suggestion. – android developer Apr 01 '13 at 08:12
I've just scanned it on virustotal.com and resulted with TWO detections!? What the... https://www.virustotal.com/en/file/006ac603f52b67857bd0c655eb7cb4eaf4920146c06b663e062379b560085a27/analysis/ – Nam G VU Feb 20 '14 at 08:38
@NamGVU: Only 2 out of 55 antivirus engines flagged the file, and I've never heard of either of those 2 engines. On the other hand, Symantec, AVG, and other famous engines all thought that the file was fine. Maybe both the flags were false positives. Maybe not. I'm no expert in this field. Please post a new question on [Security.SE](http://security.stackexchange.com/), ask them for their thoughts, and provide me with a link to that question. I'm curious to see what the experts think. – unforgettableidSupportsMonica Sep 19 '16 at 18:12
A single threat is not accepted. Thanks anyway. – Nam G VU Sep 20 '16 at 03:49

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 21 '09 at 09:10

Not the same, but a similar native win 7 behavior you might not be aware of: Middle clicking on the preview image that shows when you hover over a taskbar item will close the window. I'm working on getting used to this, rather than adding a third party tweak program.

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 18 '09 at 12:00

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You could also do that with a AutoHotkey script.

The following one could be the right thing for you: http://www.autohotkey.com/forum/topic8434.html

answered Aug 18 '09 at 12:00

släcker

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No windows-registry tweak? That would be better, middle-click has an utility after all, but not very useful: opening another instance of the selected utility. – JoePerkins Aug 18 '09 at 16:47
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Unfortunately that script doesn't work on Vista/Windows 7. – Tarnay Kálmán Oct 12 '09 at 02:12
@TarnayKálmán update script for 7. https://superuser.com/a/24404/ – Alex78191 Nov 02 '20 at 17:17

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 18 '09 at 13:40

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Shift+Right clicking on the taskbar button will bring up a menu with Restore, Minimize, Close, etc (or Restore all, Minimize all, Close all if it's a grouped button).

answered Aug 18 '09 at 13:40

Lucas

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score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 18 '09 at 22:16

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What type of mouse do you have and are you running the bare minimum mouse drivers? I currently have a one of the new "blue" mice from Microsoft, and installed the drivers that came along with it. The extended drivers will let you change the action of all the buttons on the mouse globally or program specific. I'm pretty sure that Logitech drivers allow the same thing too. One of the available options to change for the middle button is Exit Program.

answered Aug 18 '09 at 22:16

Chuck

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That's interesting, I actually have a Logitech mouse and I use Set Point to change button behaviour, but this solution may cause problems if you configure globally the middle click to close programs, because it may have another functionality in some specific programs. For example, middle-clicking links in Firefox should open it in a new tab, and not closing the window. – JoePerkins Jul 09 '11 at 01:07

score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Sep 02 '09 at 00:30

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There is no Windows setting or registry hack to do this. Your best bet would be a third-party program, such as AutoHotkey, or continuing doing what you're doing. Alternatively, you could right-click on the icon and click "Close window".

answered Sep 02 '09 at 00:30

Sasha Chedygov

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score -2 · Answer 7 · answered Feb 20 '14 at 08:51

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Alternative to virus-containing tool 7 Taskbar Tweaker, I suggest Taskix which contains NO virus.

ps.

Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

NOT for Windows 7 :(

answered Feb 20 '14 at 08:51

Nam G VU

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Closing programs with middle-click in windows 7/10

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