Alt-Tab and Task View (24H2)

Alt-Tab

Alt-Tab is the simplest and oldest multitasking user interface in Windows, and it works much as it did in Windows 10 and previous Windows versions: Type ALT + TAB, but keep holding the ALT key down to display thumbnails of the most recent available apps and other windows to which you can switch the focus.

Use Alt-Tab to switch between open windows

When you open Alt-Tab, the thumbnail for the next window in the z-order–the list of available apps and other windows, listed in the order in which they were most recently accessed–is selected. (Put another way, the window you most recently accessed is selected.) So you can quickly switch to this window by letting go of the ALT key. Alt-Tab closes when you do so.

Indeed, you can quickly toggle between the two most-recently-accessed windows by repeatedly typing ALT + TAB.

To select another window, type ALT + TAB, keep the ALT key held down, and repeatedly tap the TAB key. As you do so, the selection will change. When the window you want is selected, release the ALT key.

You can alternatively type ALT + SHIFT + TAB to move through the Alt-Tab z-order in reverse.

Determine whether Microsoft Edge tabs appear in Alt-Tab

Once you know the keyboard shortcut, Alt-Tab is simple enough to use. But there is one wrinkle that’s unique to Windows 11 (and Windows 10): In addition to working with any open apps and other windows, Alt-Tab is configured by default to let you access the three most recently accessed Microsoft Edge tabs as well. So if you use Microsoft Edge, you will see individual browser tabs in Alt-Tab as well.

This may be desirable. But you can configure this feature to work the way you want, including excluding Microsoft Edge tabs from Alt-Tab.

To do so, open Settings (WINKEY + I) and navigate to System > Multitasking. Here, you will find the setting “Show tabs from apps when snapping or pressing Alt+Tab.”

The following choices are available:

• 20 most recent tabs
• 5 most recent tabs
• 3 most recent tabs
• Don’t show tabs

Oddly, there’s no mention of Microsoft Edge. But that’s what this setting configures: Whether Microsoft Edge tabs appear individually in Alt-Tab and, if so, how many can appear.

Task View

Task view works much like Alt-Tab in that it lets you switch between open apps and other windows (i.e. “tasks”). But it offers some key advantages over Alt-Tab as well. It’s persistent and doesn’t require the same keyboard gymnastics. It can be accessed via a handy Taskbar item. And it also lets you access Windows 11’s virtual desktop feature, called Desktops.

Task view is curiously missing one key feature that’s available in Alt-Tab: where Alt-Tab can be configured to display individual Microsoft Edge tabs, Task view cannot. Instead, you will see one thumbnail for Microsoft Edge in Task view.

To open Task view, click the Task view item in the Taskbar.

Or, just type WINKEY + TAB.

Task view displays an Alt+Tab-like switcher at the top, with thumbnails representing each open window. But there is also a Desktops pane on the bottom for accessing any available virtual desktops or creating a new virtual desktop.

Where did it go?

In Windows 10, Task view was also home to a feature called Timeline that let you find documents and other files, websites, and other information that you had accessed in the past. It could even work across multiple PCs and devices if your data files were saved in OneDrive. However, Microsoft has discontinued this feature in Windows 11 and it is no longer available.

Desktops is a big feature that’s covered by its own chapter.

Use Task view to switch between open windows

Task view displays its window thumbnails a bit differently than Alt-Tab for some reason: the thumbnails are bigger and there is no visible selection box by default. But it handles the z-order similarly: The currently focused window is first in the grid of thumbnails, followed by the other most-recently-accessed windows in order.

To switch to another open window, simply click the appropriate thumbnail. Task view closes when you do so.

If you like using the keyboard, you can use the RIGHT ARROW and LEFT ARROW keys to navigate through the available open windows in order. You will even see a selection box appear when you do so. Type ENTER or SPACE to switch to the selected window.

Remove the Task view item from the Taskbar

Task view is a useful feature and, unlike with Alt-Tab, it’s discoverable because Microsoft places a Task view button on the Taskbar. But the Task view item is largely unnecessary if you know Task view’s keyboard shortcut, WINKEY + TAB. So you can safely remove it to free up space on your Taskbar.

To do so, right-click an empty area of the Taskbar and choose “Taskbar settings” from the context menu that appears. (It’s the only choice.) The Settings app opens to Personalization > Taskbar.

Toggle the Task view setting under Taskbar items to Off to hide the Task view item.