How to Change what Alt+Tab Shows in Windows 10


You can press the Alt + Tab or Ctrl + Alt + Tab keys to switch between open apps and sites in Windows 10.

Starting with Windows 10 build 20161, all tabs open in Microsoft Edge will start appearing in Alt + TAB, not just the active one in each browser window.

If you would prefer fewer tabs or the classic Alt + TAB experience, Microsoft has added some settings for you under Settings > System > Multitasking. You can configure Alt + Tab to only show your last three or five tabs or choose "Open windows only" to turn this feature off completely.

This ALT+TAB feature is currently rolling out to a subset of Insiders in the Dev Channel and requires a Canary or Dev build of Microsoft Edge (version 83.0.475.0 or higher).


Starting with Windows 10 build 20197, Microsoft has updated the ALT + Tab behavior with Microsoft Edge tabs to now have a default of displaying at most 5 tabs, rather than any recent tabs.

This tutorial will show you how to change what shows when you press ALT+TAB to switch between open apps and sites for your account in Windows 10.


Contents




EXAMPLE: ALT + TAB between apps and sites








OPTION ONE

Change what Shows in Alt+Tab in Settings


1 Open Settings, and click/tap on the System icon.

2 Click/tap on Multitasking on the left side. (see screenshot below)

3 Under Alt + Tab on the right side, select an option below you want in the Pressing Alt + Tab shows drop menu.

  • Open windows and all tabs in Edge (default)
  • Open windows and 5 most recent tabs in Edge
  • Open windows and 3 most recent tabs in Edge
  • Open windows only

The Open windows only setting currently doesn’t work.


4 You can now close Settings if you like.

How to Change what Alt+Tab Shows in Windows 10-alt-tab_settings.jpg






OPTION TWO

Change what Shows in Alt+Tab using a REG file


The downloadable .reg files below will modify the DWORD value in the registry key below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

MultiTaskingAltTabFilter DWORD

0 = Open windows and all tabs in Edge
1 = Open windows and 5 most recent tabs in Edge
2 = Open windows and 3 most recent tabs in Edge
3 = Open windows only


1 Do the step below you want Alt + Tab to show.

  • step 2 - Open windows and all tabs in Edge
  • step 3 - Open windows and 5 most recent tabs in Edge
  • step 4 - Open windows and 3 most recent tabs in Edge
  • step 5 - Open windows only


2 Set ALT+TAB Shows Open windows and all tabs in Edge

This is the default setting. This option will allow all users on the PC to be able to do Option One, Option Two, or Option Three above.

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.

Alt+Tab_DEFAULT_Open_windows_and_all_tabs_in_Edge.reg

Download


3 Set ALT+TAB Shows Open windows and 5 most recent tabs in Edge

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.

Alt+Tab_Open_windows_and_5_most_recent_tabs_in_Edge.reg

Download


4 Set ALT+TAB Shows Open windows and 3 most recent tabs in Edge

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.

Alt+Tab_Open_windows_and_3_most_recent_tabs_in_Edge.reg

Download


5 Set ALT+TAB Shows Open windows only

The Open windows only setting currently doesn’t work.

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 6 below.

Alt+Tab_Open_windows_only.reg

Download


6 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

7 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

8 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

9 If you like, you can now delete the downloaded .reg file.


That's it,
Shawn


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