If you often find yourself clicking aimlessly between a crowded mess of open application windows and browser tabs, learning a few quick keyboard shortcuts can radically improve your efficiency. Rather than wasting precious seconds fumbling for the desired window with your mouse pointer, you can instantly bring any window to the front of your screen with a couple of easy keystrokes.
This guide will teach you the most useful keyboard shortcuts for quickly switching between windows and tabs on both Windows and MacOS computers. Implementing these shortcuts into your daily workflow can significantly boost your productivity.
What Does Switching Between Windows Mean?
When we talk about switching between windows on a computer, we simply mean bringing already open application windows and browser tabs to the front rather than opening new ones. For example, you may have Excel, Word, several Chrome tabs, Slack, and Outlook open simultaneously. Instead of having to click on each individual application icon on your taskbar or dock, you can instantly cycle through all your open windows with shortcut key combinations.
Alt+Tab – The Fundamental Windows Switching Shortcut
The core keyboard shortcut for switching between windows on a Windows PC is Alt+Tab.
To use it:
Hold down the Alt key on your keyboard. This is located next to the Windows key on the bottom left of most PC keyboards.
While continuing to hold Alt, press the Tab key. This key is usually above the Caps Lock button.
The window you most recently interacted with will instantly come to the front of your screen.
Keep holding Alt and tap Tab to cycle through all your open windows from newest to oldest until you find the one you want.
Release the Alt key once the desired window is highlighted to bring it into focus.
Using the Alt+Tab shortcut allows seamlessly cycling through all open windows
This vital shortcut makes switching between open Excel workbooks, Word documents, and any other application window a breeze.
Alt+Tab is equally convenient when you have multiple browser tabs and windows open. With one hand you can rapidly work across gmail, Slack, analytics dashboards, and any other tabs rather than having to point and click each one.
Quickly Flip Between All Your Open Windows with Windows Key + Tab
An alternative shortcut that achieves the same window switching effect is to hold down the Windows key then press Tab. This shortcut provides a broader bird‘s-eye view of all your currently open windows.
Follow these simple steps:
Press and hold the Windows key logo on your keyboard (between Ctrl and Alt).
While continuing to hold the Windows key, press Tab.
An overview will pop up displaying thumbnail previews of all your open windows.
Keep holding the Windows key and tap Tab to cycle through the open windows.
Release the keys when your desired window is selected to make it active.
This method makes it easy to spot and switch to the exact window you want instead of relying on the linear back-and-forth of Alt+Tab. The overview view lets you identify application windows even if you‘ve forgotten which specific Word doc or Excel sheet you need.
Command+Tab Does the Trick for Mac Users
The concept and execution is basically identical for Mac users. Instead of Alt+Tab, switch between Mac app windows with Command+Tab:
Press and hold the Command key (has the ⌘ logo) on your keyboard.
While continuing to hold Command, tap the Tab key to cycle through open windows from newest to oldest.
Let go of Command once you‘ve arrived at the desired window to bring it into focus.
Mac‘s Command+Tab shortcut works the same as Windows‘ Alt+Tab
You can also hold Command and keep tapping Tab without releasing to shuffle through all your open Mac windows.
Hop Between Browser Tabs with Their Number Shortcuts
In browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, each open tab is conveniently assigned a number visible on its icon. You can instantly jump between these tabs using more keyboard shortcuts.
To try it, first make sure you have multiple tabs open in your browser. Then do the following:
On Windows:
- Hold Ctrl and press the number that corresponds to the tab you want
On Mac:
- Hold Command not Ctrl, and press the desired tab‘s number
So holding Ctrl+3 (or Command+3) will take you straight to the third open tab. This beats clicking tiny favicons or cycling through each tab linearly.
Browser tabs display numbers allowing you to use shortcuts to switch between them
Close and Minimize All Windows for a Clean Slate
When you have a messy sea of stacked application windows crowding limited screen space, it helps to periodically clear the slate for a fresh start. Instead of closing each one individually, master these shortcuts:
Close the current window
- Windows: Ctrl+W
- Mac: Command+W
Minimize all windows
- Windows 10/11: Windows Key+M
- Mac: Command+Option+M
Now you can reopen only the windows you need to neatly organize your workspace.
Some Handy Window Management Bonus Shortcuts
Here are a few more useful combinations for managing the windows on your desktop:
Maximize window
- F11 key
Create new window
- Windows: Ctrl+N
- Mac: Command+N
Snap window left/right
- Windows: Windows Key + Left/Right Arrow
Mastering these common keyboard shortcuts will let you dexterously switch between windows like a pro. You‘ll no longer waste time hunting and pecking for the right application window with your mouse.
Implementing speedy window switching into your regular workflow makes ordinary computer tasks less tedious and frustrating. Once the essential Alt/Command+Tab, Windows/Command+Tab, and tab number shortcuts become second nature, you‘ll wonder how you ever got by before.
So next time you find yourself juggling a crowd of stacked, disorganized windows across several desktops, remember these handy shortcut keys to instantly locate the right one.
