PowerToys: very fast switching between apps with Alt + Tab should not show the window overview (like on linux/mac) to be less distracting

[kraoli]

In Windows Alt+Tab shows immediately the overview. So regardless how fast you switch between apps, you see the overview flickering a short moment.

In macOS and Ubuntu the overview is only shown when you don't release the key very fast. Please have a look at an actual machine and get a feeling how it works there.

1. So with keeping the Alt key pressed, you get the task overview after 200ms (value is just a guess, but it's very quick and you don't notice the delay when you really want to see the overview).

2. But when releasing the keys instantly, you don't see the task overview at all, which makes fast switching between apps a lot less visually distracting.

It would be so great when I could have this in Windows too. Maybe an idea for a PowerToys tool?

[indierawk2k2]

I've been a daily Windows user for 25 years and this never occurred to me but it's such a good idea. Definitely a good one for the backlog

[bzoz]

Is this the same thing as #358?

[SW4NS0N]

This is one of the best suggestions I've seen for.... anything, in a long time. When you're gaming in windowed mode OR fullscreen windowed and wanna flip back to a browser or app really fast for a map coord or dungeon reference, whatever, these little bits of lost time with that overview add up.

[skagon]

I'll second that one too. The immediate overview has been bugging me ever since… forever. Excellent suggestion!

[kraoli]

Yes I'm also a long time Windows user and still prefere the os very much. But I had to work more with Linux and macOS and this fast switching between apps without visual distracting was one of the few things which I miss on Windows every day since then. :-)

And the good thing. It's always there we you need it (hold a bit) and not when you don't want it (release very fast).

[crutkas]

we were looking at WindowWalker as a possiblity here and it would be inside issue #861. this would be more of a 'type what window you want' style. Does that seem interesting?

[ScottArbeit]

As someone who relies on the multi-app overview to do Alt-Tab switching, and as someone who uses - for a similar view... I just want to represent those who think this would be a terrible idea if Windows did this for everyone. So... I think it's a terrible idea that takes away one of the (many, many) things that makes Windows better than MacOS and I'd hate it if it were forced on me. The only way I could imagine it done in Windows in a way that I wouldn't object to would be if the delay to see the overview could be set to zero milliseconds (i.e. it behaves exactly like it already does).

With that said, if it's just a Power Toys tweak or something in Settings for those users who want it that way... I'm not opposed to having more UX customization options.

[skagon]

we were looking at WindowWalker as a possiblity here and it would be inside issue #861. this would be more of a 'type what window you want' style. Does that seem interesting?

Personally, not so much. This issue is about something practically different. I don't mind pressing a few tabs after alt, I just want nothing to flash in front of the screen when I just alt-tab quickly back and forth between open windows. There are lots of times where I have both windows visible right in front of me and I just want to toggle between them. No need to have that ugly rectangle flash all the time.
Please do something about that.

[bzoz]

@skagon, did you try Alt+Esc and Alt+Shift+Esc?

[skagon]

@skagon, did you try Alt+Esc and Alt+Shift+Esc?

I'm surprised you even mention that! That's quite possibly the most useless shortcut. Have you even tried actually doing an Alt-Shift-Esc with one hand, once? Let alone doing those two combinations hundreds of times on a daily basis! And I won't even mention the fact that it totally screws up the Z-order of open windows, rather than simply switching from one window to the next, bringing it on top, like Alt-Tab does.

[crutkas]

@skagon, please be civil and respectful per our code of conduct. calling stuff ugly and useless causes conversation to stop.

We're open source, open an issue and submit a PR. I'm all for rapid iteration and trying new things.

[skagon]

@crutkas I do not see how I was not civil. Calling useless stuff useless is no insult. Please, be honest, how many times have you (or anyone else you know) ever used the Alt+Esc – Alt+Shift+Esc shortcuts? In your entire life? Since Windows first adopted it? I can honestly say that I've never used it (apart from when I first learned about it, as a trial) and I've been using Windows since version 3.0. Neither has anyone else I know. Most people don't even know it exists and, if by some accident they do press Alt+Esc, they think that "something" happened and it messed up their open windows.
The reason? It's impractical! While Alt+Esc may be somewhat accessible, Alt+Shift+Esc is almost impossible to press (and I am also a guitarist! so my left hand fingers are no slouches).

Let alone the fact that, for pressing the retrograde combination, Alt+Shift+Esc, you first have to press Alt and then Shift, and if you change your mind, or somehow your finger slips off the Shift key whilst trying the acrobatics necessary to also press Esc, guess what? The keyboard language changes, because you just pressed Alt+Shift!

So, yes, in a totally non-disrespectful manner, the Alt+Esc / Alt+Shift+Esc shortcuts are useless.

[bzoz]

@skagon besides it being hard to press is there anything else that you do not like in it?

[skagon]

@bzoz Yes. The fact that what it appears to be doing is to send the active window to the bottom of the Z-order. It does not simply switch to the second window or program that was active before the current one. It effectively throws the active window to the very bottom and all of a sudden, you have a dozen open windows in front of it.
Right now, I've got 9 open windows, with the Firefox window maximised. If I press Alt+Esc once, what I get is all other open windows on top of it; Explorer windows, Thunderbird, MPC, even the Winstep dock goes on top, which is set to be always at the bottom, under any and all windows.

What it should be doing is bringing the next window to the top, not sending the currently active window to the bottom!

[bzoz]

If the next window would be brought to the top, the current window would become the next window. In the end using Alt-Esc would switch between only two most recent windows, completely ignoring all other apps.

[skagon]

That is exactly the point. Again, this is not news, Microsoft has nailed it with Alt+Tab (apart from the flashing box). If you keep Alt pressed and tap repeatedly on Esc, you should see subsequent windows. If you just press Alt+Esc once, releasing both, yes, you should be switching between the two most recent windows. That's the whole point of it. Exactly like Alt+Tab. If you keep pressing both and releasing both, you end up toggling between the two most recent windows, completely ignoring all others!
It's not a bug, it's a feature!

[kraoli]

Skagon is right. And the WindowWalker is something very different.

The use case were I would like to prevent the overview is just when switching between the two last used programs via alt + tab. Currently you see the overview flashing some ms when toggling between the last used programs. I really want to use alt+tab for this, because it works so great without thinking.

Alt+tab works great to switch between programs. E.g. switch to the third programm in the overview:
alt down -> tab down/up -> tab down/up -> tab down/up -> alt up.

Switching between the last two programs works like this:
(back) _alt down -> tab down/up -> alt up-> (forth) alt down -> tab down/up -> alt up. (back) _alt down -> tab down/up -> alt up->

The idea is that when you do this very quickly (so the time between alt down and alt up is below 200ms or something) that the overview will not be shown. Just install an Ubuntu or try it quickly on a mac to see how it feels.

Or on other words. Showing the overview should have a small almost not noticable delay. So long that you can between two programs quickly without an overview, and so short that you don't really notice the delay until the overview is visible when switching between multiple programms with keeping alt pressed.

[goyalyashpal]

did you try Alt+Esc and Alt+Shift+Esc
- @bzoz at #493 (comment)

umh, i just tried that with a maximised screen, and a small notepad screen. but i couldn't notice what happened. can you please elaborate??

i am on win 10 20h2