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Alt-Tab Alternatives

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One of my friends recently discovered Alt-Tab on Windows, which has been available for a very long time. However the utility of the default Alt-Tab behavior is quite minimal. There are two good alternatives that greatly enhance the default Alt-Tab behavior.

The first is the Alt-Tab Replacement (TaskSwitch.exe) from Microsoft which is part of the PowerToys for Windows XP bundle. This improves the Alt-Tab experience to include previews of the windows as one cycles through them. Useful, but not much of a leap compared to the default behavior. Keep in mind that the PowerToys are not supported by Microsoft.

The second alternative is TaskSwitchXP from ntwind software. TaskSwitchXP shows a list of windows with previews with the ability to take actions on them using both the mouse and keyboard shortcuts. It also has a rich set of keyboard shortcuts. Definitely a far better alternative to the default Alt-Tab and the PowerToy.

TaskSwitchXP

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Comments

Falcon said…
Is TaskSwitchXP freeware?
July 31, 2008 at 5:14 PM
Unknown said…
@Falcon: Yup, TaskSwitchXP is freeware.
July 31, 2008 at 8:38 PM
Anonymous said…
Nice one, Arun. Only problem was the lack of numbers in the list. But the latest beta download takes care of that. And a new Vista version is on the cards, according to the (very keen) developer.

Cheers again

London Chap
June 19, 2009 at 2:13 AM
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