What is the difference between pressing Alt+Tab and Ctrl+Alt+Tab?

When I press Alt+Tab, then I get a window to switch between windows. With Ctrl+Alt+Tab, I get the same result. What is the difference between them?

Wasif Hasan

Posted 2020-01-15T17:30:51.693

Reputation: 827

Answers

Keyboard shortcuts in Windows

Alt+Tab Switch between open apps.
Ctrl+Alt+Tab Use the arrow keys to switch between all open apps.

In other words:

Alt+Tab Switches between open apps immediately after releasing the Alt key.
Ctrl+Alt+Tab Opens a quasi-dialogue window where you use the arrow keys to walk over all open apps and you need to press Enter (or click a mouse button) to confirm your choice.

JosefZ

Posted 2020-01-15T17:30:51.693

Reputation: 9 121

19There's also shift+alt+tab which does the same thing as alt+tab but traverses the list in reverse – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft – 2020-01-16T05:34:10.497

3There's also CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+TAB which does what you'd expect! – Andy Robertson – 2020-01-16T08:22:31.383

18There's also Win + Tab which does a similar thing to CTRL + ALT + TAB, but on multiple monitors and lets you create virtual desktops and switch between them – Zikato – 2020-01-16T08:30:14.663

13Shift generally reverses navigation shortcuts. For example Ctrl+Tab switches to the next tab in a browser, Ctrl+Shift+Tab goes backwards. Tab moves to the next input, Shift+Tab to previous one etc. Some programs even use Ctrl+Shift+Z to redo (reverse undo which is Ctrl+Z). – gronostaj – 2020-01-16T10:10:30.097

5There's also Alt+Escape which sends the current window to the back of the Z order, and Alt+Shift+Escape which brings the window at the back of the Z order to the front - which also avoids restoring all your minimised windows. – Muzer – 2020-01-16T10:24:42.090

18You can still use the arrows in the ALT+TAB dialog, too. Just leave ALT pressed. – ForNeVeR – 2020-01-16T10:37:53.767

4Don't forget Ctrl+Win+Alt+Tab, which cycles through the icons only. – Thomas Weller – 2020-01-16T12:22:38.910

2@ThomasWeller You can't use arrows in the Ctrl+Win+Alt+Tab window but you can do Ctrl+Win+Alt+Tab to cycle forwards and Ctrl+Shift+Win+Alt+Tab to cycle backwards and I think that's a beautiful combination of keys to be able to press. Also, just tested, Alt-Gr+Win+Tab works too but that's no fun (If you don't have Alt-Gr key you might have some luck with the Right-Alt key. – John Hamilton – 2020-01-16T14:26:10.187

1I can't say I've ever used the Ctrl variation, I've always just left Alt pressed like @ForNeVeR says. It ends up being quicker than having to hit Enter at the end. – Dan – 2020-01-16T15:48:42.790

18This is wrong—the arrow keys are not the difference. Both modes do that. The difference is that the picker stays open after you release the keys if you used Ctrl—with just Alt+Tab, releasing the keys selects the one you chose. With Ctrl+Alt+Tab, releasing the keys does nothing, so you can still select from the options presented (by arrows, by mouse, by Tab or Shift+Tab, perhaps others). – KRyan – 2020-01-16T16:18:32.473

3@JohnHamilton You can also do Win + Alt + Ctrl + Shift + Caps Lock + Tab, which does exactly what you’d expect (i.e., cycles backwards through icons while also toggling caps lock). – Janus Bahs Jacquet – 2020-01-16T23:43:11.793

2@KRyan Not exactly wrong, but just has missing info. You could just suggest an edit though ;) – John Hamilton – 2020-01-17T06:41:07.510

1Yes, but what good is the choice of modes? Ctrl works only before you press Tab, but the info you need to choose mode (the picker window) appears only after you press Tab. – Rosie F – 2020-01-17T10:43:11.193

Alt + Tab will let you select the application, and when you release the Alt key, you will be switched to the window you selected. With Ctrl + Alt + Tab, the selection screen will remain displayed, and you will have to press Enter to actually change the focus.

Jeff Zeitlin

Posted 2020-01-15T17:30:51.693

Reputation: 2 918

This is actually the most concise & correct answer. – UuDdLrLrSs – 2020-01-16T20:31:59.233

Alt + Esc Switches to the next open window

Alt + Shift + Esc Switches to the previous open window

Alt + Tab Cycles through open windows, and switches to the window when the Alt key is released. This is known as Coolswitch. Pressing Esc cancels switching windows.

Alt + Shift + Tab Cycles backwards through open windows, and
switches to the window when the Alt key is released. This is known as Coolswitch. Pressing Esc cancels switching windows.

Ctrl + Alt + Tab Vista: Starts Windows Coolswitch. Use Arrow keys, Tab, or Shift + Tab to navigate and Enter or Space to activate.
Pressing Esc cancels switching windows.

Winkey + T Toggle speech dictation mode. Vista: Cycles through
Taskbar buttons, Press Enter or Space to activate a window. This is same as Winkey + Tab in older versions.

Winkey + Tab Cycles through Taskbar buttons, Press Enter or Space to activate a window. Vista: Cycles through open windows using
Windows Flip3D. Release keys to activate window. Pressing Esc
cancels switching windows.

Winkey + Ctrl + Tab Cycles through parts of the desktop and
taskbar. Vista: Starts Windows Flip3D. Use Arrow keys, Tab, or Shift + Tab to navigate and Enter or Space to activate. Pressing Esc cancels switching windows.

From Shortcut Keys and Key Modifiers at https://onedrive.live.com/?id=E2F0CE17A268A4FA%21121&cid=E2F0CE17A268A4FA

Mark

Posted 2020-01-15T17:30:51.693

Reputation: 243