Interesting stuff. Notice how the alt+tab looks identical to minimised windows on OS X? They're also hard to decypher sometimes, and I find Apple+tab or Expose to be far more efficient. That said, when items are minimised in OS X, you do have to roll your mouse over them anyway in order to restore them, so I guess you'll see the window titles then anyway. I'm waiting for your next big post: Vista vs. OS X!

Matt,

Regarding your ONE feature request in Vista...

- Create the following registry key...

\HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AltTab

Within that the following DWORD keys control various things.

OverlayIconPx OverlayIconDXPx OverlayIconDYPx ThumbSpacingXPx ThumbSpacingYPx
SideMarginPx,
BottomMarginPx,

If you are still not satisfied,

Create a DWORD called "AltTabSettings" in \HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer and set it to 1. This will get you back your beloved classic (and super zippy) Windows XP AltTab.

Forgot to mention something about the comment above.

DISCLAIMER: All these regkeys are NOT guaranteed to work and can cause undesired layout issues with AltTab. They are undocumented and most importantly UNSUPPORTED. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. If at any point, you want to revert to the original settings, just delete the Regkeys you created for these.

Couldn't agree more with Matt. Thank you, BehindVista. The "AltTabSettings" did the trick. I now have my good'ol alt+tab and my Win+Tab, if I need window previews of a reasonable size.

Alternatively, for those frightened of the registry, they can:
*press & hold the Windows key and then press the pause/break key,
*Then in the window that pops up, click "Advanced system settings" in the bar to the left,
*Continue through UAC,
*Choose "Advanced" tab,
*Choose "Settings" for Performance,
*Uncheck "Enable Desktop Composition,"
*And finally, okay through those windows.

It takes away the transparent glass, but it seems most effects are still there, if you enjoy the "pretty" Vista offers.

Plus, it gets rid of the annoying thumbnail images in alt-tab, making them just the tiny icons like in XP.

PS: Oranges aren't ALWAYS orange. ;)

Also, one more thing ... for those of us who don't like to think when doing things like this, you may want to point out that HKCU is actually "HKEY_CURRENT_USER"

Then again, I guess if someone can't figure that out, they don't have any business editing the registry. :P

ONE more thing, now that I've actually applied BehindVista's second option to get my XP-style alt-tab back ... how does Vista know what you are asking it to do when you create that Dword & change the value to 1?
I don't think this notifies people of new posts, so if you have an answer, could you please email it to me?
My email is on my site ...
ck /dot/ podzone /dot/ net

Is there a way to remove "Desktop" from the alt + Tab menu.
Because i use Win+D/M and not the stupid alt + Tab

Help! Vista on Dell 1501 Inspiron. ALT+TAB does not work in Aero or Classic. Symptom: tab list pops up, disappears in a second. If you manage to alt_tab to a different icon or picture it may or may not switch to that application. No behavior difference in classic or aero interface.

jeroen, creating the DWORD value (AltTabSettings) as suggested by BehindVista will revert the alt+tab menu back to how it was before Vista. Effectively removing Desktop as well.

Did Bill Malthouse ever find an answer? I have the same problem, also on an Inspiron 1501.

Bill Malthouse; Tom C:
I have the same problem too, on an inspiron 1501, too :/

I also have an Inspiron 1501 that had the same problem. You need to flash your BIOS to the latest version 2.6.3. Then you need to remove the laptop battery and hold the power button down for a few seconds, with the adapter still plugged in, then without it plugged in.

You should also unplug the adapter in the middle (where it connects to the box) and leave it for a minute or so, then plug it back in.

I think the cause of the problem is a static build up. It repeatedly sends the keypress e0_0d which interrupts things like alt-tab.

Hope I helped :)

Cat, that was so helpful it's not even funny. Running XP on a 1501 and couldn't figure out why the screensaver and Alt-Tab weren't working... Thank you!

Anyone know how to get ALT+TAB in vista to switch between the most recently used windows? It used to be that when I pressed ALT+TAB, it went to another window...and if I pressed it again, it went back to the windows I just came from. Now, when I press ALT+TAB from a window, it goes to the next one in the ALT list...and if I press it again, it just goes to the next one and so on and so forth, making ALT+TAB alot less useful to me for immediate switching back and forth from just two windows I use alot, regardless of how many I have open.

I just wanted to mention that I just implemented the AltTabSettings Registry code to my Vista laptop and am SO glad it worked well. Thanks for the tip! Those tiny screenshots just slowed me down before...

Chris -

Your alternative actually turns off all the cool effects in windows vista - including the transparency and the fade-in window popups, and everything else. I am going to instead try the registry change now and hopefully it will *only* affect the alt tab icons. I like the other effects.

i see, finally i know how to use that style, win+tab, i thought it was alt+tab haha... thanks... now i want to find out how to use video as wallpaper...

with my "Presario V3000" i am not able to use win+tab.. so how to come over this problem.

I've upgraded to Vista on my laptop sometimes back. But the alt tab is not working properly now. Though its giving a glimpse of the expected window but almost instantly takes me to my last window. Could anyone help me out?

I've had windows vista for almost two years now and I will tell you hardly use this win tab feature. I don't know if other people use it, but I find the alt tab much easier and efficient.

windows vista was a joke from microsoft, but windows 7 it's pretty cool.

There many new graduated designer, and I think they have a big opportunities in this job. Sometimes they have a great job even they are still new in the real project.

Now they released also win 7 mobile, but I didn't try a phone with it. I'm really curious to see what's about.

thanks i was wondering how to do htat.

Wow, I was never even aware of that keyboard shortcut! Cool stuff.

I have windows vista for 1 year, and I didn't like it at all. I wasn't aware of the ALT TAB function and how it is used properly, but I think as a whole, the vista operating system was done very poorly.

I wasn't aware of the ALT TAB function and how it is used properly, but I think as a whole

I love shortcuts, they really make my life easier. And this two, that you mentioned, are really cool! Thank you!

Thanks for sharing.

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I just bought Windows 7 i5. I'm so happy with it. The best investment ever. Two years ago I bought Windows Vista computer and had so much problems with it. The new Windows 7 i5, computer works so fast, pages open instantly. I will recommend Dell, the best one!!!

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Great tips, I would like to join your blog anyway,

I have had so many problems with screensavers I bought on vista as well. They would not work the way they are supposed to. They would not do the shuffle and so on.

Once again thank you for sharing this list of blogs! I like how your website has a very clean and simple style, but also very elegant at the same time.

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Hello really such a great post admin keep posting such a interesting posts thanks for sharing this blog.

Cat, your solution for flaky Alt Tab is working on my Dell Vostro. It also fixed my erratically-behaving touchpad. Many, many thanks; these were driving me nuts! :-)

I have gone through your blog it was really very informative i definitely share this views to my close friends keeps up the good work going.

You did the a great work writing and revealing the hidden beneficial features

It's actually quite resource intensive for old computers.

I really enjoy reding your posts as I learn a lot from them. I also broaden my thinking as far as what I can use and do with things

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I hate vista and had nightmares with it, Windows 7 on the other hand was a godsend for most of us. Great article. Thanks for posting this.

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