[Tip] Restore Classic Alt+Tab Screen in Windows 11
This article will help you in restoring Windows XP and Windows 98 style classic ALT+Tab screen in Windows 11 as well as other Windows versions such as Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
Following image shows the old classic Alt+Tab box restored successfully on Windows 11 desktop:
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Table of Contents
What is Alt+Tab Switcher Screen in Windows?
Alt+Tab screen is actually program switching screen which can be accessed in Windows by pressing ALT+Tab keys together. If you have opened more than one program in Windows, you can press Alt+Tab keys together to access the program switcher screen and you’ll be able to switch between running programs and apps.
When you press Alt+Tab hotkey in Windows 11, you get a new redesigned modern program switcher screen as shown in following screenshot:
The new Alt+Tab screen in Windows 11 displays large live thumbnails of running programs with a dimmed background screen.
If you don’t like the new program switcher screen in Windows 11, you can bring back Windows 98/XP style old classic program switcher box as shown in following screenshot:
The classic Alt+Tab box doesn’t display thumbnails of running programs. Instead it just shows program icons along with program names.
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There is a simple Registry tweak available in all Windows versions to disable new modern Alt+Tab screen and enable classic Alt+Tab box.
Restoring Classic Alt+Tab Screen in Windows 11 and Previous Windows Versions
If you also want to restore classic Alt+Tab switcher screen in Windows 7, 8/8.1, Windows 10 or Windows 11, following steps will help you:
NOTE: We are going to use same method to restore classic Alt+Tab screen in Windows 11 which we shared long time back (approx. 12 years back) in following tutorial:
[Tip] Get Windows XP Style Classic “Alt+Tab” Switcher Screen in Windows Vista and Later
Let’s start the tutorial:
1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type regedit and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.
2. Now go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
3. In right-side pane, look for AltTabSettings DWORD. By default, the DWORD should be set to 0 which means the new modern Alt+Tab screen is enabled in your Windows.
Double-click on the DWORD and change its value to 1 to restore classic Alt+Tab box.
PS: If the DWORD is not present, right-click on empty area and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value option. Set the new DWORD name as AltTabSettings and set its value to 1 to restore classic Alt+Tab screen.
Close Registry Editor.
4. You’ll need to restart computer or restart Explorer to apply changes.
After restart, press Alt+Tab keys together and get ready to enjoy classic Alt+Tab switcher screen in Windows.
PS: In future, if you decide to restore new modern Alt+Tab screen in Windows, reset the above mentioned DWORD value to 0 in Registry Editor.
Ready-made Registry Script to Automatically Restore Classic Alt+Tab Screen
If you don’t want to modify registry yourself, we have created a ready-made Registry script file for you to apply the required Registry tweak automatically.
Download following ZIP file, extract it using 7-Zip or other file archive utilities and run the extracted Reg file:
PS: Initially the Registry script was created for Windows 7, that’s why you’ll see Windows 7 mentioned in the ZIP file. Ignore the name, it’ll work in all Windows versions.
The script file will ask for confirmation, accept it. Restart your computer, sign out or restart Explorer to take effects.
The ZIP file also contains UNDO file to restore default settings i.e. restore new modern Alt+Tab screen again in Windows 11.
BONUS TIP: Launch Classic Alt+Tab Screen in All Windows Versions Without Modifying Registry
It’s actually an Easter egg or hidden secret trick which works in all Windows versions. You can access Classic “Alt+Tab” Switcher screen any time in Windows without modifying Registry. You just need to follow these simple steps:
- Press and hold Left or Right Alt key on your keyboard. For example, press and hold Right Alt key.
- Keep holding the Right Alt key and press and release (don’t hold) the Left Alt key on your keyboard.
- Still holding the Right Alt key and press Tab key and you’ll get Windows XP style Classic “Alt+Tab” Switcher screen.
Also Check:
[Tip] Restore Windows 10 Classic Taskbar in Windows 11 along with Classic Start Menu
[Tip] Restore Full Classic Context Menu in Windows 11
[Tip] Restore Classic File Explorer with Ribbon in Windows 11
Windows 11’s alt+tab is fine, really, it’s just the outline highlighting the selected window is too dang thin it’s nearly invisible, giving you hard time figuring out which window you have selected. Worse if you have ten or more open windows
The classic ctl+alt+[any keystroke] hotkey combination worked fine until I installed Windows 10. Although it still works, it is agonizingly slow. Do you know if there is a fix for this time lag? In Windows 8.1 and previous versions of Windows, it worked instantaneously.
Thank you very much, I was actually looking to do the opposite which this article helped to accomplish too!