[Windows 10 Tip] Force Task Manager to Always Open in Your Desired Tab

Almost all of us use Task Manager tool in Windows operating system to end task of programs and services, to enable/disable startup programs, to check CPU and RAM usage of processes, etc.

We can launch Task Manager by right-clicking on Taskbar and select “Task Manager” option from context menu or by using taskmgr command in run dialog box. We can also press Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys together to quickly open Task Manager. This hotkey or keyboard shortcut is my favorite and I always launch Task Manager using this hotkey.

Task Manager in Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 is different than the previous Task Manager versions present in Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7. In Windows 10, Task Manager opens in Processes tab by default which shows running processes and their usage of CPU, RAM, Disk and Network in a colorful and modern UI as shown in following screenshot:

There are many other tabs present in Task Manager such as Performance, App history, Startup, Users, Details, Services. Many users like me prefer to use “Details” tab in Task Manager which displays processes and their CPU, Memory usage along with PID and user name in traditional classic UI. Also the list of processes is shown in compact layout which doesn’t waste screen area and shows more processes in available screen area as shown in following screenshot:

If you prefer to use a different tab other than default “Processes” tab in Task Manager, you need to first open Task Manager and then switch to the desired tab such as Details, Startup, etc.

Newer versions of Windows 10 operating system come with a very useful feature which allows users to set default or startup tab in Task Manager. With the help of this new feature, you can select your desired tab as default in Task Manager and force Task Manager to always open in that selected tab whenever you launch Task Manager.

If you also want to set your desired tab as default or startup tab in Task Manager and want to force Task Manager to always open in your desired tab by default, following steps will help you:

1. First of all open Task Manager. Right-click on Taskbar and select “Task Manager” option. You can also directly open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys together.

2. Now click on Options menu and look for “Set default tab” option. It’s set to “Processes” by default.

3. To set any desired tab as default, select its name in “Set default tab” menu. For example, if you want to set Details tab as default so that Task Manager always open in Details tab activated, select “Details” in “Set default tab” menu.

That’s it. Close Task Manager and again open it and now it’ll launch in your desired tab activated.

TIP FOR ADVANCED USERS:

If you want to set default tab via Registry Editor, following is the key used by Windows 10 to set default tab in Task Manager:

1. Press WIN+R keys together to open RUN dialog box. Now type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

3. In right-side pane, look for StartUpTab DWORD. If you don’t see this DWORD, you’ll need to manually create it.

Now set its value to any of following values based upon your requirements:

• 0 (To set Processes tab as default)
• 1 (To set Performance tab as default)
• 2 (To set App history tab as default)
• 3 (To set Startup tab as default)
• 4 (To set Users tab as default)
• 5 (To set Details tab as default)
• 6 (To set Services tab as default)

That’s it. Close Registry Editor and open Task Manager and it’ll launch in your desired tab by default.

Also Check:

[Tip] Tweak and Customize Windows 8/10 Task Manager Functionality

[Tip] How to Reset or Restore Task Manager to Default Settings in Windows 10

[Windows 10 Tip] How to Always Open Task Manager Maximized