In Windows Vista you can switch between open programs in a number of ways. About time we had some fun even with something as boring as cycling between different windows that hog our system as well as our peace of mind (I suppose when you have a lot of them open, you are slaving away at an incredibly difficult and tedious task)
Method # 1: No surprise there. Press the good ol'
Alt+Tab keys and start looking for the desired application. The only thing new about it is, of course, some eye-candy, now you get all your thumbs served in a glassy tray that jazz things up a little.
Method # 2: Press
Windows key+T on the key board to cycle through taskbar items, as you repeatedly press
T you can see a little preview of the highlighted item just above it. Press
Enter to bring the highlighted item in focus (if you have window preview thumbnails enabled, which are on by default) Cool, eh?
Method # 3: And now, here is little something Microsoft named Flip 3D. This is one cool feature I must say. To cycle through a stack of large previews and bring the one you are looking for in front, press
Windows key+Tab and watch the show! When the desired thumb is in front, let go of the keys to switch to it.
Click to enlarge
Tip 1: If you want to use the arrow keys instead, press
Ctrl+Windows key+Tab and let go of the keys. Now press
arrow keys to go through the stack and press
Enter when ready to bring forward an application. Press
Escape key to cancel.
Tip 2: You can also scroll the mouse wheel to cycle forward or backward through the stack.
Tip 3: You can also click on the little icon in the quick launch toolbar that says "switch between windows" to activate Flip 3D.
XP users see
this thread to know how to get Flip 3D functionality on Windows XP.
Finally, If you appreciate these tips and all other cool stuff on GUI MODS, please take some time to register and make a few posts.
Cool ways to switch between programs in Vista
Linear Mode
