How to Quickly Change Windows and Browser Tabs with Your Keyboard on Windows.
Save some time fishing around for the right window or tab with these speedy shortcuts for Windows.
We’ve all done it. There is lots of stuff to do, and in an effort to avoid overtime, you end up opening more tabs than you can handle. If you’re a newbie to multitasking—a silly way to work and live in general, by the way—then you’ll most probably be dragging and clicking away your mouse the whole time.
Lucky for you, those of us suffering from even thinner attention spans have been there before. Through trial and error, we have found far more efficient ways to go about switching Windows tabs. In this article, we’ll cover the exact different ways to change your Windows tab easily. So let’s get started.
How to Switch Between Different Programs on Windows
With the electronic power of the smallest of chips today, barely anyone doesn’t have multiple tabs open in a single work session—not even the most mindful ones of us.
However, a point comes when you have to switch between program windows. This is where the Alt + Tab combination comes in.
Using the Alt + Tab Hotkey on Windows
Press the Alt + Tab shortcut, and you’ll see all the available window tabs to pick from. Also, there’s a slight trick to this shortcut. Make sure you press the Tab key only after you’ve been pressing and holding the Alt key beforehand.
The tab switcher will appear as soon as you do this. Then press the Tab key repeatedly to switch your windows tabs. When you find the program window you want to use, release the shortcut keys, and your tabs will be switched.
Moreover, you can easily tweak the order of this switching. Click on the Shift + Tab + Alt shortcut, and the order of tab switching will be reversed. Again, you’ve to get the order of keys right. Launch the tab switcher first. From there, press the Alt and Shift together, and then click on Tab to switch the tab.
If you fall in love with this hotkey, be sure to check out how to customize the Alt + Tab switcher on Windows.
Using the Alt + Tab With Arrow Keys on Windows
When you switch your tabs with Alt + Tab shortcut, you must keep pressing the Tab key if you want to move/switch between the windows. However, you don’t necessarily have to—you can choose the less cumbersome way instead.
After you’ve opened the tab switcher, let go of the Tab key while you keep hold of Alt. Then, use any of the arrows to switch around the window tabs.
Using the Alt + Ctrl + Tab Shortcut on Windows
Press the Alt + Ctrl + Tab shortcut to open the tab switcher. At first, it will look identical to the methods above; however, you’ll quickly learn that you don’t have to hold any keys down to keep it open. Press the shortcut keys once, and the tab switcher will only go away once you select a window to change to.
Using the Win + Tab Shortcut
Press the Win + Tab shortcut once to get a screen with all your window tabs at once. Now click on the window you want to open. This method is particularly good if you have a lot of windows open, as it lets you quickly hop between windows with a click.
How to Switch Between Browser Tabs on Windows
But what if you intend to switch browser tabs, instead of File Explorer or programs tabs? In those cases, you can use a combination of different keys along with the Ctrl key. While we have a complete guide on how to organize your browser tabs for optimum productivity, we’ll simply focus on switching browser tabs on Windows.
When you already have multiple tabs open on your browser, you can move to the next tab by pressing Ctrl + Tab shortcut. Similarly, press the Ctrl + Shift + Tab shortcut to go to the previous tab.
If you want to switch your tabs with numbers, click Ctrl + 1 through Ctrl + 9 to shift your tabs by numbers. For instance, press the Ctrl + 3 to open the 3rd tab. And if you press the Ctrl + Shift + T shortcut, your browser will re-open the last closed tab and automatically swap to it.
Switching Your Windows Tabs With Ease
Switching Windows tabs doesn’t have to be cumbersome. With the shortcuts we’ve laid above, all you’ve to do is try them out a few times, and you’ll be able to memorize them relatively quickly.