General Change Showing Alt+Tab as Windowed or Full Screen in Windows 11


  • Staff
Alt+Tab_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to change the Alt+Tab experience to show as windowed or full screen for all users in Windows 11.

You can press the Alt + Tab or Ctrl + Alt + Tab keys to switch between open windows in Windows 11.

Starting with Windows 11 build 22526, Microsoft is experimenting with showing ALT + TAB as windowed by default instead of full screen for some.

Starting with Windows 11 build 22554 and up, ALT + TAB will now show as windowed by default. The Full Screen Alt+Tab has been removed.


You must be signed in as an administrator to change the Alt+Tab experience to show as windowed or full screen.



EXAMPLE: Show Alt+Tab windowed or full screen

Full_screen_Alt+Tab.jpg


Windowed_Alt+Tab.jpg



Here's How:

1 Do step 2 (full screen) or step 3 (windowed) below for what you want.

2 Show Alt+Tab as Full Screen

A) Click/tap on the Download button below for the version (ex: 21H2) you want to specify, and go to step 4.​

Show_Alt+Tab_as_full_screen.reg


(Contents of .reg file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[-HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides\4\702590604]

3 Show Alt+Tab as Windowed

This is the default setting.


A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4.​

Show_Alt+Tab_as_windowed.reg


(Contents of .reg file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\FeatureManagement\Overrides\4\702590604]
"EnabledState"=dword:00000002
"EnabledStateOptions"=dword:00000001
"Variant"=dword:00000000
"VariantPayload"=dword:00000000
"VariantPayloadKind"=dword:00000000

4 Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7 Restart the computer to apply.

7 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

Attachments

  • Alt+Tab.png
    Alt+Tab.png
    15.6 KB · Views: 140
  • Show_Alt+Tab_as_full_screen.reg
    305 bytes · Views: 248
  • Show_Alt+Tab_as_windowed.reg
    469 bytes · Views: 310
Last edited:
On my Win11 RTM Dell Notebook Alt+Tab alternates between open programs, Fn+F11 toggles between Full Screen and back to Maximized or Restored, whatever it came from. Hope they don't change that until Win10 is finally dead.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro RTM
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 3400
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 11th Gen. 2.40GHz
    Memory
    12GB
    Hard Drives
    256GB SSD NVMe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro RTM x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5890
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 10th Gen. 2.90GHz
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Onboard, no VGA, using a DisplayPort-to-VGA adapter
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" Dell
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD NVMe, 2TB WDC HDD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender/Microsoft Security
Is there a way to make the outline of the selected app be more than the single-pixel black line? Like something less subtle for people with vision problems?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro β
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion Laptop 15-eg0070wm
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4-3200 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xᵉ Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2TB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    macOS Ventura
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple iMac 27" 5K (2017)
    CPU
    3.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
    Memory
    40 GB 2400 MHz DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon Pro 570 4 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" 5K, 34" UW
    Screen Resolution
    Mon 1: 5120 × 2880 Mon 2: 2560 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    32GB NVME, 1TB SSD
Is there a way to make the outline of the selected app be more than the single-pixel black line? Like something less subtle for people with vision problems?
Hello, :)

Actually, starting with Windows 11 build 22538, the focus rectangle that shows what is selected will now have an outline around it using your chosen accent color like below. It helps to make it stand out a bit more.

1642783334796.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
I'm on 22000.438, so I guess I have to wait... but good to know they fixed it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro β
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion Laptop 15-eg0070wm
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-1165G7
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4-3200 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel® Iris® Xᵉ Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    2TB PCIe® NVMe™ M.2 SSD
  • Operating System
    macOS Ventura
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Apple iMac 27" 5K (2017)
    CPU
    3.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
    Memory
    40 GB 2400 MHz DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Radeon Pro 570 4 GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27" 5K, 34" UW
    Screen Resolution
    Mon 1: 5120 × 2880 Mon 2: 2560 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    32GB NVME, 1TB SSD

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