System Use Classic Icons or Thumbnails on Alt+Tab in Windows 11


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Alt+Tab_banner.png

The tutorial no longer works starting with at least Windows 11 build 22000.856 and higher.


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

Pressing Alt+Tab will show open windows as thumbnails by default.

You can also press and hold the right Alt key, press and release the left Alt key, and press Tab to have Alt+Tab show open windows as classic icons instead of thumbnails.

This tutorial will show you how to always show classic icons or thumbnails on Alt+Tab by default for your account in Windows 10 and Windows 11.


EXAMPLE: ALT+TAB showing classic icons and thumbnails (default)

Alt+Tab_thumbnails.jpg
Alt+Tab_classic_icons.jpg



Here's How:

1 Do step 2 (classic icons) or step 3 (thumbnails) below for what you want.


2 Use Classic Icons on Alt+Tab

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

Use_classic_icons_on_Alt+Tab.bat​


(Contents of BAT file for reference)
Code: 
@echo off

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer" /V AltTabSettings /T REG_DWORD /D 1 /F

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

3 Use Thumbnails on Alt+Tab

This is the default setting.


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

Use_thumbnails_on_Alt+Tab.bat​


(Contents of BAT file for reference)
Code: 
@echo off

REG ADD "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer" /V AltTabSettings /T REG_DWORD /D 0 /F

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

4 Save the .bat file to your desktop.

5 Unblock the .bat file.

6 Run the .bat file.

7 You will now notice your screen flicker and a command prompt quickly open and close as the explorer process is restarted to apply the registry changes.

8 When finished, you can delete the downloaded .bat file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn Brink


Related Tutorials

 

Attachments

  • Alt+Tab.png
    Alt+Tab.png
    15.6 KB · Views: 180
  • Use_classic_icons_on_Alt+Tab.bat
    340 bytes · Views: 348
  • Use_thumbnails_on_Alt+Tab.bat
    340 bytes · Views: 389
Last edited:
Click to expand...
Doesn't work on build 22000.856. It just switches window as though I pressed alt+esc. Same goes for the right alt key trick. Is it possible to make this work in the latest version of Windows 11?

EDIT: I have found this problem only occurs with certain keyboard simulation software. It's fine when I press the keys on the keyboard at the computer physically.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Celeron N5105
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics (integrated)
Hello @Aenfa,

I'm seeing the same think in build 25179. It looks like Microsoft disabled it. :(
 

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
Windows 11 22H2 upgrade reset mine back. but I was able to revert it by adding the DWORD AltTabSettings with value 1 at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
PS: Don't forget to restart the explorer process.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    WIndows 11
On build 25267, using classic icons for Alt+Tab breaks it so it will no longer open, but still cycles between open windows. :(
 

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
FWIW, I'm in Win11 Pro, Version 10.0.22621 Build 22621, and this worked for me.
 

Attachments

  • 1679924716198.png
    1679924716198.png
    1.9 KB · Views: 78

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12700H 2.30 GHz
    Memory
    64.0 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX A2000 8GB Laptop GPU
    Screen Resolution
    4k
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