Windows XP [Electronic resources] : Visual Quickstart Guide, Second Edition نسخه متنی

Switching Programs

You'll probably have multiple programs running simultaneously so that you can juggle, say, a word processor, email program, and web browser. You have several techniques for switching programs.

To switch among running programs:

If the program's window is visible in the background, click it. (But click an empty area, not a button or menu, lest you activate it accidentally.)

or

Click the program's taskbar button. (The darkest button indicates the active program.)

or

Hold down Alt, press Tab repeatedly until the desired program is highlighted in the pop-up window, and then release both keys (Figure 6.12 ).

or

Hold down Alt, press Esc repeatedly until the desired program appears, and then release both keys.

Tips

Alt+Esc, unlike Alt+Tab, has no pop-up window; doesn't cycle through

minimized programs; and doesn't swap between two programs. (It simply sends the active program to the bottom of the pile.)

Windows logo key+Tab is equivalent to Alt+Tab.

Shift+Alt+Tab and Shift+Alt+Esc cycle

backward through running programs.

If a program's taskbar button shows a small arrow and a number, button grouping is active. Clicking the button doesn't activate the program but displays a menu of documents.

Other Switchers

Alt+tabbing is by far the most common way to switch programs, and a few souped-up versions are freely available.

You can use Tweak UI's General > Alt+Tab options to set the number of rows and columns that appear in the pop-up icon list. (See the "Tweak UI" sidebar in "Using the Start Menu" in Chapter 2.)

The Task Switcher PowerToy enhances the Alt+Tab shortcut by showing a thumbnail preview of each window in the pop-up icon list. See "Using the Free Utility Programs" later in this chapter.

For true multitaskers, TaskSwitchXP (free;