Microsoft Is Adding Alt Window Cycle to PowerToys for Easier Window Switching

Microsoft is working on a new PowerToys utility that could make multitasking easier for users who regularly work with several windows from the same application. The upcoming feature, called Alt Window Cycle, introduces dedicated keyboard shortcuts for switching only between windows that belong to the currently active app, instead of cycling through every open program on the desktop.

The new utility is aimed at improving productivity for people who frequently keep multiple browser windows, terminal sessions, or editor instances open at the same time. Rather than relying on the traditional Alt + Tab shortcut, Alt Window Cycle narrows the selection to windows associated with the same process.

A faster way to switch between related windows

Under the proposed implementation, pressing Alt + ` will move to the next window belonging to the active application. Pressing Alt + Shift + ` will cycle in the opposite direction.

For example, if you have several browser windows open alongside other applications, the shortcut will rotate only through those browser windows instead of displaying every open app.

The goal is to reduce the number of key presses needed to move between related tasks without interrupting the current workflow.

Proposed through the PowerToys community

The feature was proposed by Clint Rutkas in a GitHub pull request, continuing PowerToys’ tradition of adding productivity features requested by the Windows community.

Although Windows has long offered Alt + Tab for switching between all open windows, it has never included a built-in shortcut dedicated to cycling through windows from only the active application.

No release date yet

Microsoft has not announced when Alt Window Cycle will become available. Since the feature is still under development, its name, shortcuts, or behavior could change before release.

If it follows the project’s usual release schedule, the utility could arrive in one of the upcoming monthly PowerToys updates.

PowerToys 0.100 recently launched

The new utility comes shortly after Microsoft released PowerToys version 0.100, which introduced a redesigned Shortcut Guide and a new Extension Gallery for Command Palette. The company quickly followed up with version 0.100.1, a maintenance update focused on bug fixes and stability improvements.

As with other PowerToys utilities, Alt Window Cycle is expected to remain optional, allowing users to enable or disable it according to their workflow once it becomes available.

Via Windows Central