Windows’ window usability protip

by

Having opened multiple windows of the same app usually gorups them together as one button on the taskbar. Clicking it opens a preview of them and you may choose what window you would like to open. But there is a better option.

The alternative UX is to open the last opened window on the first click and use the consequent clicks to circle through the other windows.

No more clicking through this window preview.

To use this behavior, simple edit a registry value:

  1. Open regedit
  2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
  3. Create or update LastActiveClick item with DWORD type.
  4. Put 1 to enable or 0 to disable this behavior.

I use this setting for years (10?) and totally love it. I believe this should be the default. Thanks Jan Tvrdík for this tip! It changed my life 😊.