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Disable preview thumbnails during Alt+Tab switching in Windows Vista / 7 [duplicate]

Disable preview thumbnails during Alt+Tab switching in Windows Vista / 7 [duplicate]

I'm running Win7 on a laptop without aero and I much prefer the traditional Alt+Tab switcher where you just see the program icons and the Window title. The thumbnails in Vista / 7 are quite useless and look horrible - can I turn them off?

Asked by: Guest | Views: 233
Total answers/comments: 4
Guest [Entry]

"Trick found on http://www.mattbrindley.com/developing/windows/windows-vista-win-tab-alt-tab:

Create a DWORD called ""AltTabSettings"" in \HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer and set it to 1. This will get you back your beloved classic (and super zippy) Windows XP AltTab."
Guest [Entry]

What I know is that Ctrl+Tab is only working in several applications to switch between tabs (i.e. Firefox). If you want just see the program icons and the window titles try ALT+Tab; this is working fine for me (running Win7 without Aero here).
Guest [Entry]

"You must really hate Vista's ""Flip-3D"" feature when you use Win+Tab!

An alternative to Alt+Tab that you could try is Alt+Esc, this cycles between the open Windows by just bringing each one to the front of view, no icon bar, thumbnail bar or anything like that.

There's an MSDN article on how Alt+Esc has maintained such a minimal interface when all the others have been 'jazzed up': Windows Confidential: The Forgotten Hotkey"
Guest [Entry]

"There are a couple of ways to turn off the thumbnails, but, like the other posters, I don't know one that turns off just that feature.

However, if, like me, what annoys you most is the blinking in the background as W7 tries to be ""smart"" and let you preview the app, then that is a specific function: it's called ""Aero Peek"" and you can disable it by selecting ""Custom"" in ""Visual Effects"".

For me, disabling Aero Peek, and knowing the ""tap right alt"" feature for the occasions where the thumbnails confuse me, gives a good experience."