How to Show All Windows on Alt+Tab Across Desktops

What Happens When Done

Turning on Alt+Tab for all desktops changes how task switching works. When you press the keys, Windows shows every open program from every virtual desktop on one screen. You can jump straight to any window without switching desktops first, which saves time when you have many apps running.

To change it, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings and select System in the left pane.
2. Scroll down and click Multitasking. You should see the multitasking options, including the Alt+Tab setting and the settings ⚙️ for virtual desktops.
3. Find the Alt+Tab setting and open its drop-down list. If you can’t find it, check that you are on a current build of Windows 11. Some older builds word these options differently.
4. Choose All desktops to see windows from every desktop, or Only on the desktop I’m using to go back to the default.
5. Press Alt+Tab to test it. With All desktops selected, you should see windows from your other desktops in the switcher.

To undo the change at any time, return to the same setting and pick the other option. Here is what each option does:

• All desktops = Windows open on every desktop will show. You can quickly switch to any of them. If the window is on a different desktop, Windows takes you to that desktop automatically.
• Only on the desktop I’m using = Only windows on your current desktop will show. Windows on other desktops won’t appear, so you need Task View to move between them.

If you only use one desktop, you won’t see any difference between the two options. The setting matters once you have created a second desktop and have apps open on it.

Option One

Show All Open Windows Using Settings

You can set up Alt+Tab all desktops through the main Settings app on Windows without touching any advanced tools. This built-in menu has a simple toggle that pulls every open program from all of your virtual desktops into one view when you press the shortcut keys.

1. Open Settings by pressing Win+I.
2. Click System on the left side. Then click Multitasking on the right side.
3.  Open Mulitasking Settings​
4. Click Desktops on the right side to expand it.
5. In the "Show all the open windows when I press Alt+Tab" dropdown, select On all desktops or Only on the desktop I'm using (default).
6. Close Settings.

Option Two

Show All Open Windows Using Windows Terminal

Using Windows Terminal lets you enable Alt+Tab all desktops by running a quick command with administrator rights. This method works well if you prefer command-line tools over clicking through menus, though it requires full administrator access to run properly.

Open Windows Terminal as an administrator and run one of the commands below.

To show all windows on all desktops:

reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /v VirtualDesktopAltTabFilter /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

To show only windows on your current desktop (default):

reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced" /v VirtualDesktopAltTabFilter /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Option Three

Show All Open Windows Using Registry Editor

This approach works when other settings are unavailable, but you need to follow the path carefully to avoid system errors.

1. Open Registry Editor by typing regedit.exe in your search bar.
2. Navigate to this location in the left pane:
   

   HKEY_USERS\<SID>\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

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   Replace <SID> with the actual SID for your account. For example: HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-2398723747-3920169192-1191725819-1001\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

3. In the right pane, find VirtualDesktopAltTabFilter. Double-click it to edit it.
4. Enter 0 (for "On all desktops") or 1 (for "Only on the desktop I'm using" - default). Click OK.
5. Restart the explorer process, sign out and sign back in, or restart your computer to apply the changes.
6. Close Registry Editor.

To find your SID, use the steps below:

Copy and paste the command below into PowerShell. Press Enter.

Get-WmiObject win32_useraccount | Select name,sid

Find the SID (example: “S-1-5-21-2398723747-3920169192-1191725819-1001”) for the account requiring configuration. Determining the SID (Security Identifier) for that account remains necessary. This unique string of numbers identifies the user profile.

Summary

Three methods now exist for controlling whether Alt+Tab displays windows from the current desktop or all desktops combined.