How to Show All Windows on Alt+Tab Across Desktops

Why This Matters

Using multiple desktops in Windows helps you keep your work organized by letting you switch between different sets of apps easily.

What Happens When Done

When you change the Alt+Tab setting, you decide if it shows only windows on your current desktop or all windows across all your desktops.

After completing these steps, you can choose one of two options:

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

Option One

Show All Open Windows Using Settings

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

To make Alt+Tab show all open windows across all desktops using Windows Terminal, you’ll need to run a specific command as an administrator.

This option will not work when Administrator protection is turned on.

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

Changing the Alt+Tab behavior to show all open windows can also be done by editing the Windows Registry.

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

   
   

   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 you want to configure. You will need to know the Security Identifier (SID) for that account. Your SID is a unique string of numbers that identifies your user profile.

Summary

You’ve learned three ways to control whether Alt+Tab shows windows from just your current desktop or all your desktops.