The unknown window switching utility: window-switcher

Foreword

As someone who frequently switches between macOS and Windows, I often miss that very natural habit on macOS: seamlessly switching between multiple windows of an application (like Cmd + `). This works smoothly in Safari, Finder, VSCode, and more.

But back on Windows, things become more cumbersome:

• Alt+Tab switches between all windows (including those from different applications), which is inefficient;
• Clicking the taskbar icon requires you to "find" the target window;
• Although Ctrl+click on a taskbar icon can switch windows, you need to keep holding Ctrl while using the mouse, which contradicts muscle memory.

So, I started looking for alternative solutions, and that's when I came across window-switcher, a lightweight yet incredibly practical little tool.

Introduction

window-switcher is an open-source utility that runs on Windows, allowing you to freely switch between multiple windows of the current application using keyboard shortcuts, closely replicating the macOS Cmd+` experience.

• Default shortcut: Alt + ~ (customizable)
• Only switches windows of the current program, avoiding interference
• Minimal system resource usage
• Ready to use after installation, no complex configuration required

Practical Usage Experience

I most frequently use it to switch between these windows:

• Multiple Word or Excel files
• Multiple Rider/PyCharm/VSCode instances
• Multiple File Explorer windows
• Multiple browser windows (if not opened as tabs)

Previously, I had to locate the software icon on the taskbar (任务栏) to switch, or press Alt + Tab to switch one by one. Now, it only takes one key press, and the efficiency improvement is very noticeable.

Installation and Usage

• Send a private message "window-switcher" on the Official Account backend to get the download link
• After extracting, run window-switcher.exe directly. It is recommended to add it to startup programs.
• Right-click the tray icon → Set up hotkeys (optional)
• For advanced customization, consider using with [AutoHotkey] script (optional)

Comparison with Native Windows Solutions

Summary

Tools like these are rarely mentioned, but they offer significant improvements to the user experience.

If you also:

• Often switch between multiple windows of the same software
• Have felt frustrated by Windows' window-switching logic
• Or recently migrated from macOS and miss using Cmd+`

Then window-switcher is truly worth a try. Send a private message with "window-switcher" in the background of the WeChat public account "曦远Life" to get the download link, (or you can scan the QR code below).

✨ Finally: If you like LocalSend, you're also welcome to go to GitHub and give it a ⭐Star to support this excellent open-source project!