Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/sgm1018/BetterWinTab/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
BetterWinTab replaces the flat, recency-ordered Alt+Tab list with a compact, keyboard-driven overlay that groups every open window by context. Press Ctrl+Tab at any time — even from a full-screen app — and the overlay appears over your desktop without disrupting the foreground window. Once you find the window you need, press Enter to focus it and the overlay disappears instantly.
The Overlay Layout
The overlay is organized into four distinct areas:
- Folders sidebar — a vertical list on the left showing all your folders (All Windows, smart folders, manual folders, Clipboard, and Recycle Bin). Keyboard focus moves between folders with
Tab and Shift+Tab.
- Window cards — the main panel fills with cards for every window in the selected folder. Each card shows the app icon, window title, process name, and a virtual desktop badge when multiple desktops are active. Arrow keys move selection between cards.
- Search bar — displayed at the top of the window panel. It activates the moment you type any alphanumeric character; no mouse click required.
- Thumbnail preview — a live DWM mirror of the selected window rendered at the top-right of the overlay, updating in real time.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
Ctrl+Tab | Show or hide the overlay |
Tab | Move to the next folder in the sidebar |
Shift+Tab | Move to the previous folder in the sidebar |
Arrow keys | Move selection between window cards |
Enter | Focus the selected window or launch the selected app |
Esc | Clear the search query (first press) or close the overlay (second press) |
F5 | Refresh the window list |
Delete | Close the selected window |
0–9, a–z, A–Z | Start typing instantly to search — no need to click the search bar |
Tab (while searching) | Toggle search mode between All windows and Apps (app launcher) |
You never need to click the search bar. The moment you press any alphanumeric key while the overlay is open, BetterWinTab captures the character and begins filtering. This lets you go from Ctrl+Tab to a focused window in under a second.
Live DWM Thumbnail Previews
When you select a window card, BetterWinTab registers a DWM (Desktop Window Manager) thumbnail — a real-time mirror of the window’s content rendered directly by the compositor at zero CPU cost. The thumbnail updates live even while the source window is minimized or on another virtual desktop.
The ThumbnailService manages thumbnail registrations by mapping source window handles to DWM thumbnail IDs. Calling RegisterThumbnail(destinationWindow, sourceWindow) registers a new thumbnail and automatically unregisters any existing thumbnail for the same source. The compositor handles all scaling and aspect-ratio clipping within the destination rectangle.
Virtual Desktop Badges
BetterWinTab integrates with the Windows IVirtualDesktopManager COM interface to surface per-window virtual desktop metadata. Each WindowInfo carries the following fields:
DesktopId — the Guid of the virtual desktop this window belongs to, as reported by IVirtualDesktopManagerDesktopNumber — 1-based desktop index (1 = first desktop, matching Windows Task View numbering)DesktopName — human-readable name shown in the window card badgeIsOnCurrentDesktop — true when the window lives on the currently active virtual desktop
Desktop badges are only shown in the UI when the system has more than one virtual desktop active (VirtualDesktopService.HasMultipleDesktops). If you use only a single desktop, no badge is rendered.
Desktop names are read directly from the Windows registry key:
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\VirtualDesktops\Desktops\{<DesktopGUID>}
When a desktop has no custom name set in the registry, BetterWinTab falls back to a locale-aware label that matches what Windows Task View displays. The fallback word is resolved from CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture.TwoLetterISOLanguageName at runtime. Supported languages include:| Language code | Label word |
|---|
es | Escritorio |
fr | Bureau |
de | Schreibtisch |
it | Scrivania |
pt | Área de Trabalho |
ja | デスクトップ |
zh | 桌面 |
ko | 바탕 화면 |
nl | Bureaublad |
ru | Рабочий стол |
pl | Pulpit |
tr | Masaüstü |
ar | سطح المكتب |
sv | Skrivbord |
nb / no | Skrivebord |
da | Skrivebord |
fi | Työpöytä |
cs | Plocha |
hu | Asztal |
| (all others) | Desktop |
Enter to focus it — no manual Task View switching required.
Pinned Windows
Pinned windows are windows you mark as favorites. They:
- Appear first in every folder, ahead of all other windows, regardless of the folder’s sort order.
- Survive app restarts — pins are persisted in
AppSettings.PinnedWindows as PinnedWindowId records identified by ProcessName + TitlePattern, not by the volatile window handle.
How Matching Works
Because window handles change between reboots, BetterWinTab re-identifies pinned windows using a PinnedWindowId that combines two fields:
| Field | Description |
|---|
ProcessName | The process executable name (e.g., Code, chrome, WindowsTerminal) |
TitlePattern | The window title to match — supports the * wildcard |
* can appear at the start, end, or both ends of the pattern:
| Pattern | Behavior |
|---|
* (or empty) | Matches any title for that process |
Untitled* | Matches titles that start with “Untitled” |
*main.tsx | Matches titles that end with “main.tsx” |
*Pull Request* | Matches titles that contain “Pull Request” |
My Notes | Exact title match (case-insensitive) |
The Recycle Bin Folder
The Recycle Bin is a special built-in folder (FolderType.RecycleBin) that is always pinned to the bottom of the sidebar and cannot be deleted. Selecting it opens the Windows shell Recycle Bin directly via explorer.exe shell:RecycleBinFolder — no need to minimize windows or navigate to the desktop. It is the fastest way to access the Recycle Bin from the keyboard.