BetterWinTab is designed to be productive within seconds of first launch. This quickstart walks you through opening the overlay, navigating and searching your windows, creating your first Smart Folder to group related apps, and remapping the activation hotkey to whatever fits your workflow best.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.
Before You Begin
Make sure BetterWinTab is installed and running. You should see its icon in the Windows system tray (notification area). If you have not installed it yet, visit the Installation guide first.Open the overlay
Press
Ctrl + Tab from anywhere on your desktop. The BetterWinTab overlay appears centered on your screen, listing all open windows grouped by folder.Press Ctrl + Tab again (or press Esc) to close the overlay without changing focus.The default hotkey is
Ctrl + Tab. If this conflicts with another app or you prefer a different shortcut, see Step 5 to change it.Navigate windows with the keyboard
Once the overlay is open, you never need to touch the mouse:
Navigate to any window with the arrow keys and press
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Arrow keys | Move the selection between windows in the current folder |
Tab | Move to the next folder |
Shift + Tab | Move to the previous folder |
Enter | Focus the selected window and close the overlay |
Delete | Close the selected window |
F5 | Refresh the window list |
Esc | Clear the current search, or close the overlay if search is already empty |
Enter to jump straight to it.Search instantly by typing
With the overlay open, just start typing — no need to click a search box first. Any alphanumeric character (
0–9, a–z, A–Z) begins a search immediately.BetterWinTab’s fuzzy matcher searches across window titles, app names, and process names in real time. The list narrows as you type. The matcher is typo-tolerant, so imperfect or fast typing still finds the right window.When your search returns no open windows, BetterWinTab automatically switches to App Launcher mode and shows matching installed programs. Press Enter to launch one.Press Esc to clear your search and return to the full window list.Create your first Smart Folder
Smart Folders automatically collect windows that match a rule — for example, all VS Code windows — so they always appear grouped together without any manual dragging.
- Open the overlay and click the Settings icon, or right-click the system tray icon and choose Settings.
- Navigate to the Folders section.
- Click Add Folder and choose Smart Folder (Process).
- Give the folder a name (for example,
Code) and set the process name filter toCode(which matchesCode.exe, the VS Code process). - Save. The folder now appears in the overlay and automatically contains every VS Code window that is open — including new ones you open later.
Change the activation hotkey
If
Ctrl + Tab conflicts with another app or you simply prefer a different shortcut:- Open Settings (tray icon → Settings, or from within the overlay).
- Go to General.
- Find the Hotkey field and click it to activate recording mode.
- Press the key combination you want — for example
Ctrl + Spaceor `Alt + “. - The field updates immediately. Close Settings — your new hotkey is now active system-wide.
The hotkey is stored in your user settings as a modifier flags value (
HotkeyModifiers) and a virtual key code (HotkeyVKey). It is registered as a global Windows hotkey, so it works even when BetterWinTab does not have focus.Full Keyboard Shortcut Reference
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl + Tab | Show or hide the overlay (default activation hotkey — customizable) |
Tab | Move to the next folder |
Shift + Tab | Move to the previous folder |
Arrow keys | Move the selection between windows |
Enter | Focus the selected window, or launch the selected app |
Esc | Clear search input, or close the overlay if search is empty |
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 box |
Tab (while searching) | Toggle search mode between All windows and Apps (app launcher) |
What’s Next?
Smart Folders in Depth
Learn about all folder types, rule options, and how manual and smart folders interact.
Themes & Customization
Customize accent colors, background, surfaces, and every semantic color token to match your desktop.