If you juggle many windows from the same program, PowerToys now has a shortcut built just for that. Microsoft’s utility suite has added a feature called Window Hopper, which lets you cycle through only the windows belonging to a single app instead of every open window on your desktop.
The feature is available for both Windows 11 and Windows 10, and it arrives as part of PowerToys, which you install from the Microsoft Store. Here’s what it does and how to turn it on.
What is Window Hopper?
Windows already ships with one of the best multitasking shortcuts around: Alt+Tab. It pops up an overlay of every open window across all your apps, and you tap through them to jump to whichever one you want.
The catch is that Alt+Tab shows everything. If you’re deep in work inside Windows Terminal with a dozen Terminal windows open, you’ll still have to tab past every Edge, Explorer, and Discord window in between. That gets old fast when your real target is just another Terminal window.
Window Hopper solves exactly that. It opens an Alt+Tab-style overlay, but filtered to show only the windows from the app you’re currently using. So while you’re in a browser, you’ll see just your browser windows; in File Explorer, just your Explorer windows.
Microsoft describes it as useful “when you’re juggling multiple browser windows, terminals, File Explorer windows, or editor instances,” according to the PowerToys release notes.
How to enable and use it
Getting started is straightforward. First, download and install PowerToys from the Microsoft Store if you haven’t already. Then open the PowerToys settings and head to the Windowing & Layout section, where you’ll find the Window Hopper toggle. Flip it on.
Once enabled, press Alt + Backtick to bring up the filtered window overlay. The backtick key is the one above the Tab key, the same character you use to switch input languages on many keyboards.
Each press of the shortcut moves to the next window from the current app. Keep pressing and you’ll cycle through just those windows, looping back around when you reach the end.
You’re not stuck with the default shortcut either. PowerToys lets you remap it to anything you prefer — for example, Alt + Caps — so you can pick something that doesn’t clash with keys you already use.
How it differs from Ctrl+Tab
It’s worth being clear about what Window Hopper is and isn’t. It’s not a tweak to Alt+Tab that blindly filters results; it’s a separate overlay that lists the app’s windows so you can actually see and pick the one you want, rather than guessing which tap lands you there.
Some users might wonder why this is necessary when apps already have their own shortcuts. A browser, for instance, lets you switch tabs with Ctrl+Tab. But that moves between tabs inside one window — it doesn’t help when you’ve opened several separate windows of the same program.
That distinction is the whole point. Window Hopper works with distinct windows, not tabs. Think of multiple Chrome windows logged into different profiles, several Terminal sessions for different projects, or a stack of File Explorer windows you’ve spread across the desktop.
The feature wasn’t always called Window Hopper. Microsoft originally shipped it under the name AltWindowCycle before renaming it, a change that better reflects what it actually does.
What this means for you
For most Windows users, the number of same-app windows you keep open might be small — maybe zero. But if you’re the kind of person who runs a dozen Terminal sessions, keeps several browser windows for different tasks, or bounces between editor instances, this is exactly the kind of quality-of-life tweak PowerToys is known for.
The real value is speed. Instead of hunting through a crowded Alt+Tab grid, you skip straight to the windows that matter. It’s a small shortcut, but for heavy multitaskers it removes a tiny bit of friction every single time you use it.
How to get Window Hopper
Window Hopper ships inside PowerToys, Microsoft’s free utility pack for power users. Install it from the Microsoft Store, open the app, and enable it under Windowing & Layout. From there, just press Alt + Backtick and start hopping.
Because it’s part of PowerToys, you’ll get updates alongside the rest of the suite — so if the feature or its shortcut changes, you won’t need to hunt down a separate download.
Source: Windows Latest
Over to you: How many same-app windows do you keep open at once, and would Window Hopper save you some clicking?
