Switching Between Running Apps and Programs

Apps in Windows 8.1 run full screen by default, but you will want to switch between them and use more than one at a time. There are several different ways to switch between running apps and programs on your computer. If you are using touch, then dragging your finger in from the left of your screen will drag the previously seen app onto the screen.

You can also display a list of the currently running apps by swiping in from the left of your screen with your finger and then, in the same movement, swiping back out again.

Note: You can shut down any running app by dragging it off the bottom of the screen. This includes app thumbnails and the currently running app.

With your keyboard, you can use the Windows Key+Tab key press to switch between running apps or the Alt+Tab key combination to switch between all running app and desktop programs. The Windows Key is in the bottom right of your keyboard, with the Windows logo on it, and Tab can be found near the top left of the keyboard.

To switch between apps using the keyboard, hold down the Alt or Windows Key and keep pressing Tab until you get to the program you want. The currently running apps and programs will appear as thumb‐ nail images at either the left side of the screen or in the center of the screen.