Windows 8 How can I change this BONKERS behaviour by Windows?

[shiphen]

Hello

One long-standing feature of Windows really, REALLY p*sses me off.

All I want it that when I click on an icon on the taskbar, I want to be taken to that application. Every time. With no exceptions.

However, it seems that in Windows, the SECOND time you click on any application, it takes you back to... whatever you were looking at before.

WTF? Why can't I be taken to the application that I actually click on?

Confused? OK, Let me explain. The problem is that if you clicked on the taskbar a bit inaccurately first time, then the SECOND time you click, you will then have no idea which application you are now going to be taken to!

Example
Suppose I have the two browsers Firefox and Chrome open. And they have rather similar-looking windows open. Now suppose I am currently in Firefox.

Suppose I now try to click on Chrome, but I'm not 100% sure I clicked correctly, and I might have missed.

If I now click on Chrome again what will I get?

Answer:
A) If I missed clicking on Chrome ==> I get Chrome.
This is good.

B) But if I already clicked on Chrome ==> I will get Firefox.
This is terrible! Why the heck would I want to be taken to Firefox when I click on the Chrome icon.

==> In fact no amount of clicking on either Chrome or Firefox will guarantee which of the two you are taken to!
THIS IS INSANE. It turns out that the ONLY way to make 100% sure I get taken to Chrome is to click on a completely different application (e.g. msWord) and THEN click on Chrome. WTF?

Is there any way to change this deeply irritating behaviour?

J

 

[davehc]

I confess that I am not totally clear as to what you are saying. But, with well meaning respect, I think it is your confusion rather than a problem with Windows 10. But, as I say, maybe I misunderstood.

 

[kemical]

Suppose I now try to click on Chrome, but I'm not 100% sure I clicked correctly, and I might have missed.

If it didn't open then a good chance is that you missed it.

If you then click on chrome and get firefox instead I'd check which is the default browser as well as updating or even reinstalling said browsers.

One long-standing feature of Windows really, REALLY p*sses me off

A long standing 'feature'.

What is the feature exactly?

 

[helpifIcan]

That is the way it is supposed to work, if you have 2 or more windows active, say file manager & edge. If you are looking at file manager and click on edge it will show the edge window, if you click the edge icon again it will close and show to the previously active window. So if you keep clicking on the edge icon it will go back and forth between those 2 active window and the same if you would keep clicking the file manager icon..

 

[davehc]

If you click on an item from the task bar, which is already an active window on the desktop, it does NOT close, it is minimised back to the taskbar. Clicking it again in the taskbar merely maximises it again to the desktop.

 

[shiphen]

I have probably explained it badly. In simple terms, ff you click on the same thing twice windows takes you somewhere different the SECOND time you click on an application.

That is the way it is supposed to work, if you have 2 or more windows active, say file manager & edge. If you are looking at file manager and click on edge it will show the edge window, if you click the edge icon again it will close and show to the previously active window. So if you keep clicking on the edge icon it will go back and forth between those 2 active window and the same if you would keep clicking the file manager icon..

Yes exactly! Apparently, this is the way Windows has always worked.

i.e. In your example if I keep clicking it takes back and forth between the two applications. And the problem is that if the two applications look similar then we have now way to know which application we are left in when we stop clicking.

How can I stop this IDIOTIC behaviour?

Why can't window take me to whatever I click on irrespective of whether I have already just clicked on the same thing?

 

[shiphen]

If you click on an item from the task bar, which is already an active window on the desktop, it does NOY close, it is minimised back to the taskbar. Clicking it again in the taskbar merely maximises it again to the desktop.

OK so how do I stop Windows from doing "NOY close" (whatever that is) on something that is already active?

 

[helpifIcan]

I have no idea, I doubt it is something you can fix. My guess is that may have been a typo is was meant to be "NOT", just a guess hopefully Davehc will clarify for you.

 

[kemical]

OK so how do I stop Windows from doing "NOY close" (whatever that is) on something that is already active?

It's not too hard to discern he meant 'Not' plus he's only trying to help you.

 

[shiphen]

Apologies I genuinely misunderstood about the "NOY" thing.

Yes as far as I can see, it is nothing to do with applications "closing" as such instead and, as discussed, it's all about what has focus and what is being minimised.

My central point stands however, which is that if you have 2 visually similar applications open, it can be very confusing about which one you now have on your screen after you have been clicking on stuff. Will the next click give you the application that you want or will it minimise it?

In practice the ONLY way to be completely sure is to click on a third application, because that will reset the toggling so that the NEXT click will definitely put thing you just clicked on back onto your screen with focus.

So, put it another way, how do I stop the SECOND click on any application on my taskbar from causing minimisation AT ALL?

BACKGROUND
Part of the problem I have is that I do a lot of web development and I spend my life jumping between different browsers all of which look very similar. And when working fast, after any time that I MAY have missed my click, I then immediately bcome unsure whether the next click on the browser that I want will put the browser that I want onto my screen... minimise it out of view!

This issue has bugged me for over a decade.

 

[kemical]

What about clicking the 'Task view' button when your unsure as to which browser your working from or you can use it to have several desktops open any one time. (like a poor mans multi monitor set up).

To enable it right click on task bar:

Here's another screenshot showing it in action as well as showing the icon for new desktops:

I'm not sure if this would be any help or not but I thought it was at least worth mentioning?

 

[shiphen]

Kemical

Thanks. No, it's as simple as clicking on something, anything that you DON'T want to see and then clicking on what you DO want to see. But WTF? Why the extras step? Why should I ever have to click on something that I DON'T want to see, just to see what I DO want to see?

It's a small point but one that has bugged me for over 15 years. Why can't Microsoft sort this out? And in the meantime (or if they refuse), how can I fix my own copy of Windows10?

Btw, another time it's a problem is if you are already in the browser you want, but you're not 100% sure, as maybe you clicked on it a few minutes ago. So you click on the one you want and the bl**dy thing disappears down to the task bar, and some other application appears on your screen. WTF?

Can anyone else here at least understand how this might be irritating?

 

[kemical]

Can anyone else here at least understand how this might be irritating?

Definitely and i feel your pain, I'm just not sure where to go next.. Apologies.

 

[shiphen]

>> Can anyone else here at least understand how this might be irritating?
> Definitely and i feel your pain, I'm just not sure where to go next.. Apologies.

Dear Microsoft, Are you listening to your customers?

J

 

[Neemobeer]

This is a productivity feature. The purpose of it is the assumption that you are working between two programs. (Example your reading figures from say an excel sheet and you need to type them into a word document) The toggling is efficient for this type of work.


Clicking an application twice and having it simply re-focus serves no purpose.