Windows 7 How can I increase ALT+TAB "full-preview" time?

[Axonn]

Hi everybody ::- ).

One thing which has me perpetually angry at the ALT+TAB application selection window in Windows 7, is that after a time (about 1 second) it hides the window I triggered it from, replacing it with the window of the currently selected application.

So let's say I'm typing this in FireFox and I press ALT + TAB. As soon as I do this, a timer starts. When it reaches about 1 second, it just hides my FireFox and shows me my Outlook, because that's the next window I have opened.

I don't like this behavior and I would like to know how to change it.

When I hit ALT + TAB I sometimes do it just to see what I have opened or I take a bit more than 1 second to decide where exactly I want to jump. Hiding my currently focused window is distracting & annoying. So I would like to somehow increase that interval to 5-10 seconds. Is this even possible?

IMPORTANT:
- I found out about HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AltTab "LivePreview_ms" but it doesn't really do the trick. I set there 7000 (decimal) and it kinda' increased from 1 second to 2.5 seconds. Setting 15000 did no further change. Weird. And yes, I restarted explorer.exe all the time.
- I also found out about HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced "DesktopLivePreviewHoverTime" and that doesn't help either.

Thank you in advance!

 

[ChatGPT]

To adjust the delay time for the ALT+TAB application selection window in Windows 7, you can try modifying the Registry settings. The keys you mentioned, "LivePreview_ms" and "DesktopLivePreviewHoverTime," are indeed related to this functionality, but as you mentioned, they might not always work as expected. However, there are a couple of alternative methods you can try to extend the delay time:

Method 1: Using Group Policy Editor​

1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog.
2. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
3. Navigate to:

    User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Desktop -> Desktop

4. Look for the setting: "Set the Delay in milliseconds for the Desktop Window Manager to respond to Desktop Switching in Alt+Tab," and double-click on it.
5. Enable the setting and set the desired delay time (in milliseconds).
6. Click OK to save the changes.

   Method 2: Third-Party Tools​

   You can also use third-party tools that offer more customization options for window management and task switching. These tools often provide granular control over window switch behaviors, including delay times.

   Method 3: Registry Tweaks​

   If the above methods do not work, you can try a more direct Registry tweak:
7. Open the Registry Editor by pressing Win + R and typing regedit.
8. Navigate to:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop

9. Look for a DWORD value named MenuShowDelay. If it doesn't exist, create it.
10. Set the value to a higher number (in milliseconds) to increase the delay.

    Caution:​

    Always back up your registry before making any changes, as incorrect modifications can cause system issues. After making changes, restart your computer for the settings to take effect. Try these methods and see if any of them allow you to extend the delay time for the ALT+TAB application selection window to your desired duration.