Guide · Better Tab Switcher 1.0.0

Use the switcher

The switcher shows your tabs in one place, with the most recently used first. The tab you are on is at the top.

Switch tabs

1. Hold Alt and press S. The switcher opens with the tab you used before selected.
2. Keep holding Alt and press S again to move the selection to the next tab. Press Alt+Shift+S to move it back. The selection wraps around when it reaches the end of the list.
3. Let go of Alt to open the selected tab.

Alt+Shift+S also opens the switcher, with the last tab of the list selected. On a Mac, the keys are Control+S and Control+Shift+S: hold Control where this page says Alt.

Change the keys

In the switcher's settings, go to Keyboard shortcuts and click Change shortcut. The browser's shortcuts page opens: find Better Tab Switcher, click the shortcut's field and press the new keys. You can also type the page's address in the address bar: chrome://extensions/shortcuts in Chrome, edge://extensions/shortcuts in Microsoft Edge.

A shortcut with Ctrl instead of Alt works the same way: the selected tab opens when you let go of Ctrl.

Use Ctrl+Tab

Chrome and Microsoft Edge don't let extensions use Ctrl+Tab, but you can turn it into the switcher's shortcut. On a Mac or on Linux, use a program that remaps keys. On Windows, you can use PuppyMacro, which remaps your keys:

1. Install PuppyMacro from its official site.
2. On its Remap page, click Add remap. In When I press, click Set key and press Ctrl+Tab. In Send instead, do the same with Alt+S (or the keys you gave the switcher).
3. Optional: turn on Specific app and choose your browser, so Ctrl+Tab changes only there.

Now hold Ctrl, press Tab to move and let go of Ctrl to switch.

Go back to the previous tab with a quick tap

Press Alt+S and let go right away. You go back to the tab you used before, without the switcher even appearing. Tap again to return. The setting Delay before the switcher appears sets how quick the tap must be (50 milliseconds by default).

Keys and mouse

• The arrow keys move the selection. In the list, ↑ and ↓ move it. In the grid, all four arrows do.
• Enter opens the selected tab.
• Esc closes the switcher and leaves you on the tab you were on. A click outside the switcher does the same.
• Clicking a tab opens it.
• To close a tab, move the mouse over it and click its Close tab button, or middle-click the tab. The switcher stays open with the other tabs. When you close the tab you are on, the browser shows another tab instead, and the switcher stays open there, with the same tab selected.
• Tab moves to the buttons in the switcher's toolbar.

When the switcher stays open

In these cases, letting go of Alt doesn't open a tab, so you can take your time. Choose a tab with Enter or a click, or close the switcher with Esc.

• You opened it with the toolbar icon.
• You turned on Stay open until you choose a tab.
• You clicked the search field or one of the toolbar's buttons.
• The page didn't have the keyboard focus when you pressed the shortcut, for example while you were typing in the address bar.

Other settings change how the switcher works, such as Auto-select and showing the tabs of all windows: see Settings.