I actually use the new task view tool provided in Windows 10 and I was wondering if there is a way to disable the sliding animation between different desktops. I find this kind of annoying and it seems to take a second each time for the animation to play. It would be great if there was a way to disable this so each time I switch to a desktop, it switches instantly instead of playing the animation.
Windows 10 – Turn Off Task View Sliding Animation
animationtask-viewwindows 10
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It appears this can be worked around by going to File -> Change folder and search options -> View and checking the option to Launch folder windows in a separate process.
This option has been in Windows a long time, and it comes with its own set of fairly subtle side effects (if I recall correctly).
After a little experimentation, I believe I have found the answer.
The issue seems to be when Windows focuses on a program. For example, if you click outside of your web browser, you'll notice it grays out. Windows is no longer focused on it, it's focused on the window you clicked.
If you try running a program that's already open in another virtual desktop (depending on its ability to have multiple windows open), it will redirect to the applicable desktop.
Now, in the article below, it talks about "focus stealing". This is where a program steals the window focus for itself. This can and will affect your virtual desktops, so here are some instructions from it on how to prevent this:
How To Prevent Programs From Stealing Focus in Windows
It's not possible for Windows block all programs from stealing focus and still work properly. The goal here is to identify the program that shouldn't be doing this and then figure out what to do about it.
You may know what program keeps stealing focus, but if not, that's the first thing you need to determine. If you're having trouble figuring it out, a free tool called Windows Focus Logger (link in article) can help.
Once you know what program is to blame for the focus stealing, work through the troubleshooting below to make it stop happening for good:
- Uninstall the offending program. Frankly, the easiest way to solve a problem with a program that's stealing focus is to remove it.
Note: If the focus stealing program is a background process, you can disable the process in Services, located in Administrative Tools in all versions of Windows. Free programs like CCleaner also provide easy ways to disable programs that start automatically with Windows.
- Reinstall the software program that's to blame. Assuming you need the program that's stealing focus, and it isn't doing so maliciously, simply reinstalling it may fix the problem.
Tip: If there's a newer version of the program available, download that version to reinstall. Software developers regularly issue patches for their programs, one of which may have been to stop the program from stealing focus.
Check the program's options for settings that may be causing the focus stealing and disable it. A software maker may see a full screen switch to his or her program as an "alert" feature you want, but you see it as an unwelcome interruption.
Contact the software maker and let them know that their program is stealing focus. Give as much information as you can about the situation(s) where this occurs and ask if they have a fix.
Tip: Please read through my How to Talk to Tech Support for help properly communicating the problem. Last, but not least, you can always try a third-party, anti-focus-stealing tool, of which there are a few:
DeskPins is completely free and let's you "pin" any window, keeping it on top of all others, no matter what. Pinned windows are marked with a red pin and can be "auto-pinned" based on the window's title.
"Window On Top" is another free program that works in much the same way. (Link in article)
Hope this helps!
Best Answer
Control panel → System → Advanced system settings → Performance settings. Uncheck "Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing".