Win + 1 through 9: apps at a single keypress

The taskbar isn't just a place to park icons — it's a numbered keypad for your most-used apps, most people just never realize it. Every app pinned to the taskbar has an order number based on its position, and that number can be used instead of clicking with the mouse.

A typical scenario

Jana, an administrator, has a browser, a mail client, and a text editor open, and she switches between them all day. Without the shortcut, that means moving the mouse down to the taskbar, finding the right icon among ten others, and clicking — dozens of tiny mouse trips a day that add up.

With Win + 1, Win + 2, and Win + 3, she switches between her three main apps without moving the mouse at all — and because the icon order on the taskbar stays constant, within a few days the numbers are in her fingers the same way a copy shortcut would be. Switching can also be combined with Ctrl to open a new window of the same app, so the shortcut handles that too, not just plain switching.

How to do it

1. Pin apps to the taskbar in the order you use them most — for example, 1 = browser, 2 = mail, 3 = editor. Pin an app by right-clicking its icon while it's running and choosing “Pin to taskbar.”
2. Press Win + 1 and the first app from the left on the taskbar opens (or activates, if already running); Win + 2 the second, and so on up to nine.
3. If the app at that position isn't running yet, the shortcut simply launches it — so it doubles as a quick launcher, not just a switcher between open windows.
4. You can reorder the icons anytime by dragging them on the taskbar — the shortcuts automatically adapt to the new order.
5. If an app at a given number has several windows open at once, pressing the same shortcut repeatedly cycles through them.

The best tools

• Windows' built-in shortcuts (Win + number) — nothing extra required, work instantly with apps pinned to the taskbar.
• PowerToys — Peek or Keyboard Manager — for more advanced key remapping, if you want to use the numbers differently or extend the shortcut's behavior.
• A deliberate taskbar layout — a “tool” in its own right: a thought-out icon order is the foundation the whole shortcut relies on.
• Windows virtual desktops (Win + Ctrl + arrows) — combined with the number shortcuts, lets you have a different set of quick-access apps on each desktop.
• Alt+Tab — an extra shortcut for switching between all open windows regardless of taskbar order, useful for apps you don't have pinned.

What you get out of it

• Time: a few seconds saved per app switch adds up to a few minutes across dozens of switches during the day.
• Fewer broken focus moments: your hands stay on the keyboard, no hunting for the mouse cursor or aiming at a small icon.
• Predictability: the same number always opens the same app, as long as you don't change the icon order — the shortcut becomes an automatic reflex.
• Doubles as a launcher: you don't need to check whether an app is already open — the shortcut launches it or switches to it as needed.

Pro tip

If an app is already open, the same shortcut just switches to it instead of launching it again. Keep the taskbar order consistent and don't reshuffle it unnecessarily — after a week it's in your fingers, and you'll switch without thinking, much like copy and paste shortcuts.