14 DAY TRIAL // One of the improvements included in the much debated Windows Vista is the simple task-switching function, which has gained far more functionality through the simple display of a thumbnail of all top-level windows available in the taskbar. Unfortunately, this only works if you have an Aero-enabled edition, otherwise it'll be closer to XP task switching, which shows only the application's icon and its name.
Luckily, third-party developers provide us with plenty of replacements, one better and slicker than the other, ready to take on the task-switching mission responsibly and in a more efficient way. VistaSwitcher is a neat way to alternate between tasks easily, effortlessly, and, most importantly, knowing what each and every window is for. The freebie works on all three most discussed Windows operating systems lately, XP, Vista and Windows 7.
The application does not provide any sort of interface, save for the task-switching display and the configuration panel. It installs easily and poses no problems during the process. Downloading the software and putting in on the system took less than 30 seconds, and I slacked a bit. Switching between the windows is done elegantly at pressing the traditional Alt+Tab combination, showing a list of all opened top-level taskbar windows, plus a preview screen of the selected item. In case of multiple windows of the same application this feature comes in extremely handy as it allows you to see clearly the contents of each window.
Calling on the VistaSwitcher can be done by using the Alt+Tab command or any other key combination that fits you best. All customization can be done from the Preferences window of the software. There are four tabs filled with options you can fiddle with and use to tweak VistaSwitcher to make the most of it.
By default, once installed, the app will start automatically unless you disable this action. It can also look automatically for new updates or set it to replace the Alt+Tab key combination. There is also the possibility to add your own shortcut combo as hotkey.
If the switching view is not big enough for you, fret no more, because VistaSwitcher is flexible enough to provide the possibility to resize this screen, both in width and height. Unfortunately there is no measuring unit defined, trial and error being the only way to reach to a comfortable view. The preview window can also be subject to modification. The three options available are desktop style, window style or give the preview up completely.
As soon as you give the command for the switch-view to be activated, VistaSwitcher will show up in a fix location on the desktop. If the desktop position conflicts with your wish, this can be mended from “Behavior” tab by adjusting the horizontal and vertical position. All you have to do is drag by a slider to set things your way. It would be nice to have a preview available in order to avoid applying the settings and verifying the new position after each modification you make.
Additional options present include enabling mouse-over selection for the task list. Moreover, in case of multiple monitors, VistaSwitcher offers the possibility to display the tasks only from the active monitor. If you want to cancel the display of specific tasks, the application grants you this wish through its “Exclusions” tab, which lets you select from the currently active applications the ones that should not appear in the task list.
Though in beta stage, VistaSwitcher does a great job replacing the task-switching functionality in Windows, offering systems with no Aero theme the possibility to preview all active windows in the taskbar. It is flexible enough to allow you to resize the view to a dimension you're comfortable with or adapt it to a multi-monitor environment. Its position on the desktop can be modified from the Preferences menu, but it would be nice to have a live preview of the changes made.
On the downside, when enlarging the task view you don't have any measuring unit to guide yourself by, so it may happen that perfectly reasonable values in your measuring system may result in a too large window that covers the entire desktop.
During our testing, the application behaved a tad different upon testing on the three operating systems (XP, Vista and Windows 7). Nothing to worry about, as no dysfunction is present, just the way task preview is displayed. On systems with no Aero present tasks that have their window minimized to the taskbar will not show a preview at all, but only the icon and the minimized symbol. If Aero is enabled then a preview of the task will be displayed, regardless of the state of the task window. This basically means that on XP the task preview actually depends on the state of the selected window.
The Good
It is easy to configure, sports plenty of functions to make it as flexible as it can be at this stage, looks good on the desktop and it is stable.
The Bad The application is still incomplete and the developer will add new functions quite frequently at this stage so we will refrain from badmouthing VistaSwitcher for now.
The Truth
It is still a work in progress, but up to now it proved to be stable enough and the developer resourceful in terms of the options added.
