Minor but annoying problem using Alt-Tab in Windows

[dj_paige]

• Lightroom Classic 12.3 (and all previous versions of LrC while running Windows 11, as far as I can remember)
• Windows 11 (can't remember if it did this in Windows 10)

Let's suppose I have only two applications open, Microsoft Word and my web browser. In windows, when I press Alt-Tab, I switch from one application to the other. If have three applications open, such as Word, Web Browser and E-mail program, Alt-Tab lets me move to the 2nd app and Alt-Tab twice lets me move to the 3rd app. All as expected.

But if one of those applications open is Lightroom Classic, then Alt-Tab once keeps me in Lightroom Classic. Not expected. I have to Alt-Tab twice to move to the next application that is open. Not expected, and annoying.

Is anyone else experiencing this? Is there a way to fix this so Alt-Tab when I am in Lightroom Classic works as with any other application? Is this a bug?

[dj_paige]

I'm surprised Adobe hasn't tried to fix it.

Adobe never said "we're not going to fix it". What one of their employees said is that they cannot duplicate the problem, so until they can duplicate the problem, they have nothing to fix.

[GdzieJestStach]

Adobe is unbelievable. There are few so annoying bugs in LRC, just like this one, for years. And nothing gets fixed.

And this is professional product. Or is supposed to be.

I think I'll start advertising for competition, as I've just started using other product and it just works as it should.

[hirciklemen]

Yeah, the latest version of Lightroom Classic still NOT fixed regarding critical annoying Alt+Tab glitch.😠😡😤

[GdzieJestStach]

100% reproducible

Alt-tabbing from LRC doesn't work on first try.

I need to press Alt-Tab twice to get out of the app.

On the first Alt-Tab press it just comes back to LRC.

Very annoying.

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

Based upon the scant information here, I've tested, and [ALT]+[TAB] functions correctly in Win 10 and Win 11.  You likely have a system-specific issue causing your unanticipated behavior.
Moving from Bugs to Discussions

[GdzieJestStach]

Looking at forums, I see it's not only my specific problem.

Also, I can't think of my specific system setting that would cause that.

Please look into that as many people are having this issue.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/minor-but-annoying-problem-using-alt-ta...

https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshop/s/jpniLky4qZ

[John R Ellis]

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr: Photography, please merge with the exist problem report:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/minor-but-annoying-problem-using-alt-ta...

[sergeyf74884498]

"Well it works on my machine, so it must not be a real bug. Ignoring!"

Phenomenal engineering mindset. It's no wonder that Adobe is so on-the-ball about fixing minor annoyances. Could you imagine if they just let them persist for years and decades? 

It's no wonder that Adobe is such a widely beloved powerhouse today, and absolutely not used grudgingly by millions of people aching to drop them the very nanosecond a viable competitor shows up. Cough Davinci Resolve Cough.

Keep up the great work!  

[dj_paige]

If I was the moderator, I would remove the above message from @sergeyf74884498 , who adds nothing useful to my thread, and is clearly wrong about some things.

[sergeyf74884498]

Yes it was clearly wrong - it's called sarcasm.

You do seem invested in accepting "this isn't actually a problem" as a response over your own experience, so thank you for reinforcing the lazy attitude that's taken hold at Adobe that sees issues go unsolved for years and years regardless of how many users are affected. 

[dj_paige]

You do seem invested in accepting "this isn't actually a problem"

Wrong again. And from this point forward, I will ignore anything you say.

[Fesquinca]

I have the same problem as many other users on this Forum, Alt-Tab is not working properly on many machines!. Come on adobe, do a little more research on your software. It looks like this is a common problem.

[hirciklemen]

Well, It's been a one year, and still NO fixes releated to a serious annoying bug for "Alt+Tab" in Lightroom Classic (LRC).🤬

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

Update: I retested today on Win 10 and WIN 11 with LrC 13.2. I am still unable to reproduce this failure. 
I don't see where anyone has provided different reproduction instructions. Without those - no bug can be filed with the team. 

[RafalN]

Hi Rikki, I understand that reproducing this issue can be difficult, and I agree that it seems to be specific to certain combinations of hardware and software on affected PCs. Personally, I use LrC on two Win11PRO machines: a stand-alone PC where everything works fine without any Alt-Tab issue, and a quite powerful laptop where the problem is particularly bothersome.

I can't agree that this isn't an issue just because it can't be reproduced. I know Adobe likely has various testing environments where software is evaluated, so I believe your development and support teams should be able to simulate this behavior eventually. I'd be more than happy to arrange a remote session to demonstrate what I'm experiencing.

By the way, the most challenging and frustrating scenario is when I'm exporting multiple images (sometimes hundreds of them). In such situations, switching between applications using Alt-Tab is nearly impossible; whenever I press Alt-Tab, it always brings me back to LR.

Let me know if you need any further clarification or if you're available for a remote session.

[John R Ellis]

@Rikk Flohr: Photography, it appears there is some Windows or LR configuration difference between your machines and those experiencing the glitch with Alt Tab.  To allow the developers to reproduce the issue, I've created a Parallels Windows 11 guest virtual machine that should run on Parallels 19.3 on an Apple Silicon Mac running Mac OS 14.4.1. (I don't think it will run on an Intel Mac.) The VM contains Creative Cloud and Lightroom Classic already installed but not signed in.

To reproduce the issue (a screen recording of the steps is attached):

1. Download the Parallels virtual machine from here (you'll need about 25 GB free to unzip and run it):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ylsesfbbz4u7gch/Windows%2011%20%2B%20LR%2013.2%20-%20Alt%20Tab.pvm.2024.05...

2. Double-click the downloaded .pvm file. If warned that duplicate MAC addresses are detected, click Create New.

3. In the virtual machine, start Microsoft Edge.

4. Start Lightroom Classic and log in to the Creative Cloud when prompted.

5. Hold down Alt Tab (Opt Tab on the Mac keyboard) and release Tab. Observe that thumbnails for LR and Edge are displayed, with LR still selected.

6. Still holding down Alt, type Tab a second time to get Edge selected, and release Alt and Tab. Edge is now the current app.

7. Hold down Alt Tab and release Tab. Observe that the LR thumbnail is selected.  Release Alt and LR is now the current app.

[hirciklemen]

I found 2 more problems with Ligtroom Classic. When I import some photos (for test only) and I press Alt+Tab, it's literally duplicates window. When I close or kill in Task manager, it's stays black windows with only text "Name LR catalog - Ligtroom Classic"

 I have to restart my computer everythime, when I see this.

[NotDrJekyll]

"Works on my machine" is a genuinely insane response from a company the size of adobe.

[hirciklemen]

One year and two months and still NOT fixed regarding Annoying bug Lightroom Classic Alt-Tab flickering in Windows 11.🤬 Also no any new replies since June 7th.😑

[RafalN]

I can see some progress 😥

Now I have same issue on both, stand-alone PC (Alienware, Ryzen Edition, running Win11Pro) and laptop (MIS Stealth 16 Studio, i9-13900 rumming  Win11Pro). Prevously it was laptop only. 😡
When I run extensive Export (e.g. 500 pictures) it's impossible to change application using Alt-Tab.

[hirciklemen]

My laptop (Acer Nitro 5) have the following specs:

• Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10300H CPU @ 2.50GHz 2.50 GHz
• 16,0 GB RAM (one more free RAM slot, up to 32 GB)
• 64-bit OS, processor x64
• Nivida GeForce GTX 1650, 4 GB V-RAM
• Windows 11 Home edition
• 512 GB SSD (with one more free disk slot / maybe two more free disk slots🤷‍:male_sign:)

This also happens to me, when I Export (e.g. 450 pictures / 350 images / maybe more maybe less exporting photos), the same result = it's impossible to change application using Alt-Tab too (from Lightroom Classic to other app).

[GdzieJestStach]

I switched to Lightroom CC due to this issue and general very, very bad performance, that can't be helped with any settings, caches, reinstalls, or changing computer components to way overpowered ones.

[RafalN]

I'm pretty sure the problem is with PCs with specific software/hardware configurations. If I remember correctly, in the past some Logitech plugins significantly degraded LR performance, casusing  LR to start in 2-3 minutes. But ist not a case this time.

[keylightdigital]

Happens in Windows 11, not in Windows 10.  Holding down Alt and continuing to press Tab does NOT really solve the problem.  When you do that, you have to hit Tab TWICE before it will switch to the next application.

[NotDrJekyll]

Just installed lightroom classic for the first time and instantly have this problem.  Even if I hold alt I can tab through various windows but if I select one by releasing tab it just opens LrC again. This is so incredibly frustrating, alt+tab is something I do constantly, this is basically an unusable program if this persists.