ALT-TAB for switching applications doesn't work in Excel 2010

[trf]

I recently upgraded from Excel 2003 to Excel 2010 (skipped 2007 altogether). So I am running Excel 2010 on Windows 7. I try to use the mouse as little as possible, so always switch between applications using ALT+TAB. This works just fine between most programs, but does not work when the active application is Excel. Instead, Excel indents the text in the active cell.

Oddly, the behavior is as desired when I use the left "ALT" key in conjunction with TAB, but when I use the right "ALT" key with TAB, Excel indents the text in the active cell (a command I rarely use and would be happy to turn off, if individual keyboard shortcuts can be changed or turned off). I know, I could just use leftALT-TAB, but ergonomically that's not nearly as good - I am very prone to pain in my hands from repetitive actions, and putting all the strain on the left hand is not desirable.

I just noticed that I have the same behavior (leftALT-TAB switches applications, rightALT-TAB does not) if the active application is MS Word or MS Excel or Explorer. But if the active application is IE or Abobe Reader, then either leftALT-TAB or rightALT-TAB switches applications. So it's not just Excel. Well, maybe I'll post it here anyway and see if any of you have ideas.

Many thanks!!
Rob

 

[Derek Brown]

I don't have an aswer to Alt+Tab as it works OK for me (Windows 7 and Office 2010), unless you have another application running with those keys assigned.
However, you may find that the Windows Key (that between the Ctrl and Alt keys to the left of the space bar) + TAB is a much better way to switch applications - holding down the Windows Key and repeatedly pressing the Alt key will cycle through the open applications.