Does Flip 3D exist in Windows 8? If so what is the key combination?

Question

Windows 7 and Windows Vista both had a Flip 3D function accessed by ⊞ Win + Tab.

enter image description here

Now the ⊞ Win key takes you to the home screen, so ⊞ Win + Tab doesn't seem to work.

Does it exist in Windows 8?

How do I do it (just to satisfy my desire to see something 3D)?

hope you don't mind my edit, just made it overkill in info instead of your cheeky work-around on question quality criteria ;) — Nick Josevski, Sep 15 '11 at 03:37
Sorry @Nick, just spotted the 'useless' comment on William's answer below. No need to add it back though, I think it reads cleaner without! — Gaff, Sep 15 '11 at 03:40
Win+Tab switches between normal & metro applications, I think — Nemo, Sep 15 '11 at 10:44
Win+Tab works as shortcut, it flips between all open Metro apps and the Desktop (if you have opened it). — Joseph Earl, Sep 23 '11 at 00:04
Has anyone tried calling Aero Flip directly by running C:\Windows\System32\rundll32.exe dwmapi #105 ? — Norbert Willhelm, Sep 25 '11 at 11:26

score 15 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 24 '12 at 08:05

15

Flip 3D does not seem to be part of the Windows 8.

I also had a look through the local policy and can not find anyway to enable/disable. Looks like it may be gone for good.

Hitting ⊞ Win + Tab now brings the new Switcher which shows all open apps down the left hand side of the screen.

enter image description here

edited Oct 24 '12 at 08:05

Sathyajith Bhat

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answered Sep 15 '11 at 03:21

William Hilsum

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Aww what! That was **the** single useless part of Windows which I actually liked, even if I never used it, haha. – user541686 Sep 15 '11 at 03:22
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@Mehrdad - hehe... I can say the same! It looked pretty and amazing... most people who have never seen it go "wow" when shown... but... it is pretty useless in actual use compared to good old alt+tab! – William Hilsum Sep 15 '11 at 03:27
I wonder if there are any statistics on how many people actually use it compared to Alt+Tab. I guess it was one of those frills that seems really cool for a while, but eventually falls to the wayside when the novelty wears off and productivity regains its importance (like themes). – Synetech Sep 15 '11 at 03:35
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@Synetech inc. - Given the amount of telemetry data that Microsoft has collected, I'm pretty sure they figured out that nobody actually used it. I'd too would love to see the numbers. – Ritch Melton Sep 15 '11 at 18:19
@William Hilsum: That was part of the Wow campaign they had when Windows Vista first came out, wasn't it? :D – BoltClock Sep 27 '12 at 16:08
well I've updated the answer for Win 8 RTM. Hope that's fine! – Sathyajith Bhat Oct 24 '12 at 08:05
It Seems that I'm The only one who actually found/finds Aero Flip productive. You can see a lot of content while holding it down and actually need to press it twice to make the first app switch. – kluka Nov 06 '12 at 01:47

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Sep 25 '11 at 21:37

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There is a third-party version that does the same thing: WinFlip.

WinFlip is a 'Flip 3D' function for Windows XP It provides an alternate window-switcher to the standard Windows Alt-Tab. Winflip displays all open windows in a 3D stack, which the user can flick through and select using either keyboard or mouse.

enter image description here

edited Sep 25 '11 at 21:37

slhck

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answered Sep 25 '11 at 09:50

Christopher Scott

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I've used it before, and that software makes me want to cry. It's slow, buggy, and weird looking, but it _does_ work. – nhinkle Sep 25 '11 at 22:53

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 05 '12 at 18:03

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Switcher is the replacement for Flip 3D:

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-8-feature-focus-switcher-142967

The Aero code is being stripped out of Windows 8.

answered Jun 05 '12 at 18:03

Brad Patton

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Are those for Metro apps, or normal apps? – user541686 Jun 06 '12 at 20:07
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Looks like it mostly just for metro-apps. The desktop apps show up as a single thumbnail. – Brad Patton Jun 06 '12 at 20:45

score 2 · Answer 4 · edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:04

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As nice alternative, certain Microsoft mice, in combination with the Microsoft Mouse and Keyboard Center (IntelliPoint), offer a feature called Instant Viewer.

enter image description here

See these answers for possible ways to use it with other types of mice.

edited Mar 20 '17 at 10:04

Community

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answered Oct 28 '12 at 22:04

Louis Waweru

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Does Flip 3D exist in Windows 8? If so what is the key combination?

4 Answers4