Free Tab Switcher has two keyboard shortcuts. One starts or stops every window at once; the other stops everything immediately. Neither needs the popup open. If you're new to the extension, start with our beginner's guide to automatically switching tabs.
The Two Shortcuts
Ctrl+Shift+X: toggle all windows. If any window is stopped, it starts every window. If every window is already running, it stops them all.Ctrl+Shift+S: emergency stop. Stops cycling on every window immediately.
Both act on every window, not just the one in front. To start or stop a single window, use ▶ Start or ⏹ Stop on its card in the popup. The toolbar icon turns grey when a window stops and back to colour when it starts.
How to Use Them
- Make sure the extension is installed and enabled.
- Have at least two tabs open in each window you want to rotate.
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+Xto start rotating. Each window uses its own interval, or the default interval if you haven't set one. - Press
Ctrl+Shift+Swhen everything needs to stop, for example before you take over a wall screen in a meeting.
The shortcuts work from any tab in any Chrome window. Chrome only receives them while it's the app in front, so click into Chrome first if another program has focus.
Changing the Shortcuts
If a shortcut clashes with another extension or app, change it:
- Open
chrome://extensions/shortcuts. The popup links there too. - Find Free Tab Switcher. Its two entries begin "Emergency Stop" and "Toggle cycling on ALL windows".
- Click the pencil icon next to a shortcut and press the new key combination. Chrome tells you if it's already in use.
On a Mac, open the same page to see or change the keys Chrome assigned.
Why Use Them
- Speed: Start or stop every screen without opening the popup.
- Safety: One key combination stops everything when you need the screen back.
- Kiosks: Handy where a mouse is awkward to reach.
🚀 Level Up Your Workflow
- Autostart Setup - Start rotating as soon as Chrome opens
- Tab Filtering - Skip tabs and choose which ones refresh
- Window-Specific Cycling - Different settings in each window
Want to try it out? Install Free Tab Switcher, click ▶ Start once, then press Ctrl+Shift+X.