Shift+Click on the Taskbar Opens a Second Window of an App

You click File Explorer's taskbar icon because you want a second window — and Windows just brings the one already open to the front instead. So you go through the app's menu, or open a window and hunt for how to spawn another. Yet the difference is a single key: Shift+click on the icon doesn't activate the running window, it launches a new instance of the app. And that's not the only trick hiding in taskbar icons.

How to do it

1. Shift + click an app's taskbar icon opens a new window (a new instance) — a second File Explorer, a second browser window, a second notes window. Clicking with the middle button (the scroll wheel) does the same thing.
2. Ctrl + Shift + click launches the app as administrator — handy for a terminal or an installer, no digging through the Start menu and right-click needed.
3. When an app has multiple windows open, Ctrl + click on its icon cycles through them one by one — faster than hovering over thumbnails and picking.
4. Right-clicking an icon shows a jump list: recently opened files and pinned items. Pin a frequently used document here and it's two clicks away, permanently.

A typical scenario

You're copying files between two folders. Clicking File Explorer drops you into one window; you need two side by side. Shift+click the icon — and a second window exists — send one to the left half of the screen with the Win+arrow shortcut, the other to the right, and drag away.

A developer's scene: you need an elevated terminal to install a system service or edit the hosts file. Instead of Start → type the name → right-click → Run as administrator, just Ctrl+Shift+click the pinned terminal icon. One motion.

What you get out of it

• Second windows without ceremony: two File Explorer windows, two browsers, two notes windows — one click with an extra key.
• Faster admin launches: tasks needing admin rights stop requiring a trip through the Start menu.
• Clarity across many windows: cycling with Ctrl+click is the fastest way to move between six windows of the same app.
• Frequent files within reach: pinned documents in the jump list turn an app's icon into a shortcut to work in progress too — open your weekly report or main project spreadsheet with a right-click from anywhere.

Pro tip

These tricks combine beautifully with the Win+1 through 9 shortcuts: Win+number activates the app at that taskbar position — and Shift + Win + number opens a new window of it directly, with no mouse at all.