WinActivate

Activates the specified window (makes it foremost).

WinActivate [, WinTitle, WinText, ExcludeTitle, ExcludeText]

Parameters

WinTitle

A window title or other criteria identifying the target window. See WinTitle.

WinText

If present, this parameter must be a substring from a single text element of the target window (as revealed by the included Window Spy utility). Hidden text elements are detected if DetectHiddenText is ON.

ExcludeTitle

Windows whose titles include this value will not be considered.

ExcludeText

Windows whose text include this value will not be considered.

Remarks

If the window is minimized, it is automatically restored prior to being activated. In [v1.1.20] and later, the window is restored even if it is already active.

Six attempts will be made to activate the target window over the course of 60ms. Thus, it is usually unnecessary to follow WinActivate with WinWaitActive or IfWinNotActive.

If a matching window is already active, that window will be kept active rather than activating any other matching window beneath it. In general, if more than one window matches, the topmost (most recently used) will be activated. You can activate the bottommost (least recently used) via WinActivateBottom.

[v1.1.20+]: If the active window is hidden and DetectHiddenWindows is turned off, it is never considered a match. Instead, a visible matching window is activated if one exists.

When a window is activated immediately after the activation of some other window, task bar buttons might start flashing on some systems (depending on OS and settings). To prevent this, use #WinActivateForce.

Window titles and text are case sensitive. Hidden windows are not detected unless DetectHiddenWindows has been turned on.

Known issue: If the script is running on a computer or server being accessed via remote desktop, WinActivate may hang if the remote desktop client is minimized. One workaround is to use commands which don't require window activation, such as ControlSend and ControlClick. Another possible workaround is to apply the following registry setting on the local/client computer:

; Change HKCU to HKLM to affect all users on this system.
RegWrite REG_DWORD, HKCU, Software\Microsoft\Terminal Server Client
    , RemoteDesktop_SuppressWhenMinimized, 2

Related

WinActivateBottom, #WinActivateForce, SetTitleMatchMode, DetectHiddenWindows, Last Found Window, IfWinExist, IfWinActive, WinWaitActive, WinWait, WinWaitClose, WinClose, GroupActivate, WinSet

Example

IfWinExist, Untitled - Notepad
    WinActivate ; use the window found above
else
    WinActivate, Calculator