Is there a quick change tabs function in Visual Studio Code?

The current function of giving me a dropdown option of which tab to choose is just so annoying. Is there a possibility to remove it so the tabs would work like in some modern web browser.

Solution 1:

By default, Ctrl+Tab in Visual Studio Code cycles through tabs in order of most recently used. This is confusing because it depends on hidden state.

Web browsers cycle through tabs in visible order. This is much more intuitive.

To achieve this in Visual Studio Code, you have to edit keybindings.json. Use the Command Palette with CTRL+SHIFT+P, enter "Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON)", and hit Enter.

Then add to the end of the file:

[
    // ...
    {
        "key": "ctrl+tab",
        "command": "workbench.action.nextEditor"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+shift+tab",
        "command": "workbench.action.previousEditor"
    }
]

Alternatively, to only cycle through tabs of the current window/split view, you can use:

[
    {
        "key": "ctrl+tab",
        "command": "workbench.action.nextEditorInGroup"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+shift+tab",
        "command": "workbench.action.previousEditorInGroup"
    }
]

Alternatively, you can use Ctrl+PageDown (Windows) or Cmd+Option+Right (Mac).

Solution 2:

@Combii I found a way to swap

CMD+1, CMD+2, CMD+3 with CTRL+1, CTRL+2, CTRL+3, ...

In macOS, go to:

Code > Preferences > Keyboard Shortcuts

On that page, click the button on the top right of the page...

and append the configuration below, then save.

[
    {
        "key": "cmd+0",
        "command": "workbench.action.openLastEditorInGroup"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+1",
        "command": "workbench.action.openEditorAtIndex1"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+2",
        "command": "workbench.action.openEditorAtIndex2"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+3",
        "command": "workbench.action.openEditorAtIndex3"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+4",
        "command": "workbench.action.openEditorAtIndex4"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+5",
        "command": "workbench.action.openEditorAtIndex5"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+6",
        "command": "workbench.action.openEditorAtIndex6"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+7",
        "command": "workbench.action.openEditorAtIndex7"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+8",
        "command": "workbench.action.openEditorAtIndex8"
    },
    {
        "key": "cmd+9",
        "command": "workbench.action.openEditorAtIndex9"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+1",
        "command": "workbench.action.focusFirstEditorGroup"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+2",
        "command": "workbench.action.focusSecondEditorGroup"
    },
    {
        "key": "ctrl+3",
        "command": "workbench.action.focusThirdEditorGroup"
    }
]

You now can use CMD+[1-9] to switch between tabs and CTRL+[1-3] to focus editor groups! Hope this answer is helpful.

Solution 3:

Windows

When using Visual Studio Code on Windows, you can use CTRL + PAGE_UP to switch to the previous tab, and CTRL + PAGE_DN to switch to the next tab.

You also have the ability to switch to tabs based on their (non-zero relative) index. You can do so, by pressing and holding ALT, followed by a number (1 through 9).

macOS

To quickly navigate between tabs, press and hold the CMD key, followed by the number (1 through 9) of the tab you want to switch to.

You also have the ability to switch between the previous/next tab via the CMD + ALT + LEFT/RIGHT keyboard shortcut.

Please note that in order to switch to a tab that is in a different editor group, you must first switch to the desired editor group.

Pro Tip: If you aren't comfortable with any of the key bindings, you can change them to whatever you feel more comfortable with!