Terminate program that has taken over the screen

If you're using Windows 10, you can switch to another desktop using Win+Tab and then open the task manager in desktop 2 to kill the full screen application in desktop 1. This works even if the application is set to stay-on-top.

This happened to me today on Windows 10 when the Snipping Tool froze while making the capture selection. I was able to get the Task Manager to show up by the following:

• Press the Windows key, then type Task Manager + Enter to open the Task Manager
• Press the Windows key again to get the Taskbar in focus
• Right click the system tray icon for the Task Manager and select "Always on top"

Use AutoHotKey and bind a shortcut to WinKill, A

This command first makes a brief attempt to close the window normally. If that fails, it will attempt to force the window closed by terminating its process.

WinTitle: If this is the letter A and the other 3 window parameters are blank or omitted, the active window will be used.

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I compiled this one-liner to an .EXE which you can download here.

#!Q::WinKill,A

• Move KillActiveWindow.exe to your autostart folder. It will reside in your Windows tray.
• Close active windows/full-screen applications with Win+Alt+Q.