# Is there a way to rotate programs on a PC? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 16, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593 "2011-02-16T16:18:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/1 "2011-02-16T16:18:47Z")
Is there some kind of freeware I can use that would allow a PC to alternate between one program and another? I want to use a computer to display real time data from different applications so I want them to rotate continuously. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/2 "2011-02-16T16:22:19Z")
Not sure what you mean by “rotate”. It sounds like you want to make it so that MS Word and Internet Explorer work only on odd-numbered days of the month, and WordPerfect and Firefox work only on odd-numbered days of the month. Am I close? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/3 "2011-02-16T16:23:20Z")
I missed the word “continuously” in the OP. Change my post to read even- and odd- numbered _minutes of the hour_. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/4 "2011-02-16T16:25:43Z")
Windows and other operating systems allow multiple programs to run at the same time. Unclear on what you specifically want. Sounds like you want the display to alternate between the two programs. That can be accomplished manually by simply hitting alt-tab. Or you could minimize the windows of the two different programs and position them side by side. Or you could set an additional monitor and with extended desktop and have the windows of each of the two programs displayed on a different monitor. I am not aware of a separate program that will flash two different windows alternately on your display. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/5 "2011-02-16T16:25:52Z")
I’m not sure if I understand. Do you want to have two or more windows open at once, and have some way to minimize/maximize them in order automatically and repeatedly wihtout you having to manually flip through them? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/6 "2011-02-16T16:28:57Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > I am not aware of a separate program that will flash two different windows alternately on your display. If this is what your looking for. This suggest using autohotkeys to accomplish: > ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/7 "2011-02-16T16:32:21Z")
Yeah I want to have the machine show X for a few minutes and then switch to Y for a few, back to X and so on. This is a machine that no one really uses. It’s just for display purposes. I’m not aware of a way to make this happen. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/8 "2011-02-16T16:33:07Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > If this is what your looking for. This suggest using autohotkeys to accomplish: > [http://superuser.com/questions/64177/periodically-automatically-alttab](http://superuser.com/questions/64177/periodically-automatically-alttab) I was thinking along the same lines. There are a number of decent macro/keystuffing utilities out there. [Download.com](http://Download.com) has a bunch of free ones as well. ETA: Here is a link to a search on [download.com](http://download.com) for free macro utilities: [http://tinyurl.com/4kwrkyg](http://tinyurl.com/4kwrkyg) ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/9 "2011-02-16T16:35:54Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I was thinking along the same lines. There are a number of decent macro/keystuffing utilities out there. [Download.com](http://Download.com) has a bunch of free ones as well. > > ETA: Here is a link to a search on [download.com](http://download.com) for free macro utilities: [http://tinyurl.com/4kwrkyg](http://tinyurl.com/4kwrkyg) …except that the link didn’t preserve all my fiters. Select “Automation Software” under “By Category”. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/10 "2011-02-16T18:26:59Z")
IN this context, I’d just use a [native Windows script](http://www.spinnersoftware.com/kb/en/scripting/switch_between_windows.html). ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/11 "2011-02-16T18:27:55Z")
Thanks guys. I’ll look into these. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-way-to-rotate-programs-on-a-pc/571593/12 "2011-02-16T18:29:57Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > IN this context, I’d just use a [native Windows script](http://www.spinnersoftware.com/kb/en/scripting/switch_between_windows.html). Ooh, cool!