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Just installed Windows 8, pinned Notepad to the start screen. When I press the Windows key and use the Notepad tile to run Notepad, it will focus on the currently open Notepad window. I'd like it to start a new instance of Notepad. Is this possible?

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4 Answers 4

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It actually is possible with a reg key to do this. it only works for desktop apps (not full screen win8 apps) though i imagine this is exactly what everyone is looking to do.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ImmersiveShell\Launcher]
"DesktopAppsAlwaysLaunchNewInstance"=dword:00000001

Source here.

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  • Hmmpf, seems that it dosent work for me. Too bad. Jan 26, 2015 at 7:57
  • My searches indicate that this does not work in 8,1. The middle click suggested by ronalchn does.
    – TecBrat
    Aug 13, 2015 at 8:48
  • Doesn't work in Server 2012
    – BurnsBA
    Jan 17, 2019 at 19:51
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Use the Shift key to start a new instance of any application. Either Shift+Enter or Shift-Click, or else middle click.

Source: http://codeyarns.com/2012/10/22/start-multiple-instances-of-an-application-in-windows-8/

Other taskbar modifiers include:

Shift+Click         Open a new instance of the program
Ctrl+Click          Cycle between windows in a group
Middle Click        Open a new instance of the program
Ctrl+Shift+Click    Open a new instance of the program as Administrator
Shift+Right-Click   Show window menu
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  • 2
    Came here to say this, I always use Middle-Click to open a new instance, it works in Windows 7 too.
    – Mark Allen
    Oct 27, 2012 at 6:33
  • Ctrl-click is the greatest thing ever! Thank you! Nov 7, 2012 at 18:39
  • Microsoft should've made this more visible. I've searched for standard windows hotkeys and never found these earlier. Will use these a lot from now on. Feb 3, 2013 at 14:40
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To make it always open a new window with a normal left click, change the shortcut target of the tile:

  1. Right click on the tile

  2. Open file location. A File Explorer window should open, with a Notepad shortcut in it

  3. Right click on the Notepad shortcut

  4. Click properties

  5. Change the target to %windir%\system32\cmd.exe /c start %windir%\system32\notepad.exe

    enter image description here

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  • This works for programs that have no spaces in the path but not for something like Wordpad.exe. For that I use %windir%\system32\cmd.exe /c start /d "%ProgramFiles%\Windows NT\Accessories" wordpad.exe. Because the path has spaces it needs quoted, but if start sees quotes in the first argument it treats it as the title of the new window. Here I use the /d switch to specify the (quoted) path for the executable separately from the executable name. This works better for me than shift-clicking which can put new windows behind everything else--so far all new windows are on top.
    – User5910
    Mar 2, 2013 at 17:14
  • @User5910 You could (should) just put a set of empty quotes for the title - the /d method will fail if the executable name itself has spaces. I've actually answered a question addressing that very issue.
    – Bob
    Mar 2, 2013 at 17:20
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Another rather tedious way to go about it is to right click on the tile & select "Open in New Window"

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  • In fact, this is usually the quickest way (for me) to make a new instance of an already running app. Opening the Start Screen, finding the app (however conveniently placed it may be) and Shift-Clicking it seems needlessly complicated (though I'm glad I've learned of it) compared to right-clicking the taskbar and clicking on "New whatever". Aug 26, 2013 at 7:46

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