Unfortunately, Microsoft took away the Cascade Windows feature in Windows 11, which has been a real loss for many of us who rely on this fantastic feature for multitasking and even for fixing this weird bug in which opened windows decide to play hide-and-seek.

But don’t worry! Because I have a way out!

In this blog post, I will show you 3 workarounds to bring back our beloved “Cascade windows” feature to the Windows 11 system.

01 – Use ExplorerPatcher to Cascade Windows in Windows 11

ExplorerPatcher is a small open-source tool that enables you to restore numerous Windows 10-styled functionalities to Windows 11, such as the taskbar and its context menu, which includes the “Cascade Windows” option.

Using ExplorerPatcher to restore the Cascade Windows feature is pretty easy, all you have to do is:

Step 01: Download the ExplorerPatcher tool on your system.

Step 02: Once downloaded, run the ExplorerPatcher setup file.

Step 03: Following that, the taskbar will automatically change to the Windows 10 style. This indicates that the tool was successfully installed.

Step 04: Now, right-click on your taskbar, and you’ll see the “Cascade windows” feature back.

NOTE: If you prefer the Windows 11 taskbar style over Windows 10, ExplorerPatcher allows you to switch it back and maintain the right-click context menu with the “Cascade windows” option.

  • Simply right-click on the taskbar and select properties.
  • Next, you can customize the taskbar and change it back to the Windows 11 style.
  • Finally, remember to hit “Restart File Explorer” so the changes take effect.

02 – Use This Script to Cascade Windows in Windows 11

If ExplorerPatcher seems too complicated for you, or if it disrupts the taskbar’s look too much and you want to avoid it, there’s a simple one-line script you may use instead.

To execute this script, you must first install AutoHotKey, an open-source Windows program that allows you to build macros, scripts, and automate common system tasks.

Here’re the steps to do so:

Step 01: Download AutoHotkey V1.1 on your system and install it.

Step 02: Now, right-click on your desktop and select New > AutoHotkey Script.

Step 03: Give the script a name and select a location to save it, then press Create.

Step 04: Go to the script file you created in the previous step, right-click it, and select Edit script.

Step 05: Now, copy and paste the following line of code inside the Notepad window:

DllCall( "CascadeWindows", uInt,0, Int,4, Int,0, Int,0, Int,0 )

Step 06: After that, go to File > Save.

Step 07: Just double-click the script file to run it, and all open windows will be cascaded.

Step 08: The next step is to pin the script file to the taskbar so that you can run it quickly anytime you need to.

  • Search for the AutoHotkey app and pin it to the Taskbar.
  • Then, in the taskbar, right-click the AutoHotkey icon and make sure the “Cascade windows” script is pinned.

From now and so on, whenever you need to cascade open windows, just right-click the AutoHotkey icon on the taskbar and run the script.

03 – Use the “Task View” Button to Cascade Windows in Windows 11

Windows 11 has a button called “Task View” that once clicked, you’ll get a layout of all your open apps or windows, and you can switch between them as you wish.

I know this workaround may not give you exactly what you want, aka cascading windows, but it has a similar functionality that will help you multitask.

Conclusion

In conclusion, taking away the Cascade Windows feature in Windows 11 was a bad move by Microsoft, and many users agree with me on that, and hope that Microsoft would rectify this and bring the feature back in future updates.

You can’t, however, just sit around and wait; you must take charge of the situation.

That’s why, in this blog post, I’ve compiled a set of different practical workarounds that will help you restore the “Cascade windows” functionality on your Windows 11 PC.