AbcTab
Release History

AbcTab Release History

Every AbcTab release since the first public version — new features, fixes, and removals, newest first. Each version carries its own anchor, so support emails and update announcements can link straight to it.

v1.3.0 2026-11-06 Latest

Ping-pong mode arrives: press ` to lock two contexts together, so a blind ⌘-Tab always returns to the pair (off by default). Window pairs no longer dissolve on their own, and switching always raises the right window.

  • Added: ping-pong mode — press ` in the switcher to bind the highlighted slot to the current application; a blind ⌘-Tab then returns to the pair and the next one goes back, alternating between the two contexts, even after a detour through other apps.
  • Added: virtual window tiles — pressing ` on a second window of the same application promotes it to a tile of its own with ⌘-Tab alternating between the two; pressing ` on a window of another application pins that exact window, and the tile shows which one it holds.
  • Note: ping-pong mode ships off on purpose (it takes over the ` key and changes what a blind ⌘-Tab does) — turn it on once in Settings → Advanced; turning it off dissolves an active pair immediately.
  • Fixed: windows that only appear in an application's Window menu are no longer minted a fresh identity on every query — same-app pairs dissolving within a second and cross-Space pairs losing their window are gone with it.
  • Fixed: switching now raises the target window first (the Window menu is only a fallback), so the wrong window no longer comes forward; slow applications no longer drop their pair, and the window list says which of the two happened.
  • Fixed: pressing ` on the highlighted window pairs the other one in a single step; unlocking no longer depends on pair creation order; same-app pairs keep their slots during a detour; holding Delete on a virtual tile no longer quits the neighbouring app; the ⇄ badge alignment is fixed.
v1.2.0 2026-11-05

Delete is now the only quit shortcut in the panel — the two hidden quit gestures are gone. Also fixes a menu-bar icon offset and ghost entries in window lists.

  • Fixed: the menu-bar trigger glyph used to render as text, sitting about a point above its neighbours and ignoring permission/trial tints — it is now drawn into a centred template image.
  • Fixed: pressing the initial of the already-highlighted app no longer loses the jump when the window list auto-expands at the same moment.
  • Fixed: an app's own tiny accessibility dialogs no longer leak into its window list (a few apps showed duplicated entries because of this).
  • Changed: Delete (⌫) is the single quit shortcut; the panel stays open and refreshes after each quit, so you can quit several apps in a row.
  • Removed: the long-press-letter and middle-click quit gestures (no visual feedback, no undo, and they never fired for multi-window apps).
v1.1.1 2026-11-04

In-app updates: AbcTab now ships with Sparkle 2, so new versions arrive without downloading a DMG by hand.

  • Added: "Check for Updates…" in the status-bar menu and the About tab, plus an opt-in automatic check toggle (off by default).
  • Added: the release pipeline signs the DMG with EdDSA and publishes abctab-appcast.xml, so shipped builds can update themselves.
  • Changed: release bundles embed and sign Sparkle.framework (including its XPC services and Autoupdate), keeping the Universal 2 layout for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
  • Changed: the in-app language choice now also rewrites the system language preference, so switching between English and Chinese applies immediately.
v1.1.0 2026-11-02

The multi-window release: expand an app's window list, jump across Spaces and full-screen windows, and auto-restore minimized ones.

  • Added: multi-window expansion (Advanced settings) — dwell to auto-expand the window list (200–1000 ms, default 400 ms), or toggle it with the ` key / window-count badge; cross-Space and full-screen windows included.
  • Added: switching to an app whose windows are all minimized automatically restores them to the front (enabled by default).
  • Added: full Simplified Chinese and English localization across Settings, the status-bar menu, and the switcher panel.
  • Removed: the experimental middle-mouse long-press trigger and its Input Monitoring permission — the permission list got shorter.
v1.0.1 2026-11-01

Native support for Intel Macs: one installer covering both architectures.

  • Fixed: release bundles now include both Apple Silicon (arm64) and Intel (x86_64) code, so the same DMG runs natively on both types of Mac. macOS 14+ required, unchanged.
v1.0.0 2026-11-01

The first public release of AbcTab: a native app switcher that takes over the system Cmd-Tab.

  • First public release: first-letter & Pinyin jump, repeated-letter MRU cycling, in-panel quick quit, panel scaling, and custom triggers (⌘ / ⌥ / ⌃ Tab). See the AbcTab product page for the full feature set.

Older entries are kept for reference; the download button above always serves the latest version.