Windows 11 - Shift+Left Click to open a new instance of app

[Demotis]

Was the Shift + Left Click shortcut removed from the taskbar?

[#2]

I have the same issue, shift-left click is not working to open a new instance.

Instead i need to use middle mouse or shift+control left click now.

Seems to be related to the windows 11 upgrade but i am not 100% sure, i also recently started using PowerToys and a little tool RBTray.

[#3]

@Wim-G I also found that CTRL+Shift worked to open a new window, but on my PC (and this could be from Power Toys) it runs the new instance as Administrator. Not a bad thing overall, but certainly not the function I would be expecting.

[#4]

Yeap, same thing here. Since update to W11 that functionality is gone. I am not using any other toosl. So I can confirm that it is because of the update. Petty, I hope they will bring it back. That was a very useful thing ...

[#5]

@Demotis, the issue is not in lack of support of this feature - it is still there. What is not the same as it used to be in Windows 10 is a simulation of middle-button mouse clicks by using the combination of LeftShiftKey + LeftMouseButton. If you were using a regular mouse, then the middle-button click on the program's icon on the taskbar would open a new instance/window for you as usual. 
  
It is not very difficult to fix this missing part...

Create a text file with an extension .ahk with the following content:

<+LButton::MButton

Download and install AutoHotkey, and use its utility Convert .ahk to .exe to create a very small ~1.16 MB .exe program (for those who don't want to make this on their own, I am attaching both .ahk and .exe files). Then move this program or a shortcut to this program to your Startup folder (to open that folder press Win+R and enter shell:Common Startup).

If you don't want to restart your Windows yet, execute this program manually for immediate use.

Good luck!

[#6]

Hi @jhulala It seems did not work. I followed step by step your procedure, even though I tried using the executable that you shared us (thanks), and the situation persists.

I have tried open another windows clicking left mouse button and shift button at the same time in the task bar and nothing happens.

T_T

[#7]

@alekzmtz, I am sorry to hear you experienced difficulties with my solution. I have tested it on several computers, and I had no issues at all. Therefore, I suggest you do some troubleshooting: First, check your Windows 11 taskbar tray icons to ensure your AutoHotkey is running. You should see the "H" icon present there, and when you hover over the icon, the name of your AutoHotkey application should appear. Next, please check if the middle-button mouse click simulation is working properly. Online you can find many sites where this test can be performed (e.g., this mouse test). Hold the left Shift and tap/click to see if the tester receives a middle-button mouse click or not. If all works as expected, the problem is somewhere else, and further troubleshooting is necessary. I hope this helps.

[#8]

@jhulala 

That works, but your'e not able to mark files (from / to) in explorer with shift-LClick anymore. It also has a lot of other side-effects in other programs.

[#9]

Yes, @John_BloggsMyUsernam2345, you are correct. My solution is not perfect. It replaces the simultaneous use of the left shift key and left mouse button click with a simulation of the middle mouse button click. Since many other applications use shift+click combination for other uses, my solution disallow such functionality. After publishing my original solution here, I experienced similar issues with one graphic program, where shift+click is used for multi-select. Since I needed that functionality, I decided to change my AutoHotKey script to use right-shift instead.
  

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>+LButton::MButton

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If this alternative solution works for you, feel free to use the attached files.

[#10]

Not cool. Please bring this back. I used this all the time. Hope this is just a bug and not an intentional design change.

Seems a workaround is to use middle click (if you have it).  See this discussion: Bring back the ability to hold Shift + click on pinned icons on Taskbar to open multiple instances -...

[#11]

Please, please, please bring this feature back.  Hopefully it is just an oversight or couldn't quite make the final release.  I know it is the smallest thing, but I use this feature all the time and it is going to be hard to wipe that muscle memory.  It is how I open multiple console windows, I really don't want to be limited to just one.

[#12]

Yep. Same problem. I used this all the time. SHIFT-CTRL click seems to work, but I believe that started up a session with administrator permissions, which is probably not what I want to do.

[#13]

Yay, this was fixed with KB5006746!

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/october-21-2021-kb5006746-os-build-22000-282-preview-03190...

[#14]

@Demotisen mi caso, dejo de funcionar ctrl y shift para seleccionar texto, para copiar, para pegar, para colocar parentesis. numeral. ¿la solucion es volver a win 10

[#15]

Some of my apps won't open from the desktop if I left click them, but rather I need to shift/left click to get them to open.   They used to work but a new update of Win11 has caused the problem.   I cannot roll back to the previous version of  Win11 as in the interim I have had a meltdown of my motherboard and am now opperating with a new motherboard and a fresh install of Win11.    

Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks