Fixing Alt+Tab when Switching from Mac to Windows

From time to time the need arises to use a Windows machine and CoRD is my client of choice on the Mac. It speaks the RDP protocol, is fast, and contains some nice tweaks like clipboard synchronization and the ability to connect to multiple machines at once. All in all a great client except for one Achilles heal of an issue – every time I switch back to CoRD with ⌘+Tab the Windows Start Menu is activated.

The makers of CoRD are well aware of the issue, so much so that they include a disclaimer in their FAQ about the problem

This is a side effect of how OS X handles keyboard input, how CoRD interprets it, and how Windows processes what we send it.

Why they haven’t fixed the issue in the application is beyond me – it makes using a Windows machine a total headache. Luckily there is a quick fix for the problem. Using Autohotkey you can disable the Apple (Windows) key from opening the Start Menu. Simply add the following script to your Autohotkey configuration:

~LWin Up:: return
~RWin Up:: return

The fix should work on Windows XP, Vista, and 7.