When I have multiple Microsoft Excel windows/workbooks open and try to switch between them using the Excel icon on the Windows taskbar, the taskbar thumbnail preview appears only briefly and then immediately disappears.
Because of this, I cannot select the Excel window/workbook that I want to bring to the foreground.
Steps to reproduce:
Open multiple Excel workbooks/windows.
Work normally in Excel.
Click or hover over the Excel icon in the Windows taskbar to display the open Excel windows.
The thumbnail preview appears.
Almost immediately, the preview closes/disappears before I can select one of the Excel windows.
Interesting workaround / additional observation:
When the problem occurs, if I press the Esc key several times and then click the Excel taskbar icon again, the thumbnail preview remains visible and I can select the desired Excel window normally.
This suggests that there may be a focus issue, an invisible/hidden dialog, or another interaction between Excel and the Windows taskbar/window manager.
The problem makes working with several Excel windows particularly difficult because switching between workbooks using the Windows taskbar becomes unreliable.
Expected behavior:
When clicking or hovering over the Excel taskbar icon, the thumbnail previews of all open Excel windows should remain visible until I select a window or click somewhere else.
Actual behavior:
The preview opens and immediately closes, preventing window selection.
Please investigate whether Excel is incorrectly taking back the focus, whether an invisible Excel window/dialog is receiving focus, or whether there is an interaction problem between Excel and the Windows taskbar thumbnail preview.
I can provide additional information such as Windows version/build, Microsoft 365/Excel version, installed Excel add-ins, display configuration, and a screen recording if required.