Acess the desltop or taskbar during gameplay?

[TLF]

Is there a way to access the desktop or taskbar while the game is running?

Sometimes, a lot of times, I want to look at a full tech-tree to make decisions.
I don't want to have to always exit the game for that.

[cap601]

Alt+Tab or Crtl+Esc or the windows key will do the trick - pick your favourite.