Section 2.1. Universal Window Controls: All Versions


2.1. Universal Window Controls: All Versions

There are two categories of windows in Windows :

  • Explorer windows . Windows Explorer is Microsoft's name for the desktop world of folders and icons. It's the home-base program that greets you when you first turn on the PC. When you double-click a folder or disk icon on your desktop, what opens is an Explorer window. This is where you organize your files and programs.

  • Application windows . These are the windows where you do your workin Word or Internet Explorer, for example.

All of these windows have certain parts in common, but as Figure 2-1 shows, a lot has changed since the last version of Windows you probably used. If you're feeling disoriented, firmly grasp a nearby stationary object and read the following breakdown.

Figure 2-1. All windows have the same basic ingredients , making it easy to become an expert in window manipulation. This figure shows an Explorer (desktop) windowa disk or folderbut you'll encounter the same elements in application windows .


Here are the controls that appear on almost every window, whether in an application or Explorer:

  • Title bar . It's really not much of a title bar anymore, since the window's title no longer appears here (Figure 2-1). But this big fat top strip is still a giant handle that you can use to drag a window around.


    Tip: If you double-click the title bar area, you maximize the window, making it expand to fill your entire screen exactly as though you had clicked the Maximize button described below. Double-click the title bar again to restore the window to its original size .
  • Window edges . Now they're fatter, making them easier to grab with your mouse. And on most computers, window edges are also transparent, revealing a slightly blurry image of what's underneath. (That's the Aero cosmetic overhaul at work; see page 22.)

    Truth to tell, being able to see what's underneath the edges of your window ( sort of) doesn't really offer any particular productivity advantage. Sure does look cool, though.

    In any case, you can change the size of a window by dragging any edge except the top. Position your cursor over any border until it turns into a double-headed arrow. Then drag inward or outward to reshape the window. (To resize a full-screen window, click the Restore Down button first.)


    Tip: You can resize a window in both dimensions at once just by dragging one of its corners. Sometimes diagonally striped ribs appear at the lower-right corner, sometimes not; in either case, all four corners work the same way.
  • Minimize, Maximize, [Restore Down] . These three window-control buttons, which appear at the top of every Windows window, are much bigger in Vista than before, which is supposed to make them easier to click. These buttons cycle a window among its three modesminimized, maximized, and restoredas described on page 86.

  • Close button . Click the X button to close the window. Keyboard shortcut: Press Alt+F4.


    Tip: Isn't it cool how the Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons "light up" when your cursor passes over them?Actually, that's not just a gimmick; it's a cue that lets you know when the button is clickable. You might not otherwise realize, for example, that you can close, minimize, or maximize a background window without first bringing it forward. But when the background window's Close box beams bright red, you'll know.
  • Scroll bar . A scroll bar appears on the right side or bottom of the window if the window isn't large enough to show all its contents (as described in the box on page 13).

  • Control menu . Until Windows Vista came along, there was a tiny icon in the upper-left corner of every Explorer window (Figure 2-1). It was actually a menu containing commands for sizing, moving, and closing the window.

    There are three super-weird nuggets of wisdom to impart about the Control icon in Vista. First, it's invisible . There's no icon to let you know it's there. But if you click where it's supposed to be, the menu opens. It's clearly intended for use only by the initiated who pass on the secret from generation to generation.

    Second, one of the Control menu's commands is Move. It turns your cursor into a four-headed arrow; at this point, you can move the window by dragging any part of it, even the middle. (And why bother, since you can always just drag the top edge of a window to move it? Because sometimes, windows get dragged past the top of your screen. You can hit Alt+Space to open the Control menu, type M to trigger the Move command, and then drag any visible part of the window back onto the screen.)

    Finally, it's worth noting that you can open the identical menu by right-clicking anywhere on the title bar.


    Tip: You can double-click the Control menu to close a window.



Windows Vista. The Missing Manual
Windows Vista: The Missing Manual
ISBN: 0596528272
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 284
Authors: David Pogue

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