Controlling the Size and Shape of Your Windows

Controlling the Size and Shape of Your Windows

Windows enables you to control the size and position of most windows, so you can arrange your open windows to see the information you want to view. A window can be in one of three states:

• Maximized The window takes up the entire screen, with no window borders.

• Minimized All that appears is the window's button on the taskbar.

• Restored (or in a window) The window is displayed with window borders (see Figure 2-1). You can change the height and width of restored windows. Most windows on your screen are restored windows.

Table 2-1 describes how you can manipulate windows.

Table 2-1: Controlling Windows

Action	Description
Move a window	To move a window, click anywhere in the title bar of the window, except for the System Menu button or the buttons at the right end of the title bar. Next , drag-and-drop the window to the place you want it to appear.
Minimize a window	To minimize a window-make a window disappear, leaving nothing but its taskbar button-click the window's Minimize button, the leftmost of the three buttons on the right end of the title bar, or click the window's System Menu button and choose Minimize from the menu.
Minimize all windows	To minimize all the open windows on your screen, right-click a blank area on the taskbar and choose Show The Desktop from the shortcut menu. If the Shows Desktop icon appears on your taskbar (it's on the Quick Launch toolbar, usually right next to the Start button), you can also click this icon to minimize all your windows. (See "What Can Appear on the Taskbar?" in Chapter 11 for a description of the Quick Launch toolbar.) To reverse this command, right-click a blank area on the taskbar and choose Show Open Windows.
Maximize a window	To maximize a window-expand it to cover the whole screen-click the window's Maximize button, the middle button on the right end of the title bar, or click the window's System Menu button and choose Maximize from the menu. When a window is maximized, its Maximize button is replaced by the Restore button, which returns the window to the size it was before you maximized it. Double-clicking a window's title bar switches between maximized and restored. If the window is currently minimized and you want to maximize it, right-click the button on the taskbar for the window and choose Maximize from the menu.
Restore window to previous size	After you maximize a window, you can restore it-return it to its previous size. Click the window's Restore button to restore the window, or click the window's System Menu button and choose Restore from the menu. The Restore button appears (as the middle button on the right end of the title bar) only when the window is maximized. If the window is currently minimized and you want to restore it, click the taskbar button for the window.
Arrange all windows	To see all the windows on your desktop at the same time, you can ask Windows to arrange them tastefully for you. Right-click a blank area of the taskbar and choose one of the following commands from the menu: Cascade Windows Opens all the windows so they overlap, with their upper-left corners cascading from the upper-left corner of the screen, down and to the right Show Windows Stacked Opens all the windows with no overlap, with each window extending the full width of the screen and one window below another Show Windows Side by Side Opens all the windows with no overlap, with each window extending the full height of the screen and one window next to another
Change a window's size and shape	To change a window's height or width, click the border around the window and drag it to the place where you want it. If you click along a top, side, or bottom border, you move one window border. If you click the corner of the window border, you move the borders that intersect at that corner. When your mouse pointer is over a border, it changes to a double-pointed arrow, making it easy to tell when you can start dragging. If a window is minimized or maximized, you can't change its size or shape.
Close a window	Click the Close button (red X) to close a window. This is the same as choosing FilelClose from the window's menu. If the program appears in only one window (the usual situation), closing the window exits from the program, the equivalent of choosing the FilelExit command.

Tip  

Minimize windows when you want to unclutter your desktop without exiting programs.