Section 2.10. Sizing, Moving, and Closing Windows: All Versions


2.10. Sizing, Moving, and Closing Windows : All Versions

Any Windows window can cycle among three altered states:

  • Maximized means that the window fills the screen; its edges are glued to the boundaries of your monitor, and you can't see anything behind it. It gets that way when you click its Maximize button (see Figure 2-1)an ideal arrangement when you're surfing the Web or working on a document for hours at a stretch, since the largest possible window means the least possible scrolling. Keyboard shortcut: Press Alt+Space bar, then X.

    At this point, the Maximize button has changed into a Restore Down button (whose icon shows two overlapping squares); click this to return the window to its previous size . Keyboard shortcut: Press Alt+Space bar, then R.


    Tip: Double-clicking the title barthe big, fat top edge of a windowalternates a window between its maximized (full-screen) and restored conditions.
  • When you click a window's Minimize button (Figure 2-1), the window gets out of your way. It shrinks down into the form of a button on your taskbar, at the bottom of the screen. Minimizing a window is a great tactic when you want to see what's in the window behind it.

    You can bring the window back by clicking this taskbar button, which bears the window's name . On Aero machines, this button also displays a handy thumbnail miniature when you point to it without clicking, to remind you of what was in the original window.

    Keyboard shortcut: Press Alt+Space bar, then N.

  • A restored window is neither maximized nor minimized; it's a loose cannon, floating around on your screen as an independent rectangle. Because its edges aren't attached to the walls of your monitor, you can make it any size you like by dragging its borders.

2.10.1. Moving a Window

Moving a window is easyjust drag the big, fat top edge.

Most of the time, you move a window to get it out of the way when you're trying to see what's behind it. However, moving windows around is also handy if you're mov ing or copying data between programs, or moving or copying files between drives or folders, as shown in Figure 2-18.

Figure 2-18. Creating two restored (free-floating) windows is a convenient preparation for copying information between them. Make both windows small and put them side-by-side, scroll if necessary, and then drag some highlighted material from one into the other. This works either with icons in Explorer windows (top) or with text in Microsoft Word (bottom). If you press Ctrl as you drag text in this way, you copy the original passage instead of moving it .


2.10.2. Closing a Window

Microsoft wants to make absolutely sure that you're never without some method of closing a window. Vista offers at least eight ways to do it:

  • Click the Close button (the X in the upper-right corner).


    Tip: Shift-click that button to close all windows that you opened on the way to the frontmost one ( assuming you haven't turned on the uni-window feature described on page 80).
  • Press Alt+F4. (This one's worth memorizing . You'll use it everywhere in Windows.)

  • Double-click the window's upper-left corner, where the Control menu should be (page 59).

  • Single-click the invisible Control menu in the upper-left corner, and then choose Close from the menu.

  • Right-click the window's taskbar button (see page 92), and then choose Close from the shortcut menu.

  • Right-click the window's title bar (top edge), and choose Close from the shortcut menu.

  • In an Explorer window, choose Organize Close.

  • Quit the program you're using, log off, or shut down the PC.

Be careful. In many programs, including Internet Explorer, closing the window also quits the program entirely.


Tip: If you see two X buttons in the upper-right corner of your screen, then you're probably using a program like Microsoft Word. It's what Microsoft calls an MDI, or multiple document interface program. It gives you a window within a window. The outer window represents the application itself; the inner one represents the particular document you're working on.If you want to close one document before working on another, be careful to click the inner Close button. If you click the outer one, you'll exit the entire application.

2.10.3. Layering Windows

When you have multiple windows open on your screen, only one window is active , which means that:

  • It's in the foreground, in front of all other windows.

  • It's the window that "hears" your keystrokes and mouse clicks.

  • Its Close button glows red. (Background windows' Close buttons are transparent.)

As you would assume, clicking a background window brings it to the front.


Tip: And pressing Alt+Esc sends it to the back . Bet you didn't know that one!

And what if it's so far back that you can't even see it? That's where Vista's window-management tools come in; read on.


Tip: For quick access to the desktop, clear the screen by clicking the Desktop button on the Quick Launch toolbarits icon looks like an old desk blotteror just press +D. Pressing that keystroke again brings all the windows back to the screen exactly as they were.



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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