Working with windows in Windows

It may be stating the obvious, but windows are a fundamental part of Microsoft Windows. Almost everything you do in Windows involves a window of some sort but if all you ever do is open, close and drag them around you’re missing a trick or two.

Windows has a whole host of other ways of working with windows, from clever keyboard shortcuts to crafty menu options. The problem is that Microsoft hasn’t made them that easy to find. Fortunately, we’ve done all the hard work for you in this guide to working with windows in Windows.

As easy as one, two, three
There are essentially three types of windows in Windows. The first are Windows Explorer windows, which show the contents of a disk or folder. Next come application windows, such as those displayed by Microsoft Word and Internet Explorer.

Finally, there are dialogue boxes, designed to show various options for interacting with Windows and its applications. Although their contents differ, these three types of window look and work in much the same way, although cosmetic changes in Windows 7 and Vista may make the similarities harder to spot.

An open window can be moved around the Windows Desktop by left-clicking and dragging its title bar. Similarly, a window can be resized by left-clicking and dragging one of its four sides. However, some windows, and many dialogue boxes, cannot be resized.

All windows also have at least one button at the top-right corner of their title bar with an X symbol – click it and the window closes. With an open dialogue box, this has the same effect as clicking the Cancel button.

With an application, it depends on which X you click. Click the X button for the inner document window and it’s the same as opening the File menu and choosing Close; click the one for the outer application window and it’s the same as choosing Exit from the File menu.

Some windows also have two more buttons at their top-right corner. The first, which looks like an underscore symbol (_), ‘minimises’ a window to a button on the Taskbar.

The second button changes according to the window’s current size. When the window is smaller than the Desktop, it looks like a square and clicking it will ‘maximise’ the window to fill the whole Desktop.

On a maximised window, the button looks like two smaller overlapping squares and this restores the window to its previous size and position.

Keyboard control
So far, so simple, but here’s the first window trick. All windows also have a fourth button on the far-left corner of their title bar. This is only visible when the Windows Classic theme is active, but it’s still there – although invisible – with the default themes in Windows 7, Vista and XP.

If you can see the button, click it to open a menu of window options. It can also be opened with a keyboard shortcut – press the Alt and Spacebar keys together. Most of the menu options duplicate those three buttons we’ve just talked about.

There’s a keyboard shortcut for each, so the keyboard can be used to manage open windows. Alt and Spacebar then N, for instance, minimises the window to the Taskbar. Alt and Spacebar then X maximises, Alt and Spacebar then R restores the window to its previous size while Alt and Spacebar then C closes the window.