that page.
Program windows work the same way. When you have multiple program windows open, you can see only the one that's on the top of the stack. The program that's on the top of the stack is the active window.
NOTE
Some programs have an option called “Always on Top” that makes them display on top of the stack even when they aren't active. So, a program could be active but not necessarily on top of the stack. For the purposes of this chapter, however, assume that the active window is always the one on top of the stack.
When two or more program windows are open on the desktop, only one of them can be the active window. The active window has some unique characteristics:
● The active window is usually on the top of the stack. Any other open windows will be under the active window so that they don't cover any of its content. The exception is a window configured for Always on Top, as described in the preceding Note.
● The taskbar button for the active window is highlighted with a brighter foreground color.
● The title bar for the active window is a different color from the inactive ones.
● Anything you do at the keyboard applies to the active window only. You can't type in an inactive window.
When you have two or more programs open at the same time, you want to be able to switch among them easily. You have several ways to switch among open programs, as discussed in the sections that follow.
NOTE
The taskbar shows a miniature version of the window by default. Pointing to a taskbar button reveals a tooltip with the name of the window or program. You can set the size of the icons used by the taskbar through the properties for the taskbar. See Chapter 10 to learn how to set taskbar properties.
As mentioned, almost every open program has a button on the taskbar. When you have multiple open programs, you have multiple taskbar buttons. To make a particular program active, click its taskbar button. If you're not sure which button is which, point at each button. You see the name and a miniature copy of the program that the button represents, as in Figure 3.9. You also see a full-size preview of the window.
TIP
If any part of the window you want to bring to the top of the stack is visible on the screen, you can click that visible part of the window to bring the window to the top of the stack.
Figure 3.9 Pointing to a taskbar button.
If you prefer the keyboard to the mouse, you can use Alt+Tab to switch among open windows. Hold down the Alt key and then press the Tab key. You see a thumbnail image for each open program window, as in the example shown in Figure 3.10. Keep the Alt key pressed down and keep pressing Tab until the name of the program you want to switch to appears above the icons. Then release the Alt key.
TIP
The Tab key is usually just to the left of the letter Q on the keyboard.
Figure 3.10 Alt+Tab window.
You can also use Windows+Tab to switch between running apps. Pressing this key combination or clicking on the Task View button on the taskbar opens the task view, where you can click or tap the app you want to make active.
You can use options on the taskbar shortcut menu to arrange all currently open program windows. To get to that menu, right-click an empty area of the taskbar, or right-click the clock in the lower-right corner of the screen. Figure 3.11 shows the options on the menu.
Figure 3.11 Taskbar shortcut menu.
The four options that apply to program windows on the desktop are similar to the options you get when you right-click a taskbar button that represents multiple instances of one program:
● Cascade Windows: Stacks all the open windows like sheets of paper, fanned out so that all their title bars are visible, as in Figure 3.12.
● Show Windows Stacked: Arranges the windows in rows across the screen, or as equal-sized tiles.
● Show Windows Side by Side: Arranges the windows side by side. As with the preceding option, if you have too many open windows to show that way, they're displayed in equal-sized tiles.
● Show the Desktop: Minimizes all open windows so that only their taskbar buttons are visible. You can see the entire desktop at that point. To bring any window back onto the screen, click its taskbar button. To bring them all back, right-click the clock or taskbar again and choose Show Open Windows.
Figure 3.12 Cascaded program windows.
The best way to understand these options is to try them out for yourself. Open two or more programs. Then try each of the options described to see the effect on your open program windows.
As a rule, program windows can be any size you want them to be, but this rule has a few exceptions. For example, the tiny Calculator program can't be sized at all. Some programs shrink down only so far. But in general, most open program windows can appear in three sizes:
● Maximized, in which the program fills the entire screen above the taskbar, covering the desktop.
● Minimized, in which only the program's taskbar button is visible, and the program window takes up no space on the desktop.
● Any size in between those two extremes.
Often, you want to work with two or more program windows at a time. Knowing how to size program windows is a critical skill because working with multiple program windows is difficult if you can't see at least a part of each one.
A maximized program window enlarges to its greatest window size, which in many cases causes it to fill all the space above the taskbar. This makes it easy to see everything inside the program window. If a program window isn't already maximized, you can maximize it in several ways:
● Click the Maximize button in the program's title bar (see Figure 3.14).
● Grab the title bar and move the window to the top of the screen. Pause for a moment and then release the mouse button.
● Double-click the program's title bar.
● Click the upper-left corner of the window you want to maximize and choose Maximize. Optionally, right-click anywhere near the center top of the window and choose Maximize.
TIP
Few buttons on the screen show their name. But you can find out a button's name just by touching the button with the tip of the mouse pointer to display a tooltip.