Jan's Working with Windows:

Step-by-Step: Control the Window

Start with: Control Panel open

Minimize, Maximize, & Restore the Window

1. If necessary, open the Control Panel again.
   [Start menu > Settings > Control Panel or Start > Control Panel or (Win8) Start screen > type control panel and press Enter]
2. Click on the Minimize button on the right of the Title bar on the Control Panel window.
   Where does the Control Panel go? It is minimized to an button on the Taskbar.
   
3.  Click on  the Taskbar button for the Control Panel 
   .
   The window pops back into view on the desktop as the active window. The color of the Title bar is different when a window is inactive. A good color scheme will make the difference obvious.
   
4. Click on the Maximize button on the right of the Title bar.
   Wow! The window now takes up the whole desktop. Notice that the Maximize button has changed to the Restore button .

   

5. Click on the Restore button on the right of the Title bar.
   Your Control Panel reverts to its previous size. Tada!

Move the Window: Mouse

1. Drag the Title bar, using a spot that is not on a button or the control icon on the left.
   This moves the whole window to a new spot on the desktop. Simple.
2. Win7, Win8, Win8.1:
   Experiment: Docking a window

   • Dock: Drag the window to the top, left, or right edge of the screen and hover briefly there.
     The window will dock to that edge and resize. At the top edge, the window maximizes. At the left or right edge, the window resizes to take up half the screen.
   • Undock: Drag by the title bar or use the key combo:
     Windows key (, , or ) + an arrow key for the direction you want to move the window.

Move the Window: Keyboard

In some situations, the Title bar can get moved out of sight off screen. To get it back, you need a keyboard method, which could be used at other times if you prefer it.

1. Hold down the ALT  key and at the same time press the spacebar (ALT + space) to open the control menu from the Title bar icon.

   Using this method the menu will appear even when the Title bar itself is not visible.
    
   Vista and Win7 do not show an icon at the left of the Title bar for the Control Panel window or for Computer/Explorer windows. The control menu is still there! You can right click anywhere on the bar that is not a button.

2. Press the key for the letter M.
   The pointer changes to the Move shape.
   
3. Use the arrow keys to move the window once your pointer has  the Move shape. 
   Do not move or click the mouse at this point or you will lose your Move pointer.
   
4. Press the ENTER key to fix the window in place.

Change Window Size

To resize a window is an easy dragging job. You already worked with the Vertical Resize when you resized the Taskbar. You will add two other directions to your skills list.

When a window can be resized: When a window has three diagonal lines in the corner (even if they are hard to see!), it can be resized. Some windows don't show the diagonal lines but can be resized anyway. Oh, for some consistency!

1. Move the pointer to the top or bottom edge of the Control Panel window until the pointer changes to the Vertical Resize shape.
   
2. Drag the edge to make the window taller.
   Release the mouse button and move the pointer off the window edge.
   
3. Move the pointer to the left or right edge of the Control Panel window until the pointer changes to the Horizontal Resize shape.
   
4. Drag the edge to make the window wider.
   Release the mouse button and move the pointer off the window edge.
   
5. Move the pointer to a corner of the window until the pointer changes to or the Diagonal Resize shapes.
   
6. Drag to resize the window in two directions at once.
   Convenient!
7. Experiment: Change size of window using keys
   • Click the Control Panel icon at the top left of the window.
     A menu appears.
   • Click on the Size command
     The pointer turns into the Move shape and is in the middle of the window.
   • Press an arrow key.
     The mouse pointer pops the pointer over to the edge of the window in that direction.
   • Press the arrow key again.
     The window size changes in direction of the arrow.
     A pretty cool trick!!
   • Press the ENTER key to exit the Size mode.
8. Click the Close button on the Title bar to close the Control Panel.