XP and Vista: Tile, Cascade, or Minimize Windows

Contributor Icon Contributed by davak Date Icon October 12, 2003  
Tag Icon Tagged: Windows

This recipe descibes the easiest way to tile and cascade windows. The CTRL key can be used to select several windows at once.


Cascading and tiling windows has been around forever. Most people know that right-clicking on the taskbar will open a menu that allows the windows to manipulated. Usually, however, this will change the view of all windows. If you are like me and have 10 windows open at all time, this is not very helpful.

We can use the CTRL key to select just the windows we want.

1. Hold the CTRL key and click each taskbar button corresponding to the windows that you want to manipulate.
– The selected taskbar buttons will be depressed
2. Right-click on one of the selected taskbar buttons which will open a pop-up window
3. Select whenever action you wish.

In XP the options will be the following: title, cascade, or close.

In Vista the options will be the following: cascade, show windows stacked, show windows side by side, minimize group, or close group.

The selected windows and only the selected windows will be affected.


vista_cascade_minimize

Previous recipe | Next recipe |
 
  • Isaac.Eiland-Hall
    <ul id="quote">The selected windows and only the selected windows will be affected.</ul>

    This appears to be only ALMOST true. When I tried it, all of my non-selected windows that had been maximized were restored (i.e. made to be non-maximized).

    VERY minor point; the tip still stands, and I THANK YOU thank you THANK you, `cos I'll be using that a LOT now. :-)
  • Guest
    :D I am going to do this all the time now - Thank You!
  • bensmits
    Unbelievable. I've been using windows for 17 years, and XP since it came out and now Vista for the last year and NOW, AT LAST I know how to do this. I am so sad to find out now.

    Better late than never (I think) ...
blog comments powered by Disqus