Minimize / Maximize Windows - Computer Lab

The Minimize, Maximize and/or Close buttons are located in the top right corner of almost every window. Exceptions to this are covered later in the course. Use these buttons to quickly resize a window to fill the entire desktop, to hide a window on the Taskbar or to close the window.

The Minimize, Maximize and/or Close buttons are located in the top right corner of almost every window.

Left Button: Minimize entire application as an icon on the TaskBar at the bottom of the window
Center Button: Minimize or Maximize the window
Right Button: Close the program or window

When the window is maximized, the 'Restore' Button replaces the 'Maximize' Button. When the Window is maximized, the Restore Button has two windows offset inside the Icon. When the Window is not maximized, there is only one window inside the center Restore Icon. Follow these steps to experiment with these buttons:

Click on Start > All Programs > Accessories > Paint.
Open two instances of the Paint program. You should now have two Paint windows open.
Make the first Paint Window active by clicking on its button on the Taskbar or clicking its window. The title bar should be in color.
Click the Maximize Button so the window fills the entire screen. It is a toggle, which means clicking it again will restore it to how it was.

When the window is maximized, the 'Restore' Button replaces the 'Maximize' Button and it's Icon Changes, as described above. When you click the middle button, the window is restored to its original size from where it was first opened. You can manually change the size of the window, and when you click 'Restore', the window reverts to the size you changed it to. You cannot resize a maximized window, so if you try to resize and find you can't, click the middle 'Restore' button, or double click the Title Bar and then resize the window. Sometimes it is at the very edge, or sometimes completely off of the screen!

Click the 'Restore' Button to restore the Paint window. The Restore Button Icon changes
Click the 'Minimize' Button for both open windows. Although this step removes the windows from the desktop, keep in mind that the programs are still running in the computers' memory.
Close the two Paint windows to free up memory on the computer
Click the button on the Taskbar for each open Program, or Right click the Taskbar button and select 'Close'.

When multiple windows are on the desktop, commands or keystrokes only affect the top, or active, window. The title bar of an active window is highlighted in Color, while the title bar of the inactive window is 'grayed out'.

Minimize / Maximize Windows - Basic Classes

In this lesson you will learn:

Maximize and Minimize the Window