PARTS OF A WINDOW

Parts of a window

Although the contents of every window are different, all windows share some things in common.
For one thing, windows always appear on the desktop—the main work area of your screen. In addition,
most windows have the same basic parts:

• Title bar. Displays the name of the document and program (or the folder name if you're working
• in a folder).
• Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons. These buttons hide the window, enlarge it to fill the
• whole screen, and close it, respectively (more details on these shortly).
• Menu bar. Contains items that you can click to make choices in a program. Scroll bar. Lets you
• scroll the contents of the window to see information that is currently out of view.
• Borders and corners. You can drag these with your mouse pointer to change the size of the window.

Other windows might have additional buttons, boxes, or bars. But they'll usually have the basic parts, too.

Using menus, buttons, bars, and boxes

Menus, buttons, scroll bars, and check boxes are examples of controls that you operate with your mouse
or keyboard. These controls allow you to select commands, change settings, or work with windows.
This section describes how to recognize and use controls that you'll encounter frequently while using
Windows.

Using menus

Most programs contain dozens or even hundreds of commands (actions) that you use to work the
program. Many of these commands are organized under menus. Like a restaurant menu, a program
menu shows you a list of choices. To keep the screen uncluttered, menus are hidden until you click
their titles in the menu bar, located just underneath the title bar. For example, clicking "Image" in Paint's
menu bar displays the Image menu:

To choose one of the commands listed in a menu, click it. Sometimes a dialog box appears, in which you
can select further options. If a command is unavailable and cannot be clicked, it is shown in gray, like the
Crop command in the picture.Some menu items are not commands at all. Instead, they open other menus.
In the following picture, pointing to "Zoom" opens a submenu. Pointing to "Custom" in the submenu would
open yet another submenu.

A small windows that contains options for completing a task.  For example, the first time you save a file,
a dialog box appears with options for naming the file and choosing which folder to save it in.

If you don't see the command you want, try looking at another menu. Move your mouse pointer along
the menu bar and its menus open automatically; you don't need to click the menu bar again. To close a
menu without selecting any commands, click the menu bar or any other part of the window.

Recognizing menus isn't always easy, because not all menu controls look alike or even appear on a menu
bar. So how can you spot them? When you see an arrow next to a word or picture, you're probably
looking at a menu control. Here are some examples:

Tips

• If a keyboard shortcut is available for a command, it is shown next to the command.

• You can operate menus using your keyboard instead of your mouse.

Using scroll bars

When a document, webpage, or picture exceeds the size of its window, scroll bars appear to allow you
to see the information that is currently out of view. The following picture shows the parts of a scroll bar.

To operate a scroll bar:

• Click the up or down scroll arrows to scroll the window's contents up or down in small steps.
• Hold down the mouse button to scroll continuously.
• Click an empty area of a scroll bar above or below the scroll box to scroll up or down one page.
• Drag a scroll box up, down, left, or right to scroll the window in that direction.

Tip

• If your mouse has a scroll wheel, you can use it to scroll through documents and webpages.
• To scroll down, roll the wheel backward (toward you). To scroll up, roll the wheel forward
• (away from you).

Using command buttons

A command button performs a command (makes something happen) when you click it. You'll most often
see them in dialog boxes, which are small windows that contain options for completing a task. For
example, if you close a Paint picture without saving it first, you might see a dialog box like this:

To close the picture, you must first click either the Yes or No button. Clicking Yes saves the picture and
any changes you've made, and clicking No deletes the picture and discards any changes you've made.
Clicking Cancel dismisses the dialog box and returns you to the program.

Tip

• Pressing ENTER does the same thing as clicking a command button that is selected (outlined).

Outside of dialog boxes, command buttons vary in appearance, so it's sometimes difficult to know what's
a button and what isn't. For example, command buttons often appear as small icons (pictures) without
any text or rectangular frame. The picture below shows a variety of command buttons:

The most reliable way to determine if something is a command button is to rest your pointer on it. If it
"lights up" and becomes framed with a rectangle, you've discovered a button. Most buttons will also
display some text about their function when you point to them:

If a button changes into two parts when you point to it, you've discovered a split button. Clicking the
main part of the button performs a command, whereas clicking the arrow opens a menu with more
options.

Using option buttons

Option buttons allow you to make one choice among two or more options. They frequently appear in
dialog boxes. The picture below shows three option buttons. The "Flip vertical" option is selected.

To select an option, click one of the buttons. Only one option can be selected.

Using check boxes

Check boxes allow you to select one or more independent options. Unlike option buttons, which
restrict you to one choice, check boxes allow you to choose multiple options at the same time.

To operate check boxes:

• Click an empty square to select or "turn on" that option. A check mark will appear in the square,
• indicating that the option is selected.
• To turn off an option, clear (remove) its check mark by clicking it.
• Options that currently can't be selected or cleared are shown in gray.

Using sliders

A slider lets you adjust a setting along a range of values. It looks like this:

A slider along the bar shows the currently selected value. In the example shown above, the slider is
positioned midway between Slow and Fast, indicating a medium pointer speed.

To operate a slider, drag the slider toward the value that you want.

Using text boxes

A text box allows you to type information, such as a search term or password. The picture below shows
a dialog box containing a text box. We've entered "bear" into the text box.

A blinking vertical line called the cursor indicates where text that you type will appear. In the example,
you can see the cursor after the "r" in "bear." You can easily move the cursor by clicking the new
position. For example, to add a word before "bear," you would first move the cursor by clicking before
the "b."

If you don't see a cursor in the text box, it means the text box isn't ready for your input. Click the box
first, and then start typing.

Text boxes that require you to enter a password will usually hide your password as you type it, in case
someone else is looking at your screen.

Using drop-down lists

Drop-down lists are similar to menus. Instead of clicking a command, though, you choose an option.
When closed, a drop-down list shows only the currently selected option. The other available options are
hidden until you click the control, as shown below:

To open a drop-down list, click it. To choose an option from the list, click the option.

Using list boxes

A list box displays a list of options that you can choose from. Unlike a drop-down list, some or all of the
options are visible without having to open the list.

To choose an option from the list, click it. If the option you want isn't visible, use the scroll bar to scroll
the list up or down. If the list box has a text box above it, you can type the name or
value of the option instead.

Using tabs

In some dialog boxes, options are divided into two or more tabs. Only one tab, or set of options, can be
viewed at a time.

The currently selected tab appears in front of the other tabs. To switch to a different tab, click the tab.

Moving a window

To move a window, point to its title bar with the mouse pointer. Then drag the window to the location
that you want. (Dragging means pointing to an item, holding down the mouse button, moving the item
with the pointer, and then releasing the mouse button.)

Changing the size of a window

• To make a window fill the entire screen, click its Maximize button or double-click the window's
• title bar.
• To return a maximized window to its former size, click its Restore button (this appears in place of
• the Maximize button). Or, double-click the window's title bar.
• To resize a window (make it smaller or bigger), point to any of the window's borders or corners.
• When the mouse pointer changes to a two-headed arrow (see picture below), drag the border or
• corner to shrink or enlarge the window.

• A window that is maximized cannot be resized. You must restore it to its previous size first.

Note

• Although most windows can be maximized and resized, there are some windows that are fixed in
• size, such as dialog boxes.
• 
  

Hiding a window

Hiding a window is called minimizing it. If you want to get a window out of the way temporarily without
closing it, minimize it.To minimize a window, click its Minimize button. The window disappears from the
desktop and is visible only as a button on the taskbar, the long horizontal bar at the bottom of your screen.

To make a minimized window appear again on the desktop, click its taskbar button. The window appears
exactly as it did before you minimized it. For more information about the taskbar, see The taskbar
(overview).

Arranging windows automatically

Now that you know how to move and resize windows, you can arrange them however you like on your
. You can also have Windows automatically arrange them in one of three ways: cascading, vertically stacked,
or side by side.

To choose one of these options, right-click an empty area of the taskbar, then click Cascade Windows,
Show Windows Stacked, or Show Windows Side by Side.

Dialog boxes

A dialog box is a special type of window that asks you a question, allows you to select options to
perform a task,
or provides you with information. You'll often see dialog boxes when a program or Windows needs a
response from you to continue.

Closing a window

Closing a window removes it from the desktop and taskbar. If you're done with a program or document
and don't need to return to it right away, close it.

To close a window, click its Close button.

Note

• If you close a document without saving any changes you made, a message appears that gives you the
• option to save your changes.