Working with Windows

This section describes how to open, close, and manipulate windows in a workspace.

Window Frame Controls

A window's frame provides controls with which you can:

• Focus attention on a window, making it active (indicated by its frame changing color) for input from your mouse or keyboard

• Move a window

• Minimize a window into an icon

• Size a window

• Close a window, removing it from the desktop

• Display a window in other workspaces

Refer to Chapter 9, Customizing the Desktop Environment for information about settings that make windows active.

Figure 1–4 Window Frame Controls

Click the Window menu button to display the Window menu.

To close a window and remove it from the desktop, double-click the Window menu button or display the Window menu and choose Close.

Click the minimize button to turn the window into a window icon. To restore a window from its icon, double-click the icon.

Click the maximize button to display the window in its largest allowable size. Return the window to its former size by clicking the maximize button again.

The title bar shows the name of the application that owns the window. Select a window by clicking its title bar. You can move a window by dragging its title bar.

Drag a window's resize corner or border to resize the window.

For information on keyboard navigation and windows, see Opening and Closing Windows in Appendix A, Keyboard Shortcuts for the Desktop.

To Open an Application Window (Mouse)

• Click the application's control in the Front Panel.

• Or, from within Application Manager, double-click the application's icon.

• Or, from within Application Manager, double-click the application's icon.

• Or, from the Workspace Programs submenu, choose the item with the application name.

You can also select an icon in a File Manager or Application Manager window by clicking it and then choose an action for the selected icon from the Selected menu.

To Open an Application Window (Keyboard)

From the Front Panel:

1. Press Alt+Tab to move the keyboard focus to the Front Panel.

2. Press the arrow keys to move the highlight within the Front Panel and select a control.

3. Press Spacebar or Return to choose the control and open the application's window.

To Close an Application Window

Closing an application window removes it from all workspaces. Closing an application is the same as quitting an application on other systems.

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Caution –

Before closing an application window, save your work. In most applications you can do this by choosing Save from the File menu.

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• Choose Close from the application's File menu.

• Or, double-click the Window menu button (in the upper left corner of the application's window).

• Press Alt+Tab to move the highlight to the window you want to close and press Alt+F4.

To Turn a Window into an Icon (Mouse)

To save screen space, you can minimize windows into window icons. This keeps the windows easily available and programs running in them continue to run.

Click the window's minimize button.

To Turn a Window into an Icon (Keyboard)

1. Press Alt+Spacebar to display the Window menu.

2. Choose Minimize:

• Press Down Arrow until you select Minimize, then press Return.

• Or, press N, the menu's mnemonic for Minimize.

To Restore a Window from an Icon (Mouse)

Double-click the icon.

To Restore a Window from an Icon (Keyboard)

1. With keyboard focus on the icon, press Alt+Spacebar to display the Window menu.

2. Press Down Arrow to select Restore, then press Return.

To Move a Window or Window Icon (Mouse)

1. Point to the window's title bar or icon.

2. Drag the window or icon to its new location.

To Move a Window or Window Icon (Keyboard)

1. Press Alt+Spacebar to display the Window menu.

2. Press M, the menu's mnemonic for Move.

3. Press the arrow keys to relocate the window or icon.

   Hold down Control while you press an arrow key to speed up the movement of the window or icon.

4. When you've moved the window or icon to where you want it, press Return.

To cancel the move operation, press Esc.

To Resize a Window (Mouse)

1. Place the pointer on a window's border or corner.

   The pointer changes to a resize arrow.

2. Drag the border or corner. An outline appears to show you the window's new size.

3. Release the mouse button when the outline shows the window's desired size.

   

To Resize a Window (Keyboard)

1. Press Alt+Spacebar to display the Window menu.

2. Press S, the menu's mnemonic for Size.

3. Press the arrow keys to stretch or shrink the window.

   Hold down Control while you press an arrow key to size the window faster.

4. When the outline shows the size you want, press Return.

   To cancel the resize operation, press Esc.

To Move a Window or Icon to the Foreground or Background (Mouse)

1. Click a visible part of the window's frame or anywhere on the icon.

2. Choose Shuffle Up or Shuffle Down from the Workspace menu.

To Move a Window or Icon to the Foreground or Background (Keyboard)

• To bring the bottom window or icon in a workspace forward, press Alt+Up Arrow.

• To place the top window in the background, press Alt+Down Arrow.

• To cycle through and select the windows and icons in a workspace, press Alt+Tab or Alt+Esc.

• To cycle through and select the windows and icons in reverse order, press Shift+Alt+Tab or Shift+Alt+Esc.

Copying and Pasting Text into Windows

Copying and pasting eliminates the need to retype text.

You can copy from and paste text into:

• Text fields

• Terminal emulator windows

• Text Editor windows

• Mailer Compose windows

You can also copy text from a Mailer message view and a Help Viewer window and paste it into Text Editor, terminal emulator, and Mailer Compose windows.

To Select the Text To Be Copied

1. Move the pointer to the start of the text to be pasted.

2. Drag to the end of the text to be pasted, then release the mouse button, leaving the text highlighted.

To Paste Text

1. Place the text insertion cursor in the target location.

2. Click mouse button 2 to paste the text.

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   Note –

   To deselect text, click in an empty area of the window that has the text selected, or press Esc.

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   For related information, refer to:

   • Chapter 3, Getting Help

   • Chapter 12, Using Text Editor

   • Chapter 14, Using Terminal