This section describes the menus and panel applications that you can use to work with windows and workspaces.
The Window Menu is a menu of commands that you can use to perform actions on your windows. To open the Window Menu perform one of the following actions:
Click on the Window Menu button on the window that you want to work with.
Press Alt + spacebar.
Press-and-hold Alt, then right-click on any part of the window that you want to work with.
Table 4–2 describes the commands and submenus in the Window Menu.
Table 4–2 Window Menu Commands and Submenus
Menu Item |
Function |
---|---|
Minimize |
Minimizes the window. |
Maximize or Unmaximize |
Maximizes the window. If the window is already maximized, choose Unmaximize to restore the window to its previous size. |
On Top |
Places the window above any other open windows on the desktop background. |
Move |
Enables you to use the arrow keys to move the window. |
Resize |
Enables you to use the arrow keys to resize the window. |
Close |
Closes the window. |
Put on All Workspaces or Only on This Workspace |
Puts the window on all of your workspaces. If the window is already on all of your workspaces, choose Only on This Workspace to put the window on the current workspace only. |
Move to Workspace Right or Move to Workspace Left |
Move the window to the workspace to the right of the current workspace. If the window is already in the last workspace at the right of the Workspace Switcher, choose Move to Workspace Left to move the window to the workspace to the left of the current workspace. |
Move to Another Workspace |
Moves the window to another workspace. Select the workspace to which you want to move the window from the submenu. |
The Window List
displays a button for each application window that
is open. You can use the Window List
to perform
the following tasks:
To minimize a window
Click on the button that represents the window.
To restore a minimized window
Click on the button that represents the window.
To give focus to a window
Click on the button that represents the window.
When you open an application window, Window List
displays a button that represents the window. The window list buttons show
which application windows are open. You can view which windows are open even
if some windows are minimized, or other windows overlap a window. Window List
can display buttons for the windows in your current
workspace, or in all workspaces. To select this option, you must change the
preferences of Window List
.
You can also right-click on a window list button to open the Window Menu for the window that the button represents. When you
open the Window Menu from Window List
,
the Window Menu does not contain the workspace commands.
For more information on the Window Menu commands, see Window Menu.
Figure 4–2 shows Window List
when the following windows are open:
gedit
Dictionary
GHex
GNOME Terminal
The buttons in the panel application show the status of your windows. Table 4–3 explains the information that the window list buttons provide about the window. The examples in Table 4–3 refer to Figure 4–2.
Table 4–3 Window Status Information on Window List Buttons
State |
Indicates |
Example |
---|---|---|
Button is pressed in. |
The window has focus. |
gedit |
Square brackets around window title. |
The window is minimized. |
[Dictionary] |
Button is not pressed in, no square brackets around title. |
The window is displayed, and is not minimized. |
ghex |
Numeral on button, in parentheses. |
The button represents a group of buttons. |
Gnome-terminal (3) |
Window List
can group the buttons that represent windows in the same class under one window
list button. The Gnome-terminal button in Figure 4–2
is an example of a button that represents a group of buttons. The following
figure shows an example of Window List
with a button
group open:
To open a list of the windows in a group, click on the window list button that represents the group. You can click on the items in the list to give focus to windows, minimize windows, and restore windows.
To open the Window Menu for a window in a button
group, right-click on the window list button that represents the group. A
list of the windows in the group is displayed. To open the Window
Menu for a window in the group, click on the item in the list. When
you open the Window Menu from the Window List
, the Window Menu does not contain the workspace
commands. For more information on the Window Menu commands,
see Window Menu.
Workspace Switcher
displays a visual representation of your
workspaces, as shown in Figure 4–3. Figure 4–3
shows the Workspace Switcher
when the Java Desktop
System session contains four workspaces. Your workspaces appear as buttons
on the panel application. The background of the button in the Workspace Switcher
that represents the current workspace is
highlighted. The current workspace in Figure 4–3
is the workspace at the left of the panel application. To switch to another
workspace, click on the workspace in the panel application.
Workspace Switcher
also displays the application
windows and dialogs that are open in your workspaces.
The panel application displays the workspaces in order from left to
right across the rows of the panel application. In Figure 4–3,
the panel application is set up to display the workspaces in one row. You
can specify the number of rows in which your workspaces are displayed in Workspace Switcher
. You can also change the default behavior
of the Workspace Switcher
to display the names
of your workspaces in the panel application.
You can view a list of all windows
that are currently open. You can also choose a window to give focus to. To
view the window list, click on the Window Selector
panel application. The following figure shows an example of the Window Selector
panel application:
To give focus to a window, select the window from the Window Selector
panel application.
The Window Selector
lists the windows in
all workspaces. The windows in all workspaces other than the current workspace,
are listed under a separator line.