Windows
Mac OS makes extensive use of windows for displaying icons and other information in the Finder and documents in other applications. Figures 36 and 37 show two different views of a Finder window.
Figure 36. A Finder window in icon view.
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Figure 37. The same Finder window in list view.
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- The close button closes the window.The minimize button collapses the window to an icon in the Dock.The zoom button toggles the window's size between full size and a custom size.The toolbar displays buttons and controls for working with Finder windows.The title bar displays the window's icon and name.The Search box enables you to search for files using Spotlight.The toolbar hide control toggles the display of the toolbar.The Sidebar , which is customizable, shows commonly accessed volumes and folders, including the default folders in your Home folder.The status bar provides information about items in a window and space available on disk.The size control enables you to set a custom size for the window.Scroll bars scroll the contents of the window.Column headings (in list view only) display the names of the columns and let you quickly sort by a column. (The selected column heading is the column by which the list is sorted.)
Chapter 4 , you can use Finder Preferences to tell Mac OS X to open folders in new windows.I cover the Finder's three window views in Chapter 3 , the toolbar and Sidebar later in this chapter, the status bar in Chapter 4 , and Spotlight in Chapter 5 .
To open a new Finder window
Choose File > New Finder Window (Figure 38 ), or press

Figure 38. Choose New Finder Window from the File menu.

Figure 39. The active window appears atop all other windows and the buttons on the left end of its title bar appear in color.
Chapter 3 .
To open a folder or disk in a new Finder window
Hold down

- Opening folders and disks is explained earlier in this chapter.
To close a window
Click the window's close button (Figures 36 and 37 ).Or Choose File > Close Window (Figure 40 ), or press

Figure 40. Choose Close Window from the File menu ...

To close all open windows
Hold down



Figure 41. ...or hold down
and choose Close All from the File menu.

- The Close Window/Close All commands (Figures 40 and 41 ) are examples of dynamic menu items pressing a modifier key (in this case,

To activate a window
Click anywhere in or on the window.Or Choose the name of the window you want to activate from the Window menu (Figure 42 ).
Figure 42. Choose the name of the window you want to activate from the Window menu.

- Make sure that the window you want to work with is open and active before using commands that work on the active windowsuch as Close Window, Select All, and View menu options.You can distinguish between active and inactive windows by the appearance of their title bars; the buttons on the left end of an active window's title bar are in color (Figure 39 ). In addition, a check mark appears beside the active window's name in the Window menu (Figure 43 ).
Figure 43. A check mark appears beside the active window's name.


To bring all Finder windows to the top
Choose Window > Bring All to Front (Figure 43 ). All open Finder windows that are not minimized are moved in front of any windows opened by other applications.
- Finder windows can be intermingled with other applications' windows. The Bring All to Front command gathers the windows together in the top layers. This command is useful when working with many windows from several different applications.
To move a window
1. | Position the mouse pointer on the window's title bar (Figure 44 ) or border.Figure 44. Position the mouse pointer on the title bar.![]() |
2. | Press the mouse button and drag the window to a new location. As you drag, the window moves along with your mouse pointer (Figure 45 ).Figure 45. As you drag, the window moves.![]() |
3. | When the outline of the window is in the desired position, release the mouse button. |
- As discussed later in this chapter, hiding the toolbar and Sidebar removes window borders. If window borders are not showing, the only way to move a window is to drag its title bar.
To resize a window
1. | Position the mouse pointer on the size control in the lower-right corner of the window (Figure 46 ).Figure 46. Position the mouse pointer on the size control.![]() |
2. | Press the mouse button and drag. As you drag, the size control moves with the mouse pointer, changing the size and shape of the window (Figure 47 ).Figure 47. As you drag, the window's size and shape changes.![]() |
3. | When the window is the desired size, release the mouse button. |
Chapter 3 .
To minimize a window
Click the window's minimize button (Figures 36 and 37 ).Or Choose Window > Minimize (Figure 48 ), or press

Figure 48. The Minimize Window command minimizes the active window.

Figure 49. Minimized windows shrink down into icons in the Dock.

- To minimize all windows, hold down


To redisplay a minimized window
Click the window's icon in the Dock (Figure 49 ).Or Choose the window's name from the Window menu (Figure 50 ).
Figure 50. A diamond beside a window name indicates that the window has been minimized.

To zoom a window
Click the window's zoom button (Figure 1 ).User state size, which is the size you specify with the size control (Figure 47 ).
To scroll a window's contents
Click one of the scroll bar arrows (Figure 51 ) as follows:
- To scroll the window's contents up, click the down arrow on the vertical scroll bar.To scroll the window's contents down, click the up arrow on the vertical scroll bar.To scroll the window's contents to the left, click the right arrow on the horizontal scroll bar.To scroll the window's contents to the right, click the left arrow on the horizontal scroll bar.
Figure 51. Scroll bar components.
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- If you have trouble remembering which scroll arrow to click, think of it this way:
- Click down to see down.Click up to see up.Click right to see right.Click left to see left.