Windows vs. windows

Windows with a capital 'W' refers to the Microsoft Windows operating system. Windows with a lowercase 'w' refers to the windows in which you open applications and documents and work with them on the desktop. There are characteristics of windows that are common no matter what you are working on, so if you become comfortable and familiarize yourself with these common elements, you will be able to navigate any Windows application or window.

Both Macintosh and PC have windows (lower case "w"). They are similar and serve the same basic functions. View a Macintosh Window

The following is a graphic of a window. The various parts are explained below.

Title bar - The title bar located at the top of the window contains the name of the application or current document. The title bar also differentiates an active window, the one in which you are currently working on, from an inactive window. Using the mouse, you can move a window by dragging its title bar.

Menu bar - The menu bar appears immediately below the title bar and contains commands for manipulating information in the window. The menu bar is accessed by clicking on a desired command using the mouse. When activated, the menu bar displays a pull-down menu from which you are able to choose from a variety of commands.

Minimize, Maximize and Close Buttons - The minimize and maximize buttons are located in the top right-hand corner of a window. You click the minimize button to minimize the window from view, when it is not currently needed but must remain running. By clicking the maximize button, you enlarge the window to fill the entire screen. The Close Button closes the window.

Close button - You use the close button in the top right-hand corner of a window to close the window with a single mouse click. When you close a window, you also remove its name from the Task Bar

Status bar - The status bar provides useful information about the window. So for any given application, the status bar will look differently and contain information specific to that application or window. For example, in Word, the status bar provides the page of the document you are on, the section, the page number/out of total pages, the line number, etc… So it provides information about your Word document. Furthermore, often when you access a window's Menu bar, a helpful description of the selected command often appears in the status bar.

Scroll bars - When there is more information that can fit in a window at a single time, scroll bars are displayed at the right and/or bottom borders. You use the scroll bars to move around in a window by clicking the arrow heads at either end of the scroll bar or by dragging the scroll box that is located on the scroll bar. If all the information can fit in a window at one time, there will not be any scroll bars.

What is Windows Explorer?