Tip 12a (tiplet): More Task switch-y goodness

My last tip covered using Alt + Tab to switch quickly from one running program to another. There was a lot of information to cover, and I really wanted to add more details about how Windows Vista made better (and somewhat more visually spectacular) use of the WinKey + Tab combination. It’s not quite a full tip, so I decided to present is as a special bonus “tiplet” for the weekend.

The combination of WinKey + Tab in Windows XP allowed you to switch between applications in a simple way: the combination changes all application icons on the Task Bar to an unselected state, and each additional press of the Tab key cycles the highlight from left to right. When the application icon you want is highlighted, hit the Enter key and that window will be activated. It’s not as pretty as Alt + Tab, but it is still functional.

Enter Windows Vista Aero

Those of you who spent the extra $60 for Windows Vista Home Premium (and have a supported video card) are bathing in new Vista features. Besides Windows Media Center and other fun features like system backup and restore, you get the sleek and stylin’ new Aero interface. Aside from being just so darn pretty, it has additional features like transparent window borders, live thumbnail previews and Aero Flip 3D.

The new Aero Flip 3D mode is triggered when you hit WinKey + Tab with at least one application running. All open windows are animated into a circular queue of the window contents. Pressing Tab again moves you forward through the list. Pressing Alt + Shift + Tab moves you backwards. The effect is so pretty that it was the first big feature touted by Microsoft when giving sneak peaks of Windows Vista to the public.

Tip 12: Changing windows in the middle of the stream

Once you’ve been working on your computer for more than a few minutes, you no doubt end up with more than one window open. Many people I observe working with Windows instinctively grab for the mouse when they need to switch from one running application to another, not realizing there are other ways of accomplishing the same goal by using the keyboard.

Let’s say earlier you were reading this tip, and without closing the browser window, you launched Notepad (our favorite demo program).  So you have feverishly been typing away when you suddenly have the urge to switch back here to Dingo Tips and continue reading. You could grab for that mouse, but that’s a lot of work when your hands are already on the keyboard.  So of course, there’s an easier way: press Alt + Tab. That simple keystroke combo switches you back to the last window you were using (Notepad) where you can resume writing your poetry, memoirs or whatever you were doing before.

So you’re an über-multi-tasker? No problemo.

So what happens when you have more than two windows open? You may have noticed when you pressed Alt + Tab that a temporary window opened up in the middle of your screen.  If you hold the Alt key down and keep holding it after you press the Tab key, notice the results:

Tip 11: Live green, recycle

A part of Windows since the beginning, the Recycle Bin is another element that has undergone few changes over the years.  It’s one of those great features that prevent us from shooting ourselves in the foot.  Files that are deleted are not really gone forever.

To start on the same page, take a moment to find your Recycle Bin icon.  It’s on the “Desktop” (we’ll discuss the Desktop more in detail in the future, but in a nutshell, it’s the background of your screen including the Task Bar at the bottom).

The Recycle Bin icon looks like a trash can.  The exact picture depends on which version of Windows you are running. In Windows XP (left icon, above), it is installed in the bottom right corner of the Desktop.  In Windows Vista and Windows 7 (right icon, above), it is installed in the top left corner.

Tip 10: Of mice and carats

One of the requirements of Windows and windowed operating systems is the need to point, click, grab and move things around the desktop. The “mouse” was introduced in the mid-80’s with the forerunner to Apple’s Macintosh line of computers: the Apple “Lisa.” That early pre-Mac business-targeted system didn’t really stand a chance in the 80’s consumer marketplace, partly because it was so innovative, but also for its price tag: at $9,995 in 1984, few companies could afford a Lisa.

The mouse began its existence looking much like the familiar object we use daily.  A simple rubber ball inside a small plastic box did the trick. Dragging it around the mouse pad was easy, and mousing quickly became an intuitive means for interacting with the computer.

The original mouse sported a single mouse button.  As the PC mouse evolved, we added a second button and then even later a third in the middle.  They became more ergonomic, getting rid of the blocky feel.  Eventually the third button morphed into the “mouse wheel” that is common to most pointing devices these days. The trackball I use has five buttons, the fourth and fifth of which can be configured to do my bidding.

Tip 9: Rock the Task Bar

In the past I’ve made references to the fabled “Task Bar”—it’s another one of those things that been around since Windows 95, but most folks don’t give it a second glance.  It’s just there, and most of the time it does its job quietly in the background.  So let’s take a closer look at the Task Bar and what it can do for you.

As with most core controls like scroll bars, window frames and such, the look of the Task Bar has changed over the years, but the components are for the most part the same.  Consider the next images.  All three current versions of Windows have the same root elements.

Pictured above are taskbars for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.  Perhaps the most radical change has come with Windows 7.

Tip 8: Shift gears, Control yourself, seek Alt(ernatives)

There are three keys (six if you include duplicates) that are common to all 104/105 keyboards.  And considering how often they are used, now seems like a good time to discuss them.

The Shift, Control and Alt keys are located in pairs on both sides of the keyboard.  Many notebook computers only have one of each of these keys.  Take a look at your own keyboard and locate these keys now.

Shift into gear

The modifier key that should be most familiar to anyone who used a typewriter (before they were reclassified as “antique remnants of yesteryear”) is the Shift key.  As it has always done, the shift key allows you to type capital letters and special characters.  When you press the key marked “A”, you’ll get a lower case “a” in your window.  To type a capital A, you press and hold the shift key, hit the A key and release the shift key.  Similarly, to get an ampersand character (&), you would hold down shift and press the key with “7” on the lower part and “&” on the upper row.

Tip 7: When window size matters

One of the things that is very different from one computer to another is how big the display is.  As such, every Windows user has the ability to customize their computer to show windows and text at the size that is easiest for them to read.  I’ve seen folks with small monitors, large text and relatively small windows, and I’ve seen others with very large monitors with small windows.  The choice is up to the user.

But how do you change the size of a window?  And while we’re at it, what are those two buttons in the top right of my window (the one that looks like an underscore (“_”) and the one that looks like a little square)?  Let’s take a look.

Window size is a drag away

If you’ve been following this column, you’ll have recognized that a common gesture we do with the mouse is to drag things around the screen and drop them where we want them.  As a definition, a drag gesture consists of moving the mouse pointer to the item to be dragged, clicking the primary mouse button (usually the left one), holding it down and moving the mouse until the thing being dragged is in the correct location.  Letting go of the button is the drop.

Tip 6: What’s in a window?

In the olden days, we used to sit at dumb terminals and enter data in the single supported format: 80 characters per line, 24 lines per screen, available in either beautiful green or brilliant amber with a nice soft black background.  We could only run one program at a time.  Life was dull.

When windowed operating systems like Windows and Apple’s original windowed OS, we could finally run more than one program at the same time.  This was truly a world changing concept, as we were suddenly able to do more work on a single computer screen.  And we could change the colors too.

Things have changed quite a bit since the early days of windowed operating systems.  But the basic nature of a “window” hasn’t changed much at all.  The look and design may be different, but the manner in which we interact with a window has not really changed much.

Tip 5: Let’s have a dialog

Often when you are working in Windows, the program you are running will prompt you for information by popping up a little window.  These usually have an OK button and a Cancel button in the bottom right corner.  This prompt window is called a Dialog Box. A dialog box is used when a program needs to ask the user for information, or in other words, when the program wants to have a dialog with the user.

In dialog boxes, there is generally a “default” button, that is, a button that will be clicked if the “Enter” key on the keyboard is pressed.  The default button is set by the program to execute the most likely action.  The default button will change if you use the Tab key to change which control is currently selected.  Only one button in a window can be the default button.

Remembering back to our WinKey shortcuts, one of the handier shortcuts is WinKey + R, which opens the Run dialog window.  In Windows Vista and Windows 7, the default button is tinted with the highlight color (and it pulses the highlight color…except within browsers):