In Windows XP and Vista, the button automatically appears in the Quick Access Toolbar on the left. To install this panel, you need right click mouse click on empty space taskbar, select the "Toolbar" tab, and then "Quick Launch".
In Windows 7, the Minimize All Windows button always appears in the right corner of the toolbar as an inconspicuous rectangle.
In Windows 8, minimizing windows is disabled by default. To display the “Collapse all windows” icon, you need to right-click in the taskbar area. In the “Taskbar Properties” window that appears, in the “Taskbar” tab, you need to check the last menu item and save the changes by clicking on the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons. In G8, the button for quickly minimizing windows is displayed at the end of the taskbar.
How to install the "Collapse all windows" button after removing it
In Windows 7 and 8, the “Minimize all windows” function is a system one and it is almost impossible to remove it. In XP and Vista versions, the minimize windows button can be easily removed. It often happens that this icon is deleted by users accidentally and cannot be restored. However, there is a way to create it again. To do this, create the following text in Notepad:
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
Command=ToggleDesktop
Other ways to minimize windows
It is possible to minimize all windows using the keyboard or mouse, even if the “Collapse all windows” button is removed. This alternative to minimizing windows is the same for all versions of the Windows operating system.
So, you can use hotkeys. Using the Win+M combination, all windows are minimized, and maximized with the Win + Shift+ M key combination. The Win+D key combination is also used as a “Collapse All Windows” button, with the first press minimizing windows, and the second press maximizing them.
Another option for minimizing windows is to right-click on the taskbar. In the window that appears, you need to select the “Show desktop” command - this will minimize all open windows. To return the windows to the reverse position, right-click again and select the “Show all windows” command from the menu that appears.
Personal computer users often have to use the same operations over and over again. This makes working on the computer longer and takes up a lot of attention. To solve this problem, the “hot keys” function was developed. The essence of this feature is that a person presses just a few keys on the keyboard to invoke certain operations, instead of numerous mouse clicks.
Instructions
Almost all programs have this function. This is very convenient and significantly speeds up your work. This one has the ability to edit these same “hot keys”. Let's look at how this is possible in one of the most popular graphic editors: Adobe Photoshop.
Open this program. At the top of the window is the program menu. Select " ". Select the "keyboard shortcuts" tab from the drop-down menu. A settings window will appear in front of you. Study it carefully. Here you are asked to configure “hot keys” for program menu commands. Double-click with the left mouse button on any of the items. The program menu commands will open in front of you. Select the desired function and click on it. A small field with a blinking cursor will appear on the right. Now you can set any sequential key press on the keyboard, which will launch this function programs. Please note that some hotkeys are already set by the program by default. Go through the entire menu list. Configure this function as you need. After this, save your hotkey settings. Now working in this graphic editor, you will be surprised at how quickly you can perform standard operations that you previously spent a lot of time on.
Video on the topic
With the advent of the graphical interface of the Windows operating system, all applications began to open in separate windows. Each user, as a rule, performs the operations of opening, closing, minimizing and expanding them, without thinking or even paying attention to the fact that he is manipulating windows, and not videos, games, editors, etc. This is because the methods provided for these operations are very simple.
Instructions
Click the icon with a cross located in the upper right corner of the application window - this is the most basic of those provided in graphical interface operating system methods for closing any window.
Use hotkeys, which in all modern versions of Windows OS duplicate the click on the close window icon. By default, this is a combination of the Alt and F4 buttons, although it can be changed using different specialized programs.
Right-click the icon of the open program window on the taskbar to access the context menu, which contains the command you need. It can be formulated differently depending on the version of the operating system installed - for example, in Windows 7 it will be the line “Close window”. You usually have to resort to this option if any problems arise in the operation of the application that do not allow you to use the methods described in the previous steps.
Launch the task manager if the problems with the program are so serious that you cannot close it using the taskbar. To do this, press the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Delete. If you are using the Windows 7 OS version, the manager will not start immediately, but an additional menu will open in full screen, in which you need to select the bottom line - “Start task manager”.
Find the problematic program in the list located on the “Applications” tab, highlight its line and click the “End task” button. The same can be done by right-clicking on this line and selecting in the pop-up context menu an item with the same wording “Cancel task”.
Video on the topic
Hotkeys on your keyboard allow you to use your computer much faster than using just a mouse. Unfortunately, not all users know about these combinations.
Hotkeys make it much faster and more convenient to interact with personal computer. Thanks to them, the user can execute many pre-programmed commands. Of course, it is simply impossible to immediately remember all the available combinations. To begin with, it’s worth remembering just a few of them. It should be noted that each program may use different combinations. As a result, with their help, the user’s efficiency with a personal computer will increase significantly.
Hotkeys for working with text
There are different combinations, for example, to work with text editors. A selected fragment of text can be copied using the combination Ctrl + C, or it can be cut using the command Ctrl + X. In order to select absolutely all the text in the document itself, you can use Ctrl + A. To paste a fragment, use the command Ctrl + V. These Keyboard combinations can also be used to work with files or folders. When selecting the necessary fragments, you just need to press a certain combination, and the result will be visible.
Other types of keyboard shortcuts
Of course, there are other combinations that will significantly speed up the process of working with a personal computer. For example, using the hotkey combination Alt + F4, you can quickly exit the active window. In addition, there are a huge variety of hotkeys using the Win button. This button is located between Ctrl and Alt, on the left side of the keyboard. By pressing the Win key, the user can very quickly open the Start menu and work with it.
Hot keys Win + F1 allow the user to get help about the program or their own system. Win + F - opens a search window. With its help, you can easily find the necessary fragments in the text. The Win + L key combination can lock the user's computer. It is worth using it if, for example, you are at work and do not want any of your employees to find out your confidential information. This same keyboard shortcut will be useful if you have children. Win + D - allows you to minimize absolutely all currently open windows, and when pressed again, open these windows.
On some modern operating systems There may be special key combinations that work only in them. For example, in the operating room Windows system 7 combination Win + Tab, allows you to view all active windows in 3D mode. The Win + P hotkeys in the same operating system will allow you to control the projector from your computer.
Certain key combinations may also be used in various games and applications, but there they will be completely different from the standard ones and have their own meanings.
The need to open a large number of windows at the same time can be caused by several reasons. The most common of them is information search, during which a sequential transition is made from one window to another in an attempt to obtain information that most accurately satisfies the search query. Moreover, if the user for one reason or another does not close the already viewed windows, after some time a large number of open partitions will form on his desktop.
Another possible reason for this situation is simultaneous work with several arrays of information, implying parallel access to each of them. In this case, the presence of several open windows during the period of carrying out this work is a necessity for the user to save time on re-opening each of them at that moment. when the need for the information contained in it arises.
Closing windows
However, at a certain point, the need for the user to keep the viewed windows open disappears. In such a situation, he has two main options to complete his work. The first of them is closing open windows manually by clicking on the “cross” symbol, which is usually located in the upper right corner of any window. However, if the number of open windows is several dozen, this process can be quite labor-intensive and time-consuming.Therefore, the developers software, used in modern computers, created the ability to use so-called “hot keys” - combinations of buttons on the keyboard, pressing which causes certain necessary actions. One of these combinations allows you to close all windows open on the computer desktop at once: to do this, you need to press the Alt key, and then, while holding it, press the F4 key.
Executing this command usually causes a menu to appear prompting the user to confirm their intention to close all open windows, since the system developers assume that the specified combination may be pressed accidentally. If you are confident in your decision, you should confirm it by pressing the appropriate button, after which all windows will be closed.
Sources:
- How to close all windows?
He was a great original... Even the button "Collapse all windows" on his computer was on worker table…
Users who love to “clean up” their Desktop and on Quick Launch Toolbars, often “sweep away” the icon (button) Collapse all windows/Shows Desktop. Removing it is easy, but restoring it is a little more difficult!
IN Windows XP "Collapse all windows"- this is a team Windows Explorer (Windows Explorer Command), for which a kind of shortcut has been created - a file Collapse all windows.scf(extension .scf means Shell Command File). This file (79 bytes) is located in the .
File Contents Collapse all windows.scf:
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
Command=ToggleDesktop
IN Windows Vista icon Collapse all windows present - according to tradition Windows– on Quick Launch Toolbars, but the disadvantage XP not fixed: this file (its disk address is ; size 258 bytes) can be deleted permanently as easily as in Windows XP.
IN Windows Vista Collapse all windows (Shows Desktop) is a file with the contents:
L A FE ’ayay Ђ зчЂ0ЧШЧ Ѕ ”( W) @ % S y s t e m R o o t
% \ s y s t e m 3 2 \ s h e l l 3 2 . d l l , - 1 0 1 1 3 " % S y s t e m R o o t % \ s y s t e m 3 2 \ i m a g e r e s . d l l
At the same time in the file desktop.ini (\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\) there should be lines:
Shows Desktop.lnk=@%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll,-10113
How to recover a file Collapse all windows/Shows Desktop
Right-click on an icon-free surface Desktop;
– from the window that opens, select New –> Text Document;
– the icon of the created document will appear, give it a name Collapse all windows(or Shows Desktop);
– open the document and enter (or simply copy) the following lines
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
Command=ToggleDesktop
– save the file;
– now so that the system “understands” that this file runs the command Collapse all windows, you need to change the file extension from .txt on .scf. This can be done in two ways:
a) run Windows Explorer , by opening any folder, for example, by clicking on the icon My computer. Select menu Tools –> Folder Options…;
· in the dialog box that opens Folder properties open the tab View;
· in scrollable list Additional options uncheck the line Hide extensions for registered file types –> click OK;
· change the extension .txt on .scf;
· A system warning will appear: “After changing the file name extension, the file may no longer be accessible. Are you sure you want to change the extension? Not really";
· authorize the extension change by clicking Yes;
· check the box back Hide extensions for registered file types (My Computer -> Tools -> Folder Options... -> View -> Additional options ): this is necessary so that you do not have any inconvenience in the future with renaming files;
· put the file in a folder \Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch(For Windows XP) or to a folder \Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch(For Windows Vista), and place the label on Desk– on Quick Launch Toolbar;
b) in an open text document Collapse all windows select menu File -> Save As…;
· in the text field File name after the name Collapse all windows add a dot and an extension scf (Collapse all windows.scf);
· on Desktop except for text document Collapse all windows.txt, a characteristic icon appeared Collapse all windows.scf;
· text document Collapse all windows.txt can be deleted;
· icon Collapse all windows.scf put it in a folder \Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch(For Windows XP) or to a folder \Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch(For Windows Vista), and place the label on Desk– on Quick Launch Toolbar.
Notes
1. XP-shny file Collapse all windows works great in Windows Vista And Windows 7 .
2. For the same purposes ( Collapse all windows) you can use hotkeys: logo key Windows (checkbox Microsoft) + English letter key D(Russian letter IN). It's much easier and faster, and always at hand (even if the file Collapse all windows removed)!
Let's imagine a situation where you have many active windows open at the same time. These can be either regular folders or various programs, for example, etc. And now you need something like this (file or folder) on the Desktop. As a result, you minimize all running windows one by one in order to get to the Desktop. In this article I will show you how to quite easily and quickly minimize all windows so that the Desktop opens and everything is minimized.
How to minimize all windows in Windows XP
Windows XP has this wonderful thing called Quick start. This is such an area Taskbars, which contains frequently used programs and utilities.
Note:
If you still don’t have it, then right-click on the free space on Taskbars and check the box as shown in:
As a result, this area will appear next to the Start button with the shortcuts already present (most often).
And one more thing. If you want to add something to the Quick Launch toolbar, simply drag the file shortcut directly onto it.
If everything doesn’t fit, then right-click on the Taskbar again and uncheck Pin the taskbar, then move the Quick Launch slider to the right or left and you can check the box again.
Here we are interested in only one button, clicking on which will minimize all windows:
The taskbar is always displayed, so the area with this button will always be visible and you can click on it at any time and minimize all windows.
How to minimize all windows in Windows 7 and 8
In these operating systems this icon is also present, only it has changed its icon and moved to the very bottom right corner, next to the clock:
In Windows 8, this button even lost its icon, but the functionality remained. Therefore, you can also safely click on this right corner and everything will collapse:
By the way, in Windows 7 you can also create a Quick Launch bar, like in XP. This is described in the article. I don’t know if this method is suitable for Windows 8; I haven’t tested it.
How to minimize all windows in Windows using the keyboard?
This method is relevant for everyone Windows versions and to use it you need to press a hotkey combination Win + D:
When you press these keys again, all windows will again expand in the order in which they were active.
Note:
That's all for now. Thank you for your attention and leave comments.
