December 29th, 2009

How do I minimize a group of windows in Windows 7 from the taskbar?

The Windows 7 taskbar automatically groups similar windows, and when you right-click on the grouped icon, you may get fancy stuff like a jump list or a task list, but you will also get a very small repertoire of window management options. In particular, the only option that operates on the group is Close all windows. What about the other group options? To get a list of more group window options, hold the shift key when you right-click on the grouped icon. Then you’ll get more options like Cascade and Minimize all windows. Since the contents of the regular right-click pop-up window are dynamic, when you hit “C” for Close all windows, it still waits for you to confirm by hitting Enter. On the other hand, the shift+right-click menu auto-executes Close all windows when you hit the “C” hotkey. Doesn’t save you any more keystrokes (trading an Enter for a shift key), but you do get predictability since the shift+right-click menu is pretty stable.

Bonus tip: To get the System menu for a window, you can right-click on its pop-up thumbnail.

Author

Raymond has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 30 years. In 2003, he began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). He occasionally appears on the Windows Dev Docs Twitter account to tell stories which convey no useful information.

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