How to collapse everything with one button. Collapse all windows hotkeys
You might not know, but any action in the Windows operating system that you do with the mouse can also be performed using. In particular, you can minimize windows using the keyboard, and there are even several ways to do this.
The easiest and most popular way to minimize a window using the keyboard is the Windows-M key combination. This key combination minimizes all currently open windows to the taskbar. In this case, folding occurs smoothly, with animation displayed. The Windows-M key combination works with both the left Windows button and the right one, but it is more convenient to use it with the right Windows button, as it is shown in the picture below.
To cancel this action, that is, to maximize minimized windows, you can use the key combination Windows-Shift-M.
Minimizing windows using Windows-D
The second way to minimize a window using the keyboard is to use the Windows key combination-D. This key combination also minimizes all open windows, but unlike the previous method, it does this instantly, without displaying animation. This method is suitable if you need to quickly minimize all windows and go to the desktop.
This method has one feature: it works in both directions. So the Windows key combination-D can be used both to minimize all windows, and to expand them back if they are minimized.
Minimizing windows using Alt-Space
If you only need to minimize one window, you can use the Windows key and Down Arrow combination to do this. On the first press, this combination resizes the window, and on the second, it minimizes the window to the taskbar.
You can also use the Alt-Space combination to minimize one window. This key combination opens a small menu, which is located in the upper left corner of any window.
There are several actions available that you can perform with this window:
- Restore;
- Move;
- Resize;
- Collapse;
- Expand;
- Close;
If you need to minimize the window, then in this menu you need to select the “Minimize” option using the arrow keys and pressing Enter.
Other useful keyboard shortcuts
Windows also has other useful key combinations that allow you to manage windows. We present some of them in the table below.
| Alt-Tab | Switch between windows. Allows you to change the active window without using the mouse. |
| Win-Tab | Switching between virtual desktops. Works only on Windows 10. |
| Alt-F4 | Closing the program. Allows you to close the active window or turn off the computer if all windows are already closed. |
| Ctrl-R or F5 | Update information in the active window. |
| Windows | Opens the Start menu. Allows you to exit full screen mode back to the desktop. |
| Windows-Home | Minimize all windows except the window that is currently active. |
| Ctrl-Tab | Move to the next tab in the same window. |
| Ctrl + Shift + Tab | Move to the previous tab in the same window. |
It should be noted that all the combinations described in the article were tested on Windows 10 and may not work or work differently in older versions of Windows.
Applications and folders on your computer open in windows. There are several standard commands for them: collapse, expand, close and move. If you use the keyboard more often when working on your computer, or if there is a situation where the mouse does not work, you will need to know how to minimize a window using the keys. There are several ways to do this.
Instructions
If you have several windows open at the same time, minimizing them individually is a tedious task. To quickly get to the desktop you need to minimize all windows in Windows 7, 8, XP on the keyboard using hot keys or a special button or shortcut.
Many users are not aware that Microsoft has already taken care of this problem for a long time. When working with a PC, a lot of programs or system elements are running, for example: Explorer, browsers, office and much more. All of them are open in a separate window, so you can get to the new shortcut, it’s easier to know the keyboard shortcuts or where the “minimize all windows” button is.
Hotkeys for minimizing open windows in Windows
Using the keyboard in this situation is the most effective way. Of course, you won’t get used to it right away, but after several uses. You need to remember these keyboard shortcuts:
1. First hold down Win(), then press D to minimize all windows. In this case, all open windows are minimized to the taskbar. Next, do your actions, then press the same combination to maximize windows.
2. There is an alternative option, maybe it will be preferable for someone. Press Win + M to minimize all windows. But to restore you will have to use three fingers and hold down Win + Shift + M.
3. Maybe it will be useful for someone, there is a feature to minimize all windows except the active one. Use the Win + Home hotkey.
4. If you need to get to a specific window, then use Alt + Space + C to minimize one active window at a time until you get to the desired one.
There are a colossal number of key operations for working with windows. We have reviewed the main and useful ones, I hope this will be useful to you.
Collapse with the mouse
If you are against using hotkeys, then use the mouse. You need to click on the “collapse all windows” button. In Windows 7 and 8, it is located in the lower right corner near the tray and has the shape of an empty rectangle.
When you hover over the button, all windows become transparent if the Aero Peak option is enabled. When you click, all windows will be minimized to Windows 7, when you click again, vice versa.
If the taskbar space is not occupied, then right-click in this area and select “show desktop”, and accordingly, “show all windows”.
In Windows XP there is no such button in the tray; there a shortcut performs this function. It's located on the Quick Access Toolbar next to the Start button.
If you don't see the "minimize all windows" shortcut in Windows XP, then place it on your taskbar:
1. Right-click on an empty space on the taskbar, hover (the cursor) the arrow over the toolbar and check the Quick Access Toolbar.
2. If with this approach there is no shortcut, then you need to make one and place it on the taskbar:
- Create a document of type (.txt).
- Write the lines in it:
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
Command=ToggleDesktop - Click “file” -> “save as” and name it “minimize all windows”; in the name after the dot, replace txt with scf.
- Specify the path, I recommend desktop, and click “save”.
The next step is to pin the shortcut to the taskbar. Drag it to the Quick Access Toolbar area by holding down the left button. If the shortcut does not appear, click on the double arrow and select it.
It’s not a difficult task to minimize all windows in Windows 7, 8, XP using hot keys, a button or a shortcut. If you are not fluent with a keyboard, use a mouse.
Do you have too many open windows on your desktop? Do you want to quickly jump between them or, for example, expand one and collapse the other? Or maybe you just want to focus and expand the window to full screen? For each of these actions there are hotkeys, which, for some reason, are not actively used. Meanwhile, they help very well in work. Here are some keyboard shortcuts you can use to manage windows and save time.
1.Switching between windows of the active application – Command+’
You switch between applications using the Command+Tab combination, right? The proposed combination is the same, only inside the active application. This is much faster than right-clicking an application shortcut to find the window you need.
So that no one has any questions, the second key from this combination is the same tilde, usually located above the “1” key on a standard keyboard.
2.Minimize the current window – Command+M
Want to get rid of the current window without closing it? Just press Command+M and the window will collapse into the Dock, where you'll find it whenever you decide to return to it.
3.Maximize the current window
Tired of clicking the green button in the corner of the window to expand it to full screen? This can be done using a keyboard shortcut, although you will have to configure it yourself - it is not there by default.
- Open System Preferences
- Select the Keyboard menu
- In this menu, go to the “Keyboard Shortcuts” tab
- In the left column, select "Program shortcuts" and click "+"
- In the “Menu Name” field, enter “Zoom”, and in the “Keyboard Shortcut” field, enter a keyboard shortcut that is convenient for you, for example Command+=
4.Hide other applications – Command+Option+H
If, in addition to the current application, you have a bunch of windows open and you want to quickly eliminate this mess, then the best solution is to press Command+Option+H. As a result, you will remain in the current program window, and all other applications will be minimized and will no longer interfere with your life and work.
5.Enter full screen mode – Command+Power
If you want to focus on the current task, say, while working in a text editor, then maximize the window to full screen. To do this, press Command+Power and there will be nothing on the screen except the current application. To reverse the action, press the same key combination again. If this option does not work for you, then from the previous paragraph you already know how to make it work.
6.Close the current window – Command+W
This keyboard shortcut has been around in OS X since the early days of the system, but I still meet people who have never heard of it. One way or another, pressing these hotkeys closes the current program window (for example, a tab in a browser), and if there is only one window in the application, then Command+W closes the application.
7.Close all application windows – Command+Option+W
The keyboard shortcut is similar to the previous one. Only it closes all windows of the current application. Convenient when the browser is littered with tabs, for example.
Many open windows can sometimes slow down your computer. This applies to both browser windows and the applications themselves. Closing them one by one is quite tedious and not very convenient. Also, a large list of windows makes it difficult to access the desired application.
To solve this problem, developers have created, with which you can easily work with open applications. You can quickly close them (all or selectively), and also find what you need for work. For those who do not want or cannot perform commands using the keyboard, operations are available using the mouse.
It takes a long time to work with the mouse; for these purposes it is best to use the keyboard. There are several key combinations:
If the user needs all windows, except the one in which he is currently working, to be out of the way, press the “Win + Home” buttons. For a reverse reversal, select any of the combinations presented above or repeat the same.
How to minimize windows with your mouse
If the user does not want to use the keyboard, then the operation can be performed using the mouse. On Windows 7, 8, 10 there is an empty rectangle at the bottom right, when activated, windows will be minimized and minimized to tray. To turn them back, just press again.
On Windows 8 and 10, this rectangle does not stand out, but it is there. To minimize windows you need:
In the old XP system, this rectangle is not provided, so it will not be possible to minimize applications this way. On the other hand, there is a shortcut for such tasks. By default, it is located next to the Start button on the taskbar.
If for some reason it is not there, you can add it yourself:
- Using Notepad, you need to create a document in which the following command is written, which can be copied.
- Then it is saved through the “File” - “Save As” tab (any name), but always in the “scf” format. It is advisable to specify the desktop as the shortcut location address.
- At the final stage, the resulting document is dragged to the quick access panel. The shortcut is ready.
Important! Unlike the standard one, this shortcut will not appear next to the Start button. It will be on the quick access panel.
Despite the fact that a special tray has been added for users of later versions of the system, if desired, you can create a shortcut to work with them using the same scheme.
Minimize windows in MacOs
In order to minimize windows when working on a MacBook, you first need to check what settings are installed.
On a note! If instead of F11 the user assigns another key, then in the second option it changes to the established one (for example, F12 and Fn).
You can also minimize by simply pressing the “F11” button, but it is necessary to note the use of function keys as standard.
Done, the “F11” key is now responsible for minimizing windows.
There is another way. Mission Controls installs a feature called Hot Corners.
In addition, you can minimize applications in MacOs using the track pad. It performs “gestures” with different functionality. To work with windows (minimize/expand), you must simultaneously move four fingers (including your thumb) toward the sides of the pad.
Find out also detailed information about what tools exist for quick and easy computer management from our new article.
Hotkeys for other operations
In addition to minimizing, hotkeys can be used for other window operations and more.
For example, combinations with the “Win+” button:
- left, right arrow – the selected application is attached to the left and right edges of the screen, respectively;
- up, down arrow – expands and collapses the selected window;
- “T” – switching shortcuts on the taskbar (one by one);
- numeric keys – expands/collapses the window to which a particular number is assigned.
- “E” – launch the file manager;
- “S” – start search;
- “R” – “Run” command.
You can also work with windows using the “Alt” button:
- by holding it and the “F4” key, it completely closes the window in which the user is working;
- combination with the tab button “Tab” it is possible to switch between running applications.
Combination with the “Ctrl+” key:
- “Shift+Escape” - this is how the “Task Manager” starts;
- “A” – select everything (in a document, on a browser page, on the desktop);
- “C” – copy selected;
- “V” – this combination pastes what was copied from the clipboard;
- By simultaneously holding down the key and scrolling the wheel, you select the appearance of the folders (icons, tables).
For the most part, these combinations are used in Windows 10, but some of them are available on all versions of the system.
Some Windows operations are available without using a mouse. The video shows some of them.
Video - How to control the cursor without a mouse