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Windows Elements
I've talked to many people who have no idea what I'm talking about when I refer to things such as "the File menu" or opening an item that's part of a tree. So, I've decided to explain them all here with pictures to make it easier to understand. WindowA window is simply a rectangular unit that acts independently from other windows. Windows come in two basic types: the application window, and the dialog box.
BorderA border is "a part that forms the outer edge of something."
(If you don't understand the dictionary definition of these words, you
may as well give up.) As you can see in the above examples, the application
window has a thin border around the edges (it's the part that looks like
this: Title BarA title is "a general or descriptive heading." A heading is
"the title, subtitle, or topic that stands at the top or beginning."
So, the title bar of the above application window would be: Control ButtonsControl buttons are all the little buttons that are on the title bar but are not actually part of the title. These include:
Resize HandleA new addition to some Windows 95 windows, the resize handle: Menu BarA menu bar is present in merely every application
window directly below the title bar. Each word
on the bar is a separate menu. If you click
on the word, the corresponding menu will appear, like so: Popup MenuAnother type of menu is the popup menu. Unlike other menus, the popup
does not have a menu heading and is not attached to a particular spot on
a window. Popup menus are usually activated by clicking
the right mouse button on something, and the menu you get will depend
on where exactly you clicked. For example, a typical popup menu for text
box would look like this: Status BarSome windows have a status bar to indicate the current state of various
parts of the application. This bar is usually located at the bottom of
the window, and is a more-or-less solid gray line. For example, the status
bar on the bottom of WordPad looks like this:
More Windows Elements on the next page
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This is an application window. Application windows are the main part of
almost all programs. Common elements of application windows include the
This is a dialog box. It is also, technically, a window. Dialogs are usually
tied to an application and help perform a specific task or give details
for the application. Most dialog boxes lack several of the control buttons
and a border, and will have other 
.)
The border not only defines where the window is on the 
.
If you hold down the mouse button at this time, you can 
;
or more specifically, 
,
since the 
.
In Windows 95, the button is a miniature version of the program 
.
In every case, the button is located at the left hand side of the 
.
Note that all of these commands can be done with the mouse using other
windows elements; their primary usefulness is in when you have to do any
of these functions with the keyboard.
.
Pressing it will remove the window and replace it with a program 
.
Pressing it will remove the window, but leave the program's 
.
Pressing it will make the window as large as it cam possibly go - usually
as large as the screen. The button will then change to the Restore Button:
,
which you can press to change the window back to its previous size. In
Windows 95, the Maximize Button looks like: 
.
It does the same thing as its Windows 3 counterpart, except that the window
will (usually) only go down as far as the 
.
.
Pressing this button is just one way of closing the window, and it's the
easiest. But take caution on 
.
If you press it, a question mark will be attached to the mouse pointer.
Then when you 
.
is actually an extension to the 
.
Some programs have cascading menus, which means that an item inside the
menu will bring you to another related menu. 
Note that you can identify a cascading menu by the right-pointing arrow
at the side.
.
.
On the left is a one-liner to give you hints about what you are doing.
To the right are a couple of boxes that indicate whether the Caps Lock
and Num Lock keys are on. (Part of the 
