NT windows all behaving like a single app

[ETFVoyageur]

It seemed to me that having the entire application minimize and restore together would be desirable, and should not be hard to do. Last night I implemented a version of it that I am happy with so far. We shall see how well I like it after it has had some soak time. I'll be interested in whether I like my conventions, and whether I stumble on any corner cases I overlooked. My rules are:

• When any window is minimized, the other windows are also minimized
• When any window is restored, the other windows are also restored
• When any window is maximized, that action has no side effects
• Any window whose state is set with the ctrl key down is explicitly set by the user. Setting a window that way has no side effect on any other window. Such a window is also excluded from the group -- the others all minimize and restore without affecting the explicitly set one.

The explicit setting allows you to have a window that remains minimized while you work with the rest of the app. It also allows a window to remain non-minimized if that is what you want. The first time you change an explicit window's state without the ctrl key it will no longer be an excluded explicit window. I'm not sure those are the best rules, and I'm not sure that I have thought of all corner cases. After all it was just a quick knock-off last night.

There is one thing I would like to be able to do, but could not find a way -- if you know how, please let me know. I would like to have just the Control Center show on the taskbar (that part is easy) while still showing the thumbnails for all of the windows if you hover over the Control Center icon (that is the part I do not know how to do).

The point of this posting is that having the windows behave like a single application, so you do not have to minimize each one individually and restore each one individually, is a feature I have seen users requesting. I implemented my rules that do so in a short time last night so, proof by example, it is quite easily doable. Then main issue is usability, such as my ctrl-key convention. There may well be a better set of conventions than mine; if you know of a better set please speak up.

--EV

[koganam]

...
There is one thing I would like to be able to do, but could not find a way -- if you know how, please let me know. I would like to have just the Control Center show on the taskbar (that part is easy) while still showing the thumbnails for all of the windows if you hover over the Control Center icon (that is the part I do not know how to do).

--EV

What version of Windows?

[ETFVoyageur]

What version of Windows?

Windows 10

(Experience so far: I have just used the vanilla all-up / all-down, and I am finding it very nice. Of course, this is just the first day )

--EV

[koganam]

Windows 10

(Experience so far: I have just used the vanilla all-up / all-down, and I am finding it very nice. Of course, this is just the first day )

--EV

In that case, you get all or nothing.

Bring up the properties of the Taskbar. For "Taskbar buttons" select: "Always combine ..."

[ETFVoyageur]

In that case, you get all or nothing.

Bring up the properties of the Taskbar. For "Taskbar buttons" select: "Always combine ..."

Thanks, but not what I want. I want multiple instances of one application to have separate icons. That makes it easy to pick between several browser windows or several open Word documents.

What I want, but evidently cannot have, is for a single multi-window app to have one icon that shows a thumbnail for each of its windows when you hover over it. What I was hoping is that turning off ShowInTaskbar for all but the main window would result in what I want. It did result in the single icon, but hovering showed only the one thumbnail.

--EV

[koganam]

Thanks, but not what I want. I want multiple instances of one application to have separate icons. That makes it easy to pick between several browser windows or several open Word documents.

What I want, but evidently cannot have, is for a single multi-window app to have one icon that shows a thumbnail for each of its windows when you hover over it. What I was hoping is that turning off ShowInTaskbar for all but the main window would result in what I want. It did result in the single icon, but hovering showed only the one thumbnail.

--EV

You mean that this is not what you get?

One NT icon. I hover over it, and it shows me the 3 windows that it has open, and I can go directly to any of them.

[ETFVoyageur]

You mean that this is not what you get?

One NT icon. I hover over it, and it shows me the 3 windows that it has open, and I can go directly to any of them.

It does as you say. My issue is that I want to get a similar effect, preferably with a full-sized icon, for just NT. Setting the taskbar property does it for everything and leaves me no real icon -- just the pinned one.

I was hoping to be able to do what I want by setting properties in my AddOn, much as I control window state. I have not yet been able to find the right properties to set. How to keep a window off the taskbar that way is obvious, but if I do that then it also does not show a thumbnail.

For now, I guess I'll try what you suggest and see whether I like it or whether the cure is worse than the disease.

--EV

[koganam]

It does as you say. My issue is that I want to get a similar effect, preferably with a full-sized icon, for just NT. Setting the taskbar property does it for everything and leaves me no real icon -- just the pinned one.

I was hoping to be able to do what I want by setting properties in my AddOn, much as I control window state. I have not yet been able to find the right properties to set. How to keep a window off the taskbar that way is obvious, but if I do that then it also does not show a thumbnail.

For now, I guess I'll try what you suggest and see whether I like it or whether the cure is worse than the disease.

--EV

Hence my statement that you get "all or nothing".