Chapter 2: Running Programs

Switching, Exiting, and Canceling Programs

Switching Programs

• Click in the window for the program.
• Click the button for the window on the taskbar. If the window was minimized, clicking its button returns the window to its size before it was minimized.
• Press ALT-TAB until the window you want is active, or press ALT-SHIFT-TAB to cycle through the open windows in the reverse order.
• Press ALT-TAB and don't release the ALT key. A window appears with an icon for each program that is running, with the program in the active windows highlighted, as shown here:

The name of the highlighted window appears at the bottom of the window. To switch to a different program, keep holding down the ALT key, press TAB to move the highlight to the icon for the window you want, and then release the ALT key.

Perhaps the least convenient way to switch to a program is by using the Switch To button on the Windows Task Manager. Press CTRL-ALT-DEL to display the Windows Task Manager, select the program you want, and click Switch To.

Exiting Programs

Most programs provide several ways to exit, including some or all of these:

• Choose the File | Exit command from the menu bar.
• Click the Close button in the upper-right corner of the program window. If a program displays multiple windows, close them all.
• Press ALT-F4.
• Click the System Menu button in the upper-left corner of the program window and choose Close from the menu that appears.
• Right-click the program button on the taskbar and choose Close from the menu that appears.

If you have trouble exiting a program, you can use the Windows Task Manager, described in the next section.

Canceling Programs

When you are running several programs at the same time, you can exit a program as described in the previous section. For example, click the Close button for all the windows the program displays or choose File | Exit or File | Close.

Another way to exit a program when multiple programs are running is to press CTRL-ALT-DEL to display the Windows Task Manger (shown in Figure 2-6, and described in more detail in Chapter 35). The Applications tab lists all the programs currently running.

Figure 2-6: The Windows Task Manager

To cancel a program, click the program name in the Windows Task Manager; then click the End Task button. If you were using the program to edit a file, you may lose some work.

The End Task button is designed for canceling programs that have "hung"--stopped responding to the keyboard or mouse. To avoid losing unsaved work, always try exiting a program by clicking its Close button, pressing ALT-F4, or choosing File | Exit before resorting to the Windows Task Manager.