1.2 Windows Desktop Environment
1.2.4 Recognizing an application window
Application windows typically have a title bar, toolbar, menu bar, status bar, and scroll bar. WordPad will be used to demonstrate the features common to most Windows applications. WordPad, or Notepad on some Windows computers, is a simple word processing program located in the Start > Programs > Accessories directory of a Windows environment.
  • Title Bar – Displays the name of the document and application. In this example, it is "Document - WordPad". Also located in the title bar are the Minimize, Maximize, and Exit buttons that will be discussed in this chapter.
  • Menu Bar – Contains menus for manipulating the document, such as creating new documents, copying text, inserting images, and so on. To see the menu for each item, click on a button. A drop-down menu displays.
  • Status Bar – Located at the bottom of the window, the status bar shows useful information, such as page number, whether the file is being saved, how to access the Help feature, and so on.
  • Scroll Bar – Windows may have scroll bars that appear on the right side, the bottom of the window, or both. These scroll bars appear when the document is too large to be viewed entirely on one screen. Clicking on the arrows on either end of the scroll bar moves the images or text through the window. Clicking and dragging the scroll bar moves the images or text even more quickly through a window.

One may want to move a window to another location on the screen particularly if there is more than one window open on the screen. Click on the title bar and then drag the window to the desired position. The window will dynamically follow the cursor around as if it were moving a piece of paper on a real desktop.

Note: Most Windows applications have similar looking menus and functions. Differences depend on the type of application.