How to Minimize and Maximize windows and apps in Windows 11/10

If you use Windows, you know how to minimize and maximize the open windows and move between the open apps. For this purpose, almost everyone uses the maximize and minimize buttons on the upper right side of the program window. We use the maximize and minimize options so that one can move on to do another task without having to close the active application or window. You do not have to save your work when you exit the application. You can use the minimize and maximize buttons to switch between tasks.

Do you know there are numerous additional ways to maximize and minimize windows in Windows 11/10? We’ll look at how to maximize and minimize windows in Windows in the following article.

How to Minimize and Maximize windows in Windows

How to Minimize and Maximize windows and apps in Windows

Given below are five different methods which you can employ to minimize and maximize windows in your Windows 11/10 PC:

  1. Use the Maximize and Minimize Buttons
  2. Maximize and Minimize Windows From the Taskbar
  3. Maximize and Minimize an Opened Window by Using the Title Bar Menu
  4. Maximize and Minimize the Apps by Using Keyboard Shortcuts
  5. Maximize and Minimize All the Open Windows

Make sure to try each of them to get an idea on what works best for you.

1] Use the Maximize and Minimize Buttons

The first method is a technique that practically all Windows users are familiar with. You can minimize and maximize an app’s window by clicking on the buttons seen at the top right corner of an open window or app.

The maximize and minimize buttons are located on the upper right side of an app when it is not opened in full-screen mode. The square box button maximizes the window or app, while the minus sign minimizes the app into the taskbar. Depending on your needs, you can click the button.

Minimize and Maximize a Windows on Your PC

When a window is maximized or is in full-screen mode, the single square box button will change into a double square box button. This button is for restoring. This button’s click will alter the size of the currently open window. You will have various options to restore your window according to your preferences.

Restore Windows in Your Preferred Way

2] Maximize and Minimize Windows From the Taskbar

You can quickly minimize and maximize software programs using the taskbar. Simply click a program’s icon on the taskbar to minimize an open program. Once again, click on the taskbar icon for the same program to maximize it.

Minimize and Maximize a Windows Using the Task Bar

Things are slightly different in a different scenario where you have opened more than one window of the same program. Let us take Google Chrome as an example where you have opened more than one window for the app, and you want to minimize or maximize one of those windows. Let us see how to do it:

  • Move the cursor to the Google Chrome icon on the taskbar. A thumbnail size of the opened windows will appear once you do that. Next, keep the cursor on the window you want to maximize or minimize and right-click on it.
  • The context menu will show the Minimize option if your window is open. The context menu will show the Maximize option if your window is minimized. So, you can choose the window you prefer to alter and choose the minimize and maximize options from the context menu when you right-click on the chosen window.

Minimize and Maximize Multiple Windows in Task Bar

3] Maximize and Minimize an Opened Window by Using the Title Bar Menu

You can also quickly minimize or maximize an app using the title bar menu. This is how you do it:

  • At an application’s open windows, right-click on the application’s title bar or press the Alt + Spacebar keys to open the title bar menu.
  • Depending on the action plan, you can choose the Minimize, Maximize, or Restore option.

Minimize and Maximize a Window Using the Title Bar

4] Maximize and Minimize the Apps by Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are a very productive way to get things done quickly. Therefore, you can minimize or maximize apps using keyboard keys. Check out the keyboard shortcuts below:

  • Windows key + Up arrow: To maximize a restored window, press these key combinations to make the window full-sized.
  • Windows key + Down arrow: Select the window you want to alter and press these key combinations to restore the window. If you want to minimize the same window into the taskbar, press the Windows key + Down arrow again.
  • Windows key + Right arrow: Restores the window to the right.
  • Windows key + Left arrow: Restores the windows to the left.
  • Windows key + Home: This keyboard shortcut minimizes all the windows except the active window into the taskbar.
  • Windows key + numbers: Press the Windows key + 1 to maximize the first app shown on the taskbar. Press the Windows key + 1 once more to minimize the same application. Press the Windows key and the program’s taskbar number (Windows key + 2, Windows key + 3, etc.) to minimize or maximize any other app.

Note that these keyboard shortcuts (Win + numbers) only apply to the first nine applications on the taskbar.

5] Maximize and Minimize All the Open Windows

You can use a couple of keyboard shortcuts to maximize and minimize all open windows in one go:

  • Windows key + M: Pressing these keys together will minimize all the windows open on your PC simultaneously.
  • Windows key + D: This key combination will minimize all the windows open on your PC at once, and when you press these keys again, it will maximize or open all the windows that were minimized together at once.

There is another method to maximize and minimize all open windows simultaneously in addition to these keyboard shortcuts. There is a vertical strip on the taskbar’s bottom right corner. When you click on this faint strip, all the active windows minimize. When you click on the vertical strip again, all the minimized windows will get maximized.

Minimize and Maximize the Strip on the Taskbar

Conclusion

So, minimizing and maximizing will become handy when you have urgent work that needs attention, and you must leave your desktop in a jiffy. When working on several windows, minimizing them individually becomes quite time-consuming and challenging.

Thus, minimizing and maximizing windows becomes easy by following the techniques discussed in this article, and if you are a multitasker, these methods will significantly help.

How to Switch Between Minimized Windows?

You can switch between the open apps and programs by clicking on the relevant icon on the Taskbar or pressing the Alt + Tab keys. Also, the taskbar allows you to maximize and minimize apps.

How Do I Minimize a Window With Alt?

An alternative to open the title bar menu is the Alt + Spacebar keyboard shortcut. When the title bar menu opens, you can press the N key to minimize or the X key to maximize the window. If the window is expanded, press R on your keyboard to restore it.

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