OSes Keeping Two Windows Applications Open

[Joe]

This may be a dumb question, but I figured I would ask anyway.

I'm having trouble keeping two Windows applications open at once. By "open" I mean open and on-screen.
Not "minimized." Usually, I am trying to copy text from one to the other. Like, I may have Notepad on the left side of the screen. And I'll have another application open on the right side of the screen. Say, the Open Network and Sharing Center.

Usually, what happens is that as soon as I move my cursor to Notepad and try to type or even past something, the other application will disappear, i.e., be minimized. So I have to keep opening it over and over and over. I just want to have it stay on screen.

Is there some trick to doing this?

 

[KLS52]

Keep in mind I am severely technologically challenged but I can "google" with the best of them. And I have no idea if this is what you mean or if it will help...you may have already done a search yourself. I may try it myself.

http://www.computerhope.com/tips/tip101.htm

 

[Joe]

Keep in mind I am severely technologically challenged but I can "google" with the best of them. And I have no idea if this is what you mean or if it will help...you may have already done a search yourself. I may try it myself.

http://www.computerhope.com/tips/tip101.htm

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. I am still looking into this. But I think you have hit the nail squarely on the head!

It is not what I "meant" only in the sense that I had no idea that this, er, utility (for lack of a better word) existed. Not until I read your post.

By the way--perhaps a trivial point, but I have a 900 page book on Windows 7--"The Missing Manual" by David Pogue. Neither
Smart Window nor Snap are listed as such in the index. Pogue discusses these as features of the Aero desktop, and this is indexed as a subheader under Aero.
Apparently, the Aero desktop was first introduced in Windows Vista. (My previous computer runs XP.)

Thanks again for your reply. Super-helpful!

 

[Clueless Git]

I just size my windows so as they sit by side by side on the desktop Joe.

 

[Joe]

I just size my windows so as they sit by side by side on the desktop Joe.

If you are not having a problem with this, that's great.

 

[Joe]

Here is the description of Aero Snap in Windows 7:

 

[Clueless Git]

Here is the description of Aero Snap in Windows 7:

Heh! I just played around with that. It's cool!

TY Joe

 

[Joe]

Heh! I just played around with that. It's cool!

TY Joe

No problemo.

But you really should be thanking KLS52, since she knew the answer to my question.