An example of a graphical user interface in Windows XP, with the My Music window displayed

In computing, a window is a visual area, usually rectangular in shape, containing some kind of user interface, displaying the output of and allowing input for one of a number of simultaneously running computer processes. Windows are primarily associated with graphical displays, where they can be manipulated with a pointer. However, many programs with text user interfaces, for example Emacs, allow their display to be divided into areas which may also be referred to as "windows". Image File history File links Italic textAn example of a graphical user interface used in Microsoft Windows XP. WELCOME TO MICROSOFT PROFESSIONAL File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Italic textAn example of a graphical user interface used in Microsoft Windows XP. WELCOME TO MICROSOFT PROFESSIONAL File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Windows XP is the name of a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on general-purpose computer systems, including home and business desktops, notebook computers, and media centers. ... Originally, the word computing was synonymous with counting and calculating, and a science that deals with the original sense of computing mathematical calculations. ... The user interface is the part of a system exposed to users. ... It has been suggested that Software pointer be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the text editor. ...

A graphical user interface (GUI) which uses the window as one of its primary metaphors is called a windowing system. This idea was developed as a part of the WIMP paradigm at Xerox PARC. A graphical user interface (or GUI, often pronounced gooey) is a method of interacting with a computer through a metaphor of direct manipulation of graphical images and widgets in addition to text. ... A windowing system is a graphical user interface (GUI) which uses the window as one of its primary metaphors. ... In human-computer interaction, WIMP stands for window, icon, menu, pointing device, denoting a style of interaction using these elements. ... Bold text // Headline text Link title This article is about the computer research center. ...

Windows are depicted as two-dimensional objects (like papers or books) arranged on a desktop. Most windows can be resized, moved, hidden, restored, and closed at will. When two overlap, one is on top of the other, with the covered part of the lower window not visible. The part of a windowing system which manages these operations is called a window manager. The desktop metaphor is a set of unifying concepts currently used in a number of GUI-based operating systems. ... On Microsoft Windows 95, 98, and ME you can enter the Windows device manager by clicking Start, Settings, Control Panel, System icon, and clicking on the Device Manager tab. ...

Windows are a popular feature (or widget) in several graphical user interfaces (especially WIMP ones). DEC Windows (for VMS), X Window System (for GNU & Unix-like systems), Microsoft Windows and IBM's Open Windows are named after this feature. A widget (or control) is a graphical interface component that a computer user interacts with, such as a window or a text box. ... In human-computer interaction, WIMP stands for window, icon, menu, pointing device, denoting a style of interaction using these elements. ... CDE on Unix (Solaris 8) DECwindows CDE on OpenVMS 7. ... OpenVMS (Open Virtual Memory System or just VMS) is the name of a high-end computer server operating system that runs on the VAX and Alpha family of computers developed by Digital Equipment Corporation of Maynard, Massachusetts (now owned by Hewlett-Packard), and more recently on Hewlett-Packard systems built... KDE 3. ... GNU (pronounced ) is a free software operating system consisting of a kernel, libraries, system tools, compilers and many end-user applications. ... A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification. ... Microsoft Windows is the worlds largest operating system for use on personal computers. ... For other uses, see IBM (disambiguation). ...

Types of windows

Window managers often offer more than one type of window. In Mac OS X there are three types of windows: This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

• Application/Document windows - the normal type of window that contain documents or the application's data
• Utility windows, including dashboards - which float on top of all other windows and offer tools or information for the application
• Dialog boxes - windows outside of the normal workflow that display information or asks for information from the user

A document contains information. ... Application has the following meanings: In general, an application is using something abstract for a more concrete use. ... The Finders Inspector window is an example of a utility winodw A utility window is a window in Mac OS X which floats on top of all other windows and offers tools or information for the current application. ... The dashboard in iPhoto In computer user interfaces, a dashboard is a floating, semi-transparent window that provides contextual access to commonly used tools in a software program. ... Example of dialog box from Microsoft Windows Dialog boxes are special windows which are used by computer programs or by the operating system to display information to the user, or to get a response if needed. ...

Window properties

Depending on the window manager being used, windows have a wide range of properties that can often be manipulated by the user:

• Their size.
• Maximized state in the horizontal or vertical axes, or both.
• Minimized state (which usually toggles their visibility and stores a link to them in a taskbar, Dock or iconbox.
• Stickiness. If the window manager supports virtual desktops, this makes the window 'stick' to every desktop.
• Shaded state, which 'rolls up' the main part of the window and just keeps the title bar.
• The visibility of the toolbars that the window may have.
• Transparency (if supported).
• Always-on-top state, which stops the window from being obscured, even in part, by any others.

Many window managers also provide features for grouping windows so that they all act as one, and 3D window managers, such as Metisse and Project Looking Glass also allow the three-dimensional properties of a window to be changed (such as their rotation in the Y or Z axes). In computing, the taskbar is a term for the application desktop bar which is used to launch and monitor applications in Microsoft Windows 95 and later operating systems. ... Mac OS X Dock Window Maker dock, similar to the NeXTSTEP dock The Dock is a graphical user interface feature first introduced in the NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP operating systems, and radically changed and refined in Mac OS X, where it has gained the behaviour of Newtons Newton OS Dock. ... Virtual desktop is a term used, usually within the WIMP paradigm, to describe any of several possible ways in which a computers metaphorical desktop environment is modified, through the use of software. ... The space we live in is three-dimensional space. ... Metisse is a windowing system designed with two goals in mind. ... The user can attach a note to the reverse of a rotated window. ...