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This is probably common knowledge to the techies around here, but hopefully someone finds this information useful:

Probably since my first time using a computer I've been frustrated and confused by how Windows explorer windows open (size, position, etc). I never understood why windows opened a certain size or at a certain position on the screen and I've always wished I could change it.

So after 15 years of computing I finally decided to look it up.

When you open a Windows Explorer window, you can re-position it, re-size it, change the size of the left hand "tree" area and right hand content area. When you go to close the window if you hold down the left ALT key while clicking the X, Windows will remember your adjustments and open that window that way from now on.

That's pretty cool, I'll have to remember that thanks.

Well son of a bitch, this has been a pain in my ass for 15 years, too! Just not enough that I ever looked it up!

Well played, sir!

...mine do that by default without having to hold the alt key. If you open a window it always sizes and positions the window as it was the last time it was closed.

Relevant: there are some shortcuts to useful window sizes/positions by holding the Windows key and pressing an arrow button (up, down, left, right)... multiple presses of the arrow keys can do some useful things if you have more than one monitor set up.

Also, there's always the Cascade Windows feature, although that is less needed now that we have Alt-tabbing/Windows-tabbing.

Thanks for the tip! Here's one I've found useful

Middle click this link (push down on the scroll wheel) http://techreport.com. Now, middle click the new tab that it opened.

JJCDAD wrote:

When you open a Windows Explorer window, you can re-position it, re-size it, change the size of the left hand "tree" area and right hand content area. When you go to close the window if you hold down the left ALT key while clicking the X, Windows will remember your adjustments and open that window that way from now on.

Nice

That put Whoa back into CUA for me (IBM SAA-speak)

trackerben wrote:

...that put Whoa back into CUA for me (IBM SAA-speak)

"Cover U Ass?"

LOL, sorry about that, couldn't resist.
And no, I wasn't an IBM SAA, but I knew a few SE's back in "the day" (if there ever was such a thing as "the day").

MJZ82 wrote:

Relevant: there are some shortcuts to useful window sizes/positions by holding the Windows key and pressing an arrow button (up, down, left, right)... multiple presses of the arrow keys can do some useful things if you have more than one monitor set up.

Also, there's always the Cascade Windows feature, although that is less needed now that we have Alt-tabbing/Windows-tabbing.

Wow! I love the arrow-key ones, because they actually allow me to pin half to the left side of my right monitor or the right side of my left monitor.

Could never do that by dragging to it (because it's in the "middle" of my desktop), so this is AWSOME!

Well that's awesome. I've been annoyed by that as well, and of course there is a simple solution that I never bothered to go looking for...

BIF wrote:

trackerben wrote:

...that put Whoa back into CUA for me (IBM SAA-speak)

"Cover U Ass?"

LOL, sorry about that, couldn't resist.
And no, I wasn't an IBM SAA, but I knew a few SE's back in "the day" (if there ever was such a thing as "the day").

Haha. "Common User Access" was one of IBM's more fruitful guidelines for interface commonality between its systems architectures. Or as my then-girlfirend put it, that "alt-F for File stuff?"
But I was just riffing, what JJCDAD rediscovered is actually a Microsoft guideline for obscure WinX GUI behavior.

I worked with some great SA, DBAs, and OS/3090 admins. Abending J-series proc complexes via gnarly proto-SQL report runs was all in a day's work.

LaChupacabra wrote:

Middle click this link (push down on the scroll wheel) http://techreport.com. Now, middle click the new tab that it opened.

It's odd, but the middle click doesn't perform a function with the Logitech Anywhere MX mouse.

What the middle click does is change the mechanics from click-to-click scrolling to hyper-fast scrolling.

LaChupacabra wrote:

Thanks for the tip! Here's one I've found useful

Middle click this link (push down on the scroll wheel) http://techreport.com. Now, middle click the new tab that it opened.

Now try Alt+click on the link

JJCDAD wrote:

This is probably common knowledge to the techies around here, but hopefully someone finds this information useful:

Probably since my first time using a computer I've been frustrated and confused by how Windows explorer windows open (size, position, etc). I never understood why windows opened a certain size or at a certain position on the screen and I've always wished I could change it.

So after 15 years of computing I finally decided to look it up.

When you open a Windows Explorer window, you can re-position it, re-size it, change the size of the left hand "tree" area and right hand content area. When you go to close the window if you hold down the left ALT key while clicking the X, Windows will remember your adjustments and open that window that way from now on.

Nice. Here's for you: <cookie>

It seems that works for more programs than just Windows Explorer. Works for Chrome too. Probably will work with most programs.