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If you have more than one program running, the fastest way to switch from one program to another is via the Windows taskbar, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: The Windows taskbar makes switching among programs easy.
With a few small exceptions, each running program carves out a chunk of space on the Windows taskbar. If more than one copy of a program is running (not an unusual state of affairs for Windows Explorer, among others) or if a program has more than one file open (common in Word, for example) and Windows runs low on real estate in the taskbar area, the chunks are grouped together, with the number of open documents in front of the program name.
If you click on the button marked 4 Microsoft Word (as shown in Figure 1), for example, you see a list of the four documents that Word currently has open. Click one of those documents, and Word comes up with that document loaded for bear.
The Windows taskbar has many tricks up its sleeve, but it has one capability that you're likely to need. Auto-Hide lets the taskbar shrink down to a thin line until you bump your mouse pointer way down at the bottom of the screen. As soon as your mouse pointer hits bottom, the taskbar pops up. Here's how you teach the taskbar to Auto-Hide:
1. Right-click an empty part of the taskbar.
Usually the area immediately to the right of the Start button is a good place.
2. Click Properties.
The Taskbar tab should be visible.
3. Select the Auto-Hide the Taskbar check box, and then click OK.
Finding the CoolSwitch
Windows includes a quick, easy way to switch among running applications without diving for the mouse to click on the Windows taskbar. It's known as the CoolSwitch (yes, that's the technical term for it), and it works on any computer, any time, unless Windows is totally out to lunch.
To use the CoolSwitch, hold down the Alt key and press Tab. You see something like the screen shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: The Windows XP CoolSwitch.
As you press Tab over and over again, Windows cycles through the running programs. When you arrive at the program that you want to run, simply release the Alt key, and the selected program comes to life.
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