There is no way to change this, except to get a Windows computer. Apple is very proud of the graphics engineering that makes it possible to float windows in this way. You can clean up your desktop by pressing command + H to hide other applications and their open documents, then click on their icons in the doc to bring them back again. Command+Option+H will hide all open apps except the one in the foreground.
The standards for developers for X are very specific that it is considered poor design to require a full-screen view for any application to function. Sorry.
Barbara, I guess I understand better now why I’m a PC person – I would have the same reaction to that floating window that Michelle did. To each his own, I guess!
π
Chuck
Well, I guess it’s what you’re used to, Chuck. In XP it drives me crazy to have to minimize a whole program when I want to jump to another application for a minute. Different strokesΒ
8^)
It’s definitely a matter of what you’re used to as well as how a person organizes their work. My desktop is always pretty tidy, so there are few, if any, distractions. As I move back and forth between the Mac world and the Windows world, one of my biggest frustrations is all of the "minimizing" that has to go on when I’m on a Windows machine. There are ways to compensate for the floating window on Macs, but I still haven’t figured out how to compensate for its absence when I’m on a Windows machine.
Michelle,
Create a folder on your desktop and drop all your bits of files etc into that …. then, apart from the dock and one folder, you have a clear workspace. When you get used to using Elements you find that jumping out of Elements and going to the desk top happens less and less often but one solution is to use the file browser as a backdrop … just expand the size so that it covers your work area.
Wendy
Barbara,
Alt+Tab will alternate open applications on a Windows desktop so you don’t have to minimize the window to swap to another application. Pretty quick and handy. Seems like I’ve used it with PE open and swapped to other graphics programs.
But, Rick, is it possible to actually view docs from two apps at once? I still can’t figure out how to do that on Windows. On my Mac, I can have a Word doc open along with Elements, which is really handy if I’m trying to follow a set of instructions.
Right click on task bar and choose tile windows horizontally or vertically.
—
Have A Nice Day, π
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/ wrote in message
But, Rick, is it possible to actually view docs from two apps at once?
I still can’t figure out how to do that on Windows. On my Mac, I can have a Word doc open along with Elements, which is really handy if I’m trying to follow a set of instructions.
Beth, you can put two program windows side by side in Windows; you just have to re-size the windows for each until they’re the right size to fit side-by-side. The windows can’t be maximized, of course; in that state they fill the screen.
Barbara,
Chuck’s way or James’ way will either one work, since the windows are resizeable but I prefer to alt+tab so I don’t have to keep scrolling through the document. If you use it a while, it gets to be second nature and is a one-handed command.
OK, but if you resized both windows you’d then have Elements down, for example, to just a portion of the screen size. Hmmm. No, that won’t work, because there isn’t enough work space as there is. I can see where it would be useful for some other things, though. I guess I’ll just have to stick with the Macs for this important Elements stuff! π
Yes, Beth, that’s what I meant, particularly since my only XP computer is a 12" laptop. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions, everyone.
FWIW, it seems to me I’ve read that Longhorn is supposed to do it the OS X way.
Beth if I am reading this post and your last post in this thread correctly am I to understand that you can have a Word Doc open and maximized along with Elements and it doesn’t cover or hide any portion of Elements?
—
Have A Nice Day, π
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/ wrote in message
But, Rick, is it possible to actually view docs from two apps at once?
I still can’t figure out how to do that on Windows. On my Mac, I can have a Word doc open along with Elements, which is really handy if I’m trying to follow a set of instructions.
Last Post:
OK, but if you resized both windows you’d then have Elements down, for example, to just a portion of the screen size. Hmmm. No, that won’t work, because there isn’t enough work space as there is. I can see where it would be useful for some other things, though. I guess I’ll just have to stick with the Macs for this important Elements stuff! π
James, it sounds like magic, doesn’t it??
π
James & Chuck,
No not partial transparency or magic.
On a Mac .. When Elements is open all that is visible of Elements is the top bar and the left hand side tool bar … they just float over your desktop.
When you have Elements open anything below is totally visible, so you can have a tutorial open below Elements and it is visible in the gap … also you can click from one to the other or simple move the image you are working on out of the way to view more of the tutorial.
Really useful but takes some getting used to.
Wendy
I do this with tutorials too, but you can use windowshade and roll up all your open windows too. I use OS 9
I have my own photos + NASA photos for desktop patterns or wallpaper whatever you callit, and right now I have a photo taken from one of the shuttles, of Cuba, Southern Florida, and the Bahamas, so you can imagine my messy desktop.
But you can make a plain white or pastel one to use when you are using PSE. Or just leave a white page open, or make one with a tiny border around it or a faded pattern with html.
There are many ways around this.
Jane
Wendy wrote:
When you have Elements open anything below is totally visible, so you can have a tutorial open below Elements and it is visible in the gap … also you can click from one to the other or simple move the image you are working on out of the way to view more of the tutorial.
James Ask:
1.Wouldn’t "visible in the gap" equate to partially resized windows? Viewing through a gap tells me you do not have the document fully visible.
2. Wouldn’t "click from one to the other" equate to minimize / maximize windows or alt+tab?
I am just having trouble understanding the perceived advantage. I assure you I am not interested in a Mac vs. Windows debate.
—
Have A Nice Day, π
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
as a windoze user…if i bought a mac…i’d be sure to have a blank destop for use with elements. It would drive me nuts to have other stuff visible. To me that would be like having a desk full of cluttered papers while i’m trying to pay bills π
Jodi: I can relate to that desk full of cluttered papers while paying bills; that’s why some of my bills get paid late and I wind up with late fees and interest…..
π
When I go in on the other computer I’ll take a screenshot and then e-mail it to (probably) Jodi, because she knows how to insert an image in one of these posts. I don’t know how; and furthermore I don’t want to learn! For any of you who have always been Windows users, it really is hard to explain! Whether or not the area behind Elements is cluttered is totally dependent on how the user manages their work. I keep a pretty clean desktop.
Just use the pastel or blank one in these circumstances! You can use any desktop you want, that is what Mac stuff is all about.
Customizing is fun.
I still use the old Kaleidoscope stuff once in a while. Why not? Make a pattern with just a light pattern in a light color, and use it daily or when ever you want to, Use the pictures when you just plan to surf the web and will have a page covering it.
I am not good at explaining stuff, but I sure could show you all by screen shots or if you were here.
Make a bunch of desktop patterns using PSE and use them,,,,, Jane
I was not questioning the clutter. I was curious as to how you could have a word doc and elements both fully open with out either covering or hiding any parts of the other or neither being partly minimized where you are having to toggle back and forth between the two.
—
Have A Nice Day, π
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
I’m with you, Jim – I can’t figure out how that’s possible. But we’re stuck in a different paradigm, I suppose….
π
Such is the life of a windoze user. I have always been told once I got it that I would get it (a Mac). Actually none of the software I need for work will run on a Mac so regardless of how much better they are suppose to be for graphics I will always be stuck with the windows OS.
—
Have A Nice Day, π
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
I just e-mailed a picture of my Mac desktop to Jodi, but I don’t know when she’ll get it or when she might be able to post it. (And that’s assuming she will!) The transparent desktop is really hard to explain. And you can’t actually have two applications fully open, but switching back and forth is just a matter of clicking on the document that’s displayed in one or the other. For example, if I click on the image, I can access everything within Elements, but the Word doc will display. If I move over and click on the Word doc, the image stays open, but all of the menus, toolbars, etc. of Word reappear.
I just went in and tried opening both Elements and Word on the XP machine. Yes, by resizing the windows of each application, you can get them placed side by side, but the overall effect isn’t quite as convenient. When you downsize Elements, it means you lose access to portions of the menu, option bar, etc., and the Word menu isn’t complete either, nor is it easy to see the complete text of a document. If you have a chance to look at my screenshot, you’ll be able to see the difference. As far as "clutter" is concerned, I keep very little on my desktop, but my dock is across the bottom of the screen, so I can click on anything else I want to open.
And the puppy in the screenshot was Isaac back in August of 1990. He died four days ago, and that’s why I haven’t been on the forum too much for the last week. I’m still not much in the mood, but I’m trying to get past that. π
Hi Beth, Please send it to me too, as we love our dogs too. I even use the Kaleidoscope dog scene some of the time. All the folders are dogs, and the other goofy stuff,,,,,
My favourite desktop most of the time is our yellow labs and/or grandkids. I(and my Macs,) am allergic to Microsoft products, so don’t deal with them, so I can’t help people customize their desktops using that system,,,,,
But customizing is really a fun part of this computer stuff, at least for me and my Mac user group friends.
Jane
Oh Beth … Sorry about Issac. You must be so sad
Wendy
Chuck & James,
As I said before all we get on screen with Elements is the top bar and the left hand side bar and they take up very little of the screen.
One way of explaining it … imagine the whole thing as an image with Photoshop layers.
Background is the desktop and Elements sits on top of it … inbetween you can have other things open and just as all the layers would be visible in Photoshop then so they are on a Mac.
It really is hard to explain how it works … best way is to see the snapshot when Jodi posts it.
Wendy
Thank you, Wendy. Yes I am very sad. He was our baby, and this is the first time in all my life I’ve been without a dog in the house. I think that’s making it much harder; at least in the past when one died there was another one left at home that got some extra spoiling. This place seems really empty.
The message I sent to Jodi was returned, so I’m not sure whether that was an error on my end or hers. I’ll have to try again later. So nothing for her to post yet!
Well, thanks for the explanation, Barbara. After having one for a few years and getting 2 unfixable viruses that required reinstallation of Windows and all apps and losing all data, the last thing I’ll be doing is going back to a Windows computer. So I guess I’ll just have to get used to it. Small price to pay in my opinion. I guess this wasn’t the case in OS9, huh? Either that or my memory is bad…
Michelle,
I just tested something out. Create a blank folder, open the file browser, go to the empty file (using the browser) and then extend the size of the browser window. That way you end up with a background for your images.
Wendy
We had the same thing happen 11 years ago with our wonderful Springer/Irish Setter girl. We couldn’t exist dog-less, so went to our local pound, and here she is, <
http://www.smalldog.com/mydog/number.php?id=800>
She is a joy and I want to encourage everybody who would love to have another dog, to go to your local pound and see the dogs there who need homes, and have either had to be given up by elderly people, or other circumstances that they have no control over. The best way to help a dog!
And do volunteer, contribute, or ‘foster’. even if you cannot adopt at the moment. Sorry about the ‘commercial’ but it is so *very* important.
Jane
Hey Beth, I know you don’t know me except by name and a very few posts, but I’d like to send our (my wife and I) condolences to you on the loss of your "pup." Those who have never kept pets often don’t understand how deep the attachment goes. We’ve lost three over the years, and have not yet brought another into the house because we travel a lot. One of these days, though…
As with the loss of any loved one, remember the joy he brought to you, and celebrate the years of his life.
Beth,
I know what you mean about the house being empty. When my beloved cat Tassie died the house seemed really empty and quiet so much so that I went out a few days later and got a kitten.
When we brought her home she was a minx and got into everything … she didn’t replace Tassie but she certainly livened the house up!
They do become one of the family and losing them is such a blow.
Wendy
Beth if you e-mail it to me at the addy (my e-mail) posted at link below I will post it on my Pbase site for anyone who is interested. Thanks.
—
Have A Nice Day, π
James Hutchinson
http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
OK, sorry for the delay…..here is Beth’s Mac desktop that looks like a windoze desktop :)….except for that funky stuff in the bottom and that apple π
Beth’s desktop <
http://www.mybizz.net/l/w/lwsfrye/Beth.jpg>
Thanks for posting Jody.
Beth as they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I can see where that would be handy in some instances. Basically the image, pallets and other docs have to be kept at a smaller size to fit on the desktop but your document window doesn’t minimize when you work within Elements as it would in windows. Is this correct?
—
Have A Nice Day, π
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
Beth, check your mail box….sorry if i sounded pushy…you have no idea what’s been going on here.
When I have two programs open at the same time in Windows XP, to switch back and forth between them, all I do is click from one to the other on the task bar — nothing is minimized — it just brings it to the front. Using Alt+tab does a minimize-maximize thing and it drives my bifocals crazy. Switching from one to the other on the taskbar keeps them both open FULL size. It’s no big deal, the other application is only one click away and you can have them both full size.
My 2 cents, FWIW.
Patti
It really is what you get used to Patti. And I just can’t get used to Windows, though the world keeps pushing me to try. Argh.
And, James, I don’t think things are really at a smaller size, although they probably appear to be on that monitor. It’s a 19" that I’ve got set at 1280 X 1024. My goal is to get the second CRT monitor hooked up, but I still haven’t decided whether to replace the video card or the whole computer. I finally bought a scanner yesterday after agonizing for weeks, so I won’t be up for another major decision for a while! π
And thank you Dave for your kind thoughts. I appreciate it very much.
Thanks for the explanations Beth and I’m sorry to hear of your loss. We lost two a couple of years ago, one the day we started our new house and one the week we moved in. We have since got a Chocolate Lab and we are now looking at some Yellow Lab pups that were born last Saturday. I want another one and my wife thinks one is enough at this time, decisions, decisions.
—
Have A Nice Day, π
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/
Beth, I think we all agree, we like what we are used to using, eh? I’ve never had anything but a PC, so I really have no way to compare one way or the other. I probably will never switch either, the quilting software I teach classes for and just wrote a book for is only made for PC’s. My daughter loves her Mac and occasonally tries to convert me over. I think both Mac’s and Windows have their good points…but it’s all in what you are used to.
Patti
Wendy,
Thanks for your suggestion. That open empty folder does clean up my background nicely. -Michelle
Well, I vote with you, James – get that puppy! I think having more than one animal makes the bad times a touch easier – not much, but better than this experience. If I had my way, they’d be at least two, but I don’t live here alone, so… I’ll settle for one if that’s all I can manage! I did download the adoption application from the local humane society this morning. π
Patti, I never encourage people to change platforms unless it’s their idea. I do have a couple of things that require a Windows machine, but with a Win and a Mac sitting side by side, there’s just no question which I one I’d rather be working on.
Marty, what would I do with the 70 (!) icons I have on my desktop if they weren’t covered up by the program??
π
Chuck
(p.s. there were more….but I did some cleanup!)
Oops….I meant Beth. Was thinking of Marty and her terrific photos!
π
70?!!!! How in the world do you FIND anything with so many things out there?! I can’t answer your question (obviously!), but if what Barbara said about Longhorn is true – and it might be, since Microsoft has been moving closer and closer to the Mac format since Windows 95 was released – you’d better start practicing the fine art of putting stuff away! π
Beth, when I moved up to 1024 by 768 resolution to fix the palette well problem, I found I had room for all those extra icons. If I get too many….I guess I’ll just have to…..go to even higher resolution!!
π
Beth, i can’t wait to get those pictures from you ! I’m so excited ! …you know what i’m talking about ;)…charge up those batteries !
Not today. π
And, Chuck, for goodness sake, clean up! And your desk probably looks about like my husband’s, too. π
Beth, when trying to picture my desk…..think ‘outhouse struck by lightning’……..
Eew Chuck… The smell must be awful!
π
Joe
