Windows Toolbox: MinMaxExtender Gives You New Ways to Tame Your Windows
The makers of the
MinMaxExtender
utility believe that three is not enough. I'm referring, of course, to the
buttons on the top right of folder and application windows. With this program
you can add as many as six new buttons there to maximize windows vertically or
horizontally only, hide a window except for its title bar (the window shade
effect), hide a window completely, minimize it to the system tray (the taskbar
area near the clock), or make it stay on top of all other windows. You can turn
off the buttons you don't need and customize them in other ways. Unfortunately,
the program's creators don't support the product anymore, so it is now
open-source. Still, it works well for me, except in XP's default blue, olive,
or silver color schemes, whose large buttons collide with MinMaxExtender's
stay-on-top button. So either forget about using that feature in this case, or
tweak additional MinMaxExtender settings in the Windows Registry so the buttons
accommodate each other. And here's the kicker: The program is free.
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