Bring back a window that vanished

Get back a window that disappeared, in one press, and tell the three corner buttons apart.

Windows and Mac both keep a bar along the bottom of the screen. They call it different things and put a few pieces in different corners.

Key points

• Bring back a window that has disappeared, in one press
• Tell the three buttons in the corner apart before pressing one
• Say why closing a letter does not throw the letter away

What to remember

• When something vanishes, look along the bar before you do anything else. It is nearly always sitting there.
• Minimize means “not now”. Close means “finished with this”. Neither one loses your work.

Try this

Open anything on your own machine and press the middle button in the top corner — the one that is not the cross. The window goes down to the bar. Press its button there and it comes back. Doing it deliberately once takes the fright out of doing it by accident.

Practice: Bring back a window that vanished. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.

Related guides

• Close a window without losing your work
• The desktop and the bar along the bottom
• Tell minimize from close
• Have two things open at once
• Read the bar along the bottom