Introduction
Window Commander is a powerful program that allows you to view and change
properties of open windows. It can be used as a development tool to experiment
with various window properties and the effect they have on a window. It can also
be useful to see how other windows achieve certain effects.
When initially opened, Window Commander will show the selection window, which
is a small window that allows you to open a window properties window for a
window. The selection window has 6 main ways of helping you select a window and
show its properties.
- The timer feature. To use this feature, enter a time in milliseconds,
then choose either from cursor or from focused window, then press start.
Once the timer runs out, whatever window is currently under the cursor or
focused (depending on which option you chose) will be selected and its
handle will be shown down the bottom of the selection window
- The press enter to select window under the mouse cursor feature. To use
this feature, click the start button, then position your mouse cursor over
the window you want selected and press enter. Note: Remember to keep the
window selection window focused throughout this process.
- The drag me feature. To use this feature, simply press down your mouse
on the drag me button, then drag it over to the window you want to select
and release. (Tip: You can enable a red border to show around the window
under the cursor while using this feature to make it more clear which window
is currently under the cursor. This can be enabled from the Options menu)
- The top level window list. Click 'see all top-level windows' to see a
list of all top level window handles and text. You can search this list via
handle or window text, select the window you want, and then select window
properties.
- You can also tap the link in the information text at the top of the
selection window with a touch screen to get the handle of the currently
active window (you can tap with a second finger in order to keep the
currently active window active if it is not the selection window).
Click here to see a video on
how this can be used.
- Finally, you can also manually enter the handle of window you want to
select.
Once a window has been selected, simply press the 'Window Properties' button
down the bottom of the window to open up the window properties window for that
window.
The window properties window shows a variety of different properties for the
selected window and allows you to change many of them. Additionally, you can
also click the refresh button down the bottom right to refresh the properties.
Tip: Window Commander can also be launched via the protocol 'quinnscomputing-windowcommander:'.
Simply type 'quinnscomputing-windowcommander' into a place such as a run or
ModernRun box to open Window Commander.
Note: If you are unable to change the properties for a window, try
running Window Commander as an administrator. You can do this from the window
selection window by clicking Application -> Run as administrator. The app will
relaunch as administrator and reopen any window properties windows you had open
(They will be refreshed automatically as well.)