Bringing all Word windows to the front

[Susan B.]

It's me again---I'm so happy to find this list that I'm dumping all my new-
user questions out here at once! And this may actually be a question for
another list, but maybe someone here can help.

In OS9, whenever I flipped from app to app, all the windows open for the
given app came to the front of my screen. Now, in OSX.3.5, if I have two
documents open in Word (which I usually do at any given time) and I flip to,
say, check my e-mail, then tap on one of the Word docs to get back into
Word, only the window I tap comes to the front. The other open document
stays buried under the e-mail window. Is there a setting that will make it so
that all the windows for the uppermost application come to the front of the
screen?

 

[matt neuburg]

In OS9, whenever I flipped from app to app, all the windows open for the
given app came to the front of my screen. Now, in OSX.3.5, if I have two
documents open in Word (which I usually do at any given time) and I flip to,
say, check my e-mail, then tap on one of the Word docs to get back into
Word, only the window I tap comes to the front. The other open document
stays buried under the e-mail window. Is there a setting that will make it so
that all the windows for the uppermost application come to the front of the
screen?

This is more of a system problem than a Word problem. Various
third-party apps can cause this to happen automatically or can give you
a keyboard shortcut that brings all of the current app's window to the
front. I use DragThing for this (among many other things I use it for).

Word 2004 also has a Window > Bring All To Front menu item, and of
course you can give that a keyboard shortcut. But as I say, I prefer to
solve this problem at the system level, because it is universal. m.

 

[Elliott Roper]

This is more of a system problem than a Word problem. Various
third-party apps can cause this to happen automatically or can give you
a keyboard shortcut that brings all of the current app's window to the
front. I use DragThing for this (among many other things I use it for).

Word 2004 also has a Window > Bring All To Front menu item, and of
course you can give that a keyboard shortcut. But as I say, I prefer to
solve this problem at the system level, because it is universal. m.

My favourite method is to click on one of the windows of the
application I want and then hit cmd-opt-h. In all but a few abberrant
programs, that causes everything else to hide.

Actually I take this further and use cmd-tab to get to the program I
want *then* hit cmd-opt-h. Keeps the screen perma-tidy. A useful thing
on a 12" Powerbook. Especially in Panther where, on cmd-tab, the one
you used last is next to the one you are using now. It makes it slick
to swap between two programs, like Word (where you check that you can't
type in comment bubbles) and in Thoth (where you post the reply to
Susan B's other question 'cos it is easier ;-) )

A related convenience is cmd ~ to cycle round the windows of the
current application. It is not too hard to leave your mouse untouched
for minutes on end.

 

[Clive Huggan]

This is more of a system problem than a Word problem. Various
third-party apps can cause this to happen automatically or can give you
a keyboard shortcut that brings all of the current app's window to the
front. I use DragThing for this (among many other things I use it for).

Word 2004 also has a Window > Bring All To Front menu item, and of
course you can give that a keyboard shortcut. But as I say, I prefer to
solve this problem at the system level, because it is universal. m.

And you can click on the Word icon in the Dock after checking your e-mail to
bring all the Word windows to the front.

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is at least 5 hours different from the US and Europe,
so my follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
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