Mac 101: Apply actions to multiple windows

To make this retro tip more interesting try this:
Hold Shift + option then click on Yellow...

That is also retro, but good for switchers I guess...

This is an old, old, old hint. As in for mid 80's old.

noobs

The green button's ability to "right-size" a window is *occasionally* useful but a true maximize/restore like Windows or Linux would be more useful more often. The concept, for those who don't know, is that clicking the green button (technically the 'zoom' button--see below) once is supposed to automatically make the window the best possible size (i.e., exactly fit, if possible) and clicking it again will make it go back to whatever it was. Like I said, it's useful sometimes, but if it doesn't do exactly what you were hoping, it's useless.

There has been a control to do this since System 7 (at least) and it was called the 'zoom' button back then. ('Zoom' like 'zoom in/out', not like 'fast!!!') The 10.5 help says "Click the green zoom (+) button to toggle between a larger and smaller window size." Since it has been around for many many years, I don't think it will go anywhere, nor will there ever be a true maximize/restore thing in OS X. It just won't happen. Same with being able to resize a window from any side. (Though I will say that being able to move a window by grabbing any side is equally useful.)

I miss the "maximize to screen" and "resize to fit" from OS 9. I especially hate the way resize isn't even stable--certain layouts of icons can make multiple resizes constantly change the window size.

I guess you can put me down in the "spatial Finder" camp who wants single, stable windows for each folder, not this randomly-laid-out-browsers stuff.

The green button does not maximize, it resizes.

F5 does not refresh your browser.

TUAW is not The Unofficial Windows Blog (or is it?).

While the post says "Finder", this seems to work on all (at least most) apps.

hahah -- nice. now the green button can awkwardly resize your windows in entire groups at a time! :) thanks for the tip -- other than that it's handy. any chance apple will ever suck it up and allow green button to mean "maximize" or is that just crazy talk? maybe steve likes it the way it is and we're all eternally screwed.

and if you do option+yellow in the dock, you can restore all windows too.