Actual Window Menu adds new functions to the menu that appears when you right-click on the title bar of an application. For some users, this may be as valuable extension to the usual minimize, restore, maximize, move, size and close commands available there.
Actual Window Menu runs in the System Tray, from where you can configure its options. While in execution, you can start or stop its main function by right-clicking on its icon. Although I recognize the developers have done their best to provide the user with an intuitive interface, I still have the feeling that there are too many available options. So, you will probably need to study this interface for a while before you can take advantage of this program’s full potential. There is a navigation pane on the left, in which clicking on one of the groups expands it to show a list of the included functions. This way, you can customize the actions that you want to be available via the system window menu, and you can even specify what actions are available for a given application. These actions include rolling up or unrolling the selected window, setting a transparency level, minimizing to System Tray, keeping the window always on top, etc. Apart from the functions mentioned above, there are also some that do not modify the visible part of an application but have an important effect on their behavior. Such is the case of changing a program’s priority or running the program as a different user.
While these new functions definitely let you manage the open windows more accurately, they certainly add new difficulties, especially for beginners, who can easily lose track of windows minimized to the Tray, for instance. I really suggest you not to get dazzled by the so many options available and to use only those really useful for you. In this respect, some of the functions, such as transparency, have a very limited use, so you might just want to disable them. In order to use these functions, you can set a keyboard combination for each of them; however, it seems to me that they are too many to remember. In addition, you can also set mouse actions and combine them with keyboard modifiers.
In general, Actual Window Menu seems to be a well-polished application. I would only object to the difficulties while navigating its interface. It would be great if there were two different interface modes, such as Beginner and Expert. I am sure it is possible to simplify the interface so that it only shows the basic, most useful, functions.
Comments