I often have a whole bunch of windows open on the screen at the same time. This is great, as it allows me to easily move between programs and transfer information. (I often transfer information between browser windows, Word, and Excel.) However, all the open windows can be a bit overwhelming at times, and sometimes it would be nice to work with only a single window.
The normal way to deal with this is to activate each program window and either close it or minimize it to the Taskbar. This can take a lot of time, however. A great shortcut in Windows is to use what is called "Aero Shake." (Cheesy name, I know.) Even though Aero was supposedly only a Windows 7 feature, this shortcut still works in later versions of Windows as well.
To see how it works, activate the single window you want to work on. Point to the window's title bar, click your mouse, and shake the mouse back and forth. What should happen is that all the other windows are automatically minimized, leaving only the single window open on the screen.
You'll probably have to play with this technique just a bit—it takes some finesse to get the shaking just right. When you do, it can be a real timesaver to quickly clear your desktop and focus on a single window.
This tip (12561) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.
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Discover More2021-02-01 12:36:13
Awesome tip, man!
After all these years never knew that one.
2021-01-25 06:45:19
Geraldine Richardson
This is the craziest, cutest and one of the most useful tips I have ever seen. Who would have thought? Thanks again, Allen.
Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
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