I mostly use Windows98, so I don't know much at all about Linux.
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Problem: In Fedora, running KDE or Gnome desktops, when I use the "dot" button (the leftmost button) to minimize a window (either on purpose or accidentally), the window disappears, but no icon appears in the taskbar. So how do I kill all those windows? Sometimes they re-appear after rebooting, but the computer is going slower and slower, there's probably a few dozen minimized windows. The desktop help files say that when a window is minimized, an icon is supposed to appear in the taskbar, but it doesn't. There's nothing to indicate that the windows are there but minimized at all, except that the browser (I have noticed) is opening slower and slower (because I minimized it a bunch of times, and it disappeared totally, so I assumed it was closed).
--->Maybe I am a retard; could somebody link to a screenshot, that shows exactly what a minimized window is supposed to look like on-screen? As it is I have no clue.
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For a long time, every time I rebooted, the HDE help window kept popping up, and I couldn't figure out why. I kept closing it, but every time it comes back. So apparently there's a bunch of them out there too.
?????
And messing with the desktop settings, I noticed that a few of the windows have "reappeared" as greyed-out in the "desktop #1" button in the taskbar, but I can't get them to do anything....
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Dude - I'm at work so I'm working from memory, but I ran into the same issue as you did with the disappearing icons in Redhat. I think (as I recall) the way to fix it was to right click the task bar, and then one of the choices was Utilities (or Configure or something like that), and within that there was a option for Windows List. That's what you need. Enable it and your minimized windows should appear in the taskbar. I'll assume that since Fedora comes from the same pedigree as Redhat that the same solution would work, but that may be a faulty assumption. -- J.W.

Okay, that works. I was right-clicking and trying to use the option in the "configure panel" dialog--there's a textbox there to include the windows list button...but that didn't add the button (?). On the taskbar, right-click and go to "add", "special buttons" and it's in that list, and that works. Thanks so much. They still don't appear in the taskbar, but at least that button brings up a list that one can shut them down by.
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Mozilla still isn't working, but I guess that is some other reason....
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try alt-tab to switch to/maximize the disappeared window.

Well if I got the darn button to list them, that will work.
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Todays episode: Updating Mozilla!
--> I downloaded the tar.gz for Mozilla 1.6 and got it all installed and it runs--at least it did right after the install finished (I have 1.4 previous). And it runs from the console in its directory. But the taskbar button still only starts up the older Mozilla 1.4. And they aren't in the same place: Moz 1.6 installed in /user/local/, while Moz 1.4 (that installed with Fedora) is in /user/lib/. How does one change the taskbar browse button to the newer Mozilla? And can I just delete the old directory, or is there anything in there that must be kept? (Where does Mozilla keep its user profiles?)
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-On second thought, no it won't.
I logged into another user account, and the open windows still show up as icons in the taskbar--just like in Windows. So how the %&$^ do I get that back? I have been through the whole "configure desktop" business about fifty times now, and cannot figure it out. The window list button sucks, it is not as fast as the icons would be. NOTHING I have been able to find and change has brought them back, even hitting "default" for everything has not done it.
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Grrrr.........nevermind, I just found it.
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"Grrrr.........nevermind, I just found it."

Wheeeerrrreeeee????? D:>

^ talk about necrobumping.
have you seen the date on that thread, christianhippie?
if you have a problem, start a new thread please. explaining your problem in as much detail as possible.