Abstract: A control panel having task pages is described. State information is retained through interaction with various task pages and pushed to other task pages to eliminate redundant information or requests for previously provided information.

Abstract: A method referred to as x-ray browsing for allowing a user to browse through windows on their desktop is provided. Aspects of the invention include responsive to a command, making a first window the window in focus on the display screen and changing the relative opacities between a content portion of the first window and a content portion of the second window. By controlling the opacities a single window can be made opaque while the remaining windows can be made transparent to allow a user to successively navigate among open windows.

Abstract: Techniques and implementations for providing enhanced functionality for handling data in Internet browsers or other applications used for accessing data over a network, including providing thumbnail image displays of the current appearance of webpages referenced by URLs returned in a set of search results, providing thumbnail image displays of the webpages referenced by a list of favorite or bookmarked websites, providing thumbnail image displays of webpages which have been blocked from appearing on a user's screen, and providing thumbnail image displays of images which have been extracted from webpages and stored for potential future use.

Abstract: A method for displaying at least one visualization of windows on a display screen is described. The method includes steps of receiving an input corresponding to a request to access visualizations of windows for a plurality of windows, and for each window of the plurality of windows, displaying a visualization of at least a portion of the content of the window in an area separately defined from the plurality of windows, wherein the at least a portion of the content includes dynamic video content. Another method provides for grouping and ordering the visualizations when displayed. Another method allows for display of visualizations related to child and/or parent windows.

Abstract: A method referred to as visual window browsing allows a user to browse through windows on their desktop. Aspects of the invention include responsive to a command, moving open windows to form a visual stack with the topmost window in the stack being in focus. Responsive to a browse the windows in the visual stack can be browsed, where the topmost window moves to the bottom of the visual stack and the other windows move higher in the stack, with the second highest window becoming the topmost window and being in focus. Successive browse commands causes this behavior to repeat allowing a user to cycle through each of the open windows.

Abstract: A method for displaying a plurality of windows on a display screen is described. The method includes steps of associating a first window with at least one second window, the at least one second window being independent of and external to the first window, and combining the first window and the at least one second window into a common window on a display screen, the first window and the at least one second window being configured to share a common window frame. An indicator may appear on the display as a target region when a user desires to associate the first and the second windows. Subsequent operations performed on the common window are performed automatically on any underlying window. For example, when a user chooses to save the contents of the common window, the contents of all of the windows of the common window may be saved.

Abstract: A method for displaying a plurality of windows on a display screen is described. The method includes steps of associating a first window with a second window, where the second window is independent of the first window, arranging the first window and the second window on a display screen, where the first window and the second window are configured to fit within a predetermined region of the display screen, and notifying an application program corresponding to the first window that the second window is associated with the first window. An indicator may appear on the display as a target region when a user desires to associate the first and the second windows. Subsequent operations performed on the first window are performed automatically on the second window. For example, when a user is comparing two documents, she can scroll down one document and have the second document automatically scroll as well.