Windows can be thought of an interface or holder that allow you to work with an application.  When you open an application Mac OSX will display a window for that application.  Depending on the application a different window will appear with a particular look and feel for that application.  Note that the Finder is the default Mac OS X application.

Every application, utility, and document window in Mac OS X must possess at a minimum a Title Bar and a Close Button.  Most windows however have many more components such as a minimize button, a zoom button, icons, a toolbar control, and a resize control.  This guide will discuss the structure of windows in Mac OS X.

It is easy to use application windows in Mac OS X.  In fact, most application windows have behaviors that control their size, viewable area, position on the screen, and if they are minimized or maximized.  We recommend that you read the Window Structure guide prior to reading this guide.

With the default blue OS X Aqua theme, Windows have red, yellow, and green droplet-like buttons in the upper-left corner of the Title Bar.  Red closes the window, yellow minimizes the window to the Dock, green minimizes and maximizes the window size, and is thus called the Zoom button.