Add Some eXtra Buttons to the Window’s Title Bar

eXtra Buttons is freeware software that allows you to add up to 9 additional buttons to the title bar of each window. These buttons adds several useful options like minimize to tray, keep on top, send to background and others that eases window management. The buttons, whose order can be adjusted by the user, appear next to the minimize/maximize buttons on the right of each window.

The buttons blend well with the window border under Aero as well as without. The user gets to choose any Hex color for the button glyph and of course, which buttons they want to use. There are 9 buttons in total all of which are enabled by default.

The eXtra Buttons are:

1. Always on top – places the window on the top of the other windows, so that’s always visible whether or not it has the focus.
2. Push to background – sends window behind all opened windows
3. Run Application Copy – starts another instance of the application 
4. Roll-up/Unroll – minimizes window to its caption or title bar, so that only the title bar is visible
5. Transparency Preset – makes the window transparent to a preset transparency level. The preset can be changed from the program’s option
6. Percentage transparency – adjust transparency of the window by percentage
7. Minimize to Tray – minimizes window and places its icon to System Tray.
8. Minimize to Tray Menu – minimizes window to the System Tray and lumps all minimized icon to a single System Tray Menu so as not to crowd the System Tray.
9. Minimize to Box – minimizes window and places its icon on the Desktop in adjusted arrangement.

The final option will need some explanation. The ‘Box’ is a translucent section on the desktop that holds the icons of windows that were minimized to the Box. The Box can be placed in any convenient position on the desktop on any edge of the screen either horizontally or vertically. Boxes are displayed on the top of all windows. Being transparent they usually do not block the work space.

Additionally, all 9 actions can be associated with a custom hotkey for even easier window management using the keyboard. eXtra Buttons is definitely a keeper.