Switching Among Files You've Opened

Often, you'll have many files open at once. If you are running Word 2003 in Windows 2000, each file you open gets its own icon on the Windows taskbar. You can have multiple icons on the taskbar while only one copy of Word is open. To display any open file, click its taskbar icon.

This behavior, which contrasts with most Windows programs, has not met with universal acclaim. In Word 2003, the choice is yours. If you prefer to set aside only one taskbar icon for Word?and to switch among files using the Window menu or other traditional techniques?you can have what you want.

To switch back to the classic "multiple document interface," choose Tools, Options, View; clear the Windows in Taskbar check box; and choose OK.

Windows XP largely solves the problem. If you are running Word 2003 in Windows XP, by default each file is listed within a single group displayed on the taskbar. Click the group to display all the files listed in it, and click to choose the one you want to view.

If you clear the Windows in Taskbar check box while you are running Windows XP, only the current document icon will appear in the taskbar; you'll have to switch between files using the Window menu.