By design Investor/RT does not have minimize, maximize, restore buttons on the title bar, only the close button. Multipane charts typically have Minimize, Maximize and restore button available at the top right section of the button pane (see more details below). For other windows type, right-clicking in the title bar usually offers a menu of choices for Minimize, Maximize and Restore actions (with the Alt - keyboard combination also minimizing any selected window). All windows, charts, quote pages, preferences windows, object manager, etc. are floating windows. The benefit of this approach is two-fold:
- any window is eligible to be positioned on any monitor you wish; windows are not confined to the main Investor/RT window
- all windows are equals; any window can be brought fully to the front and can float above other open windows. Investor/RT will always open charts and any other window type, so they become fully visible over any other open window.
Please note that there is no limit on the number of monitors that can be used. But in case of complex setups (involving, for example, several graphics cards), to make sure all floating I/RT windows are always reopening at the right position/monitor, it is recommended to locate the Investor/RT main toolbar on the monitor being defined as the “Primary” monitor within Windows 10/11 display settings.
Here are several tips on using Floating Windows
The main "Window Manager" list, accessible through the "Window" Tab of the main toolbar (or via the Alt+N shortcut), shows the current state of all windows that have been opened or minimised. Selecting a window brings that window to the front. Other buttons are provided to Identify the selected window with a window tremor, Close the window, Minimize the window, or Center the window (this will move a window to the center of the Monitor hsoting the main toolbar, a useful feature to bring back any window that may still be located on a display that may have been disconnected from the PC). The window updates automatically as you change layouts or if you open windows using the Object Manager.
Temporarily Maximizing a window
- Double-click in the title bar of any Investor/RT resizable window to maximize the window.
- Double-click in the title bar of any maximized Investor/RT window to "Restore" it to its normal size and location (where it was before it was maximized).
Minimized windows can be restored to their original size and location by one of the following means
- Using the mouse: open the "Window manager" and just click on the name of the minimized chart name to be restored
- Keyboard actions: CTRL+Tab. While holding the CTRL key, keep clicking on the Tab key until you have selected on the window manager list the chart you want to restore
- Keyboard shortcuts: if you are regularly restoring a specific chart that has been minimized, and want to achieve this through a single click operation, this can be managed by programming a dedicated Keyboard shortcut (File > Preferences > Keyboard shortcut) associated with the action File > Open Chart > Chartname.
About Minimized window icons (and the new feature available in Investor/RT 16.1)
In release 15.1 and earlier, a known limitation of Investor/RT was that, when using a multiple monitor environment, one of the above options was needed (to restore a minimimized window) as native minimized window icons were only displayed (at the bottom screen) in case of a single monitor setup.
From 16.1 c1 onwards, you now have the option to display a minimised window icon (in such a multi-monitor configuration) by setting the new configuration variable UseMinimizedWindowsIcons to true. In that case, a new white minimized window icons, identifying the window type (with the chart name /instrument and periodicity for example, or the Quotepage name) will appear on the top right section of the monitor that was holding the chart. This window icon can be moved around any of your monitors through drag and drop actions, with a double click maximizing the chart again (on its original location) or a click on the top right corner definitively closing that window.
Please note that, when activating this new option, one needs to
- minimize charts by using the corresponding chart button, usually located at the top right corner of the button pane of the chart (or through a window manager
- minimize a quotepage by use the “Minimize Quotepage” option located at the very bottom of the menu that can be accessed through a left click on the + button located at the top of the QP vertical scroll ladder
Remarks about legacy windows features
Minimize/maximize/restore charts button became the default back with the Investor/RT 12.3 release. Similarly, the All windows floating model became the standard one with the Investor/RT 8.4 release. It is therefore absolutely not recommended to modify the default value of the corresponding configuration variables (FloatAllWindows or ButtonPaneMinMaxRestoreButns). Would you import an old chart definition not including the standard min/max restore chart buttons, these can still be added through the usual right-click chart menu by using the "Add Button" option, together with the Resize Chart as a button purpose.