Inactive windows and programs can take up valuable screen space. Most users minimize the programs to avoid this but it quickly becomes a repetitive process as the program windows need to be minimized whenever the programs have been accessed by the user.

The free program Swept Away has been designed to automate that process. It will automatically minimize windows that have been inactive for a set amount of time, 300 seconds by default.

The windows are automatically minimized to the system tray without user interaction. The program options can be changed to increase or reduce the time it takes before the windows are minimized.

automatically minimize windows

Swept Away has also an option to whitelist applications so that their windows will never be minimized even if the inactivity period exceeds the configured interval in the software program. Running applications can be excluded from the program’s system tray icon. A checkmark indicates programs that will not be minimized while the program is running.

Swept Away has its uses, especially if programs are run on the system that need to be active regularly but are not required to be visible all the time. The program is compatible with most Microsoft Windows operating systems, download is available over at Lifehacker.

It might take a while before the computer desktop is shown after pressing alt tab and some combinations might cause graphical errors in the game which make restarting the game inevitable.

Game Minimizer (via Shellcity) comes to the rescue. The program sits quietly in the Windows system tray upon execution. It registers the global hotkey F12 which will from then on minimize fullscreen application. A quick test in Team Fortress 2 showed that it was working perfectly, at least in combination with that game.

It might happen that some games disable global shortcuts and that Game Minimizer would fail to minimize those games. Game Minimizer is using less than 2 Megabytes of computer memory and an equal amount of virtual memory which is acceptable for users who need that functionality. The software program is compatible to Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista.