Cascading Document Windows

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 20, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


2

Nathan noted that in Word, unlike in PowerPoint, there is no cascade functionality on the View tab of the ribbon and that arranging document windows by using the Arrange All tool can be clumsy if several documents are open. He wonders if there is a cascade tool for Word that he is missing somewhere.

Actually, the tool was dropped from Word because it is superfluous—you can cascade document windows within Windows instead of Word. You can cascade your document windows by following these steps:

  1. Make sure that the document windows you want to cascade are visible on the desktop.
  2. Minimize all the windows you don't want to cascade. (They should still appear, albeit minimized, on the Task Bar.)
  3. Right-click on an empty area of the Task Bar. Windows displays a Context menu.
  4. Choose Cascade Windows from the Context menu.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7748) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Automatically Formatting Graphics and AutoShapes

Want to change the graphics formatting defaults in Word? You can customize some of these defaults, saving yourself some time.

Discover More

Exfoliation

Exfoliation—the removal of dead cells from the topmost layer of your skin—is all the rage at spas and ...

Discover More

Counting Cells with Specific Characters

Excel is used by many people to hold all sorts of data, not just numbers. If you have cells that include meaningful ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Jumping to a Page within a Section

In long documents it is often helpful to jump directly to a particular page. Word provides several tools you can use to ...

Discover More

Shortcut for Show/Hide

Hate to take your hands off the keyboard? Here's a handy keyboard shortcut you can use to display (or not display) the ...

Discover More

Factory Default Settings for Word

Do you long for a way to reset Word to a 'factory default' condition? It is almost impossible to get things to the way ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 + 8?

2022-10-04 13:29:13

Keith Gardner

Not true on Mac. The function was not at all superfluous and its removal is a hindrance to efficiency.


2021-04-01 16:54:46

Paul Clark

in windows 7 it was possible to go into task manager ... highlight documents and then cascade them -->

So, is it possible to cascade documents in windows 10 ? .................. not just applications! .......................


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.