A subdivided rectangular region of a computer display, in which different images, directories, or programs can be displayed. Operating systems and software applications that allow windowing typically allow more than one element to be displayed on a screen at any one time, such as different computer directories (or "folders"), different application menus, or even different files or programs. A typical windows conains a title bar along the top, usually bearing the name of the docuemnt of directory it contains; a menu bar bearing the names of various pull-down menus that can be accessed; a scroll bar (containing a scroll box) down the right side of the window (and perhaps another along the bottom of the window), allowing the user to quickly move to different portions of a document; and a close box, or a quick means of closing a window with a click of the mouse. Windows can be repositioned on the screen, resized, opened, closed, and can be either tiled windows or cascaded windows. The Macintosh operating system utilizes windows, as does the aptly named Microsoft Windows.
In prepress, the term window is used to refer to a hole cut in the front of a flat uncovering the image area(s) of a negative for platemaking. Window can also describe a clear, commonly rectangular "hole" in a line negative used to later strip in a halftone. (Also known as window clipping.)