Window Previews On Your Netbook
Whatever make of netbook you have, you’ve got a tiny screen (typically only 1024×600 resolution) to make the most of.
One of the problems you’ll quickly run into is finding the right open window. Because the screen is so small, you’ll probably prefer to maximise each open window. That makes it a bit easier to work in one window, but switching between open windows can be a bit time-consuming.
Switching on window previews is a good way to speed up switching between open windows. (You can do this on regular-sized laptops and desktops too!) You’ll also find this feature in the upcoming Windows 7 from Microsoft, which is due in October.
Window Previews In Action
Pre-requisites
To use window previews, you must first have switched over to using compiz on your netbook. If you’re not sure how to do this, we have a complete set of instructions for you 
You’ll also need the CompizConfig Settings Manager (ccsm) installed. To install this, open up a terminal, and run the following command:
sudo apt-get install ccsm
Enabling Window Previews
Launch ccsm (you’ll find it under the System menu, as Preferences -> CompizConfig Settings Manager). A window will open listing all of the different features of compiz:
CompizConfig Settings Manager
All of the different features are grouped by type, and the list of types can be seen on the left of the window. Click on Extras, and on the right hand side of the window you’ll see a bunch of features appear, including the one we are looking for
The Extras Group Of Plugins In ccsm
Click on the Window Previews option to go into its settings:
Window Previews Settings in ccsm
Click on Enable Window Previews, and that will turn window previews on immediately. You test that it is working by moving your mouse over one of the icons in the taskbar at the top of the screen. If the window isn’t minimised, you should see a preview appear.
You might prefer to adjust some of the settings from their defaults. For example, I prefer to increase the size of the preview from 200 pixels wide to 250 pixels.
Close the settings window, and you’re done. I hope you find this as useful as I do.
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