Disappearing application windows

Hi,

Sometimes some of my running applications "lose" their main application window. I can still see them running on the Dock, and when I activate them there, the menu bar for that application appears but no window. This happened just now with the Finder (I could see open windows on the Window menu, and could Apple-N to open new windows, which I couldn't see, but were listed on the Window menu). Also I was using Instant Handbrake, and it disappeared but kept running (I could see the file size of the file it was making getting bigger). Oh - it was open just fine, I switched to Firefox, and when I went back it was gone...

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong? Does this have something to do with the fact that I use 2 monitors at home?

Thanks,

Jeff
(happy switcher, overall)

Some applications will "remember" their position on a second monitor, and try to open their windows there, even when that monitor has been disconnected or "moved." So they're open...they're just off the edge of the screen.

It's very poor behavior, and should be reported as a bug. You're not doing anything wrong.

The easiest thing to do might be to try switching your resolution(s). It might force the windows to reposition itself somewhere where you can see it. Or try plugging in and re-arranging the second monitor in System Preferences

Window> Zoom (the menu command that represents clicking the green + button) helps.