Show/hide Layer and properties best way in V5?

Hi,
I have discovered that with careful mouse placement on the tiny spotty grey bar atop layers palette when it is at screen side, a double click expands the layer palette from its 1cm width, and another d/click on its now blue bar sends it back there. Likewise for the Properties palette, though invariably after the double click to expand it it gets dragged across screen and I have to resite it. That rarely happens to layer palette.

Is this the best way to expand and shrink back these palettes to screen side.

A few times I ended up with Properties sitting under my top menu and had to drag it out and place it back to screen side.
…edit update…and now I cant get properties to be 1cm wide at side, a double click on its blue bar sees it end up under my top menu items wiping out an entire 20mm of screen downwards.

How do I get properties to minimise itself at screen right ?

With layers ‘folded in’ I find the coloured cake slice wont open it so it must be that double click.

Steve