Click Thumbnail to Activate (Give Focus) to a Window w/o Passing the Click to the App

It used to be that you could get the thumbnails for all of your windows, and then click on one of those thumbnails to activate (e.g. give focus to) the window? And then a while back some genius at MS decided that the click should also be passed to the app! So if you accidentally clicked on the upper right corner of the thumbnail you would close the app although that was not what you wanted to do. Is there way to make it work like it used to? So that a click anywhere on the thumbnail activated the window without passing the click to the app. I get that I must be a real luddite but is there any way to make it work the way used to?

Thanks, Old (Fashion) Bob

If you are referring to this (this is an older photo, with the X button outside of the Thumbnail program window):


Then the solution to remove it from the newer thumbnail style requires some sort of programming / software development, which can be difficult. If anyone here knows how to help (using the links I provided below), maybe you can assist. I don't know much about how to go forward with all that.

Bob, I believe you are remembering wrong.
You are correct. It used to be like that a while ago. Yet with more recent versions of Windows, the X button has been built in by design.

Yet if anyone is able to assist with software development, then I found those links:
> https://stackoverflow.com/questions...-windows-10-taskbar-close-button-using-winapi
> https://stackoverflow.com/questions/26821825/removing-taskbar-thumbnail-close-button

I guess that maybe I am missing the point. Out of that nice big thumbnail, why would you choose to click just on the small spot that is the "X"? Simply click anywhere else within that thumbnail and the problem is solved.

To me this is about the same as saying "I have <insert name of app>. When I click the "X" at the upper right it closes the app. I don't want that". My answer to that: Don't do that!

Help me understand if I am missing the point.