[comp.windows.x] OpenWindows icons front or back

mckie@nas.nasa.gov (William McKie) (12/10/90)

We're curious about how icons are placed (front to back) in OpenWindows
2.0.  Typically, we have a mix of shelltool, cmdtool, and xterm windows
on the workspace, in various overlapping situations.  We have the
OpenWindows.IconLocation resource set to "bottom".  When we left click
on a window's Window Button, the icon is placed at the bottom of the
screen as expected, but sometimes it is placed in front of another
window, and sometimes behind it.  We would like to have icons always be
placed in front, so we don't lose track of them.  Is there a way to get
this behavior?  If not, what is the rule that olwm is using to decide
whether to place the icon in front of or behind another window?

-Bill McKie
mckie@sky.arc.nasa.gov

smarks@eng.sun.COM (Stuart Marks) (12/12/90)

| We're curious about how icons are placed (front to back) in OpenWindows
| 2.0.  Typically, we have a mix of shelltool, cmdtool, and xterm windows
| on the workspace, in various overlapping situations.  We have the
| OpenWindows.IconLocation resource set to "bottom".  When we left click
| on a window's Window Button, the icon is placed at the bottom of the
| screen as expected, but sometimes it is placed in front of another
| window, and sometimes behind it.  

The IconLocation resource refers to the position on the screen (i.e. top,
bottom, left, right) not the stacking order.

| We would like to have icons always be
| placed in front, so we don't lose track of them.  Is there a way to get
| this behavior?  If not, what is the rule that olwm is using to decide
| whether to place the icon in front of or behind another window?

Unfortunately, there is no provision for doing this in the current release
of olwm.  The "rule" for olwm's icon stacking is merely that icons are
treated like any other window, and icons coexist in the window stacking
order with windows.  You can use the Front function key and the Back menu
item on icons just like you can on windows.

I'll consider your suggestion as a request for enhancement to the next
release of olwm.

s'marks

Stuart W. Marks			ARPA: smarks@eng.sun.com
Windows & Graphics Software	UUCP: sun!smarks
Sun Microsystems, Inc.