WARNING: WideScreen is currently under development consult the KNOWN BUGS section before attempting to use this application. This is Version 0.5 of WideScreen (formerly known as WideScreen V0.4-V0.2 and VDT V0.1. WideScreen is a Virtual Desktop manager currently under development. If you are familiar the X window manager "tvtwm" or the VirtSpace.app utility then you known what WideScreen does. WideScreen was started before VirtSpace.app was released to the general public. I was going to abandon WideScreen when VirtSpace came out, but I decided to continue development since I wasn't completely satisfied with the functionality of VirtSpace. WideScreen is distributed in two packages. WideScreen-VX.X-SRC.tar.Z is a complete source distribution with no prebuilt binary. You should down load this file is you are interested in building the application yourself, or you wish to inspect or modify the source code. WideScreen-VX.X-BIN.tar.Z is a prebuilt stripped binary version for those without compilers. I decided to distribute WideScreen in it's current unfinished state since my work schedule has not allowed me the time needed to finish off all the little details. And my upcomming schedule is likely to be worse for next few months. So rather than never getting around to finishing, and hence never distributing it, I decided release what I currently have in the hopes that some may find it a useful alternative. NOTE: About Background windows. WideScreen treats background windows differently then the VirtSpace application. Background windows do not show up in the virtual desk top window and are essentially ignored by the WideScreen application. WideScreen considers any window set to a window tier less than 0 to be a background window. If you use the Scene or Background applications then you background windows will be set to tier less than 0. If, however, you use the background shell script to set your background window you will need to use the modified version of this script provided with the WideScreen distribution. Michael D. Marchionna mdm@wdl1.wdl.loral.com The following is the extracted text from the WideScreen help panel: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Improvements over WideScreen V0.4: o Bug Fixes: o WideScreen V0.4 was released with a stupid error that kept the Virtual Desktop from updating when the VDT window became the Key Window. This is corrected in V0.5. For this reason alone you should vaporize any copy of V0.4, binary or source, and replace it with V0.5. o New Features: o A Pan Jump option is available that allows the VDT View Port to be positioned with a single mouse click. o A Pan Grid option is available to allow control of the granularity of mouse panning movement. o A new default setting has been added to allow you to select the gray value used in border highlighting. o The Pan Delta option is now modifiable durring run time. o Known Bugs: --------------- o If the Workspace File Viewer is displaced by panning the View Port or by dragging the Workspace view from the VDT window, the Workspace can crash with a signal 10 error. This occurs when dragging a Workspace Icon from or to the Shelf. The only current work arounds are to 1) make the Workspace File Viewer window sticky and keep it that way. Or always drag the File Viewer Window slightly before manipulating any shelf Icons. I currently have no fix for this after many attempts. It is due to the basic way in which I move windows. I welcome any suggestions to correct the problem. o When using the right mouse button to popup the application menu after changing the view port the menu can become displaced from where the mouse is clicked. You can get around this by moving the mouse outside the current key window and then clicking. Also if the key dragged any amount the problem will correct itself. Improvements over WideScreen V0.3: o New Features: o Sticky window can be set and unset by Alt-clicking on the window icons in the VDT window. o The VDT window now has a border that highlights when the VDT window is given keyboard focus. o The preference panel now inserts the current VDT window position, and VDT size when the "Current" button is pressed. Improvements over WideScreen V0.2: o New Features: o The Preference Panel can now be used to modify and save all of the WideScreen dwrite options. o New dwrites have been added to define the startup VDT window position. o A new dwrite has been added to allow the VDT window's resize bar to removed. o A new dwrite has been added to allow the VDT window to have no drag bar and hence be immobilized. o The VDT window level options have been moved to the preference panel, and can be saved between runs like all the preferences. o A new Utility function has been added to align all the non-Dock icons in the current View Port. o A new dwrite has been added to select the Icon Gravity used in the Align Icon utility. This option determines which corner of the screen the icons will be bunched toward. o The Immediate/Deferred Window Motion option has been implemented, and is selectable at runtime and is saved between runs. o The Dock Handling option has been implemented to allow the Dock to always be kept within the current View Port ("Sticky"), or to treat the Dock like any normal window ("Slippery"). It is settable at runtime and is saved between runs. o A new Utility function has been added to retrieve the Dock and return it within the current View Port from wherever it is in the VDT. This is usefull when Dock Handling is set to "Slippery". o As an additional safety feature the Dock is always retrieved before WideScreen terminates. o Windows can be order to the front or bottom of the window tier by SHIFT or COMMAND clicking respectively on the given windows VDT window icon. Improvements over VDT V0.1: o Bug fixes: o The mysterious offset that occasionally occurred when dragging windows by the drag bar appears to be solved. o The problem with the command key panning options should be fixed. o New Features: o The VDT View Port can now be positioned via mouse dragging. See Panning section below. o Windows can now be moved from the VDT Window via mouse dragging. See the Window Manipulation section below. o The VDT window now has a resize bar for extending the Virtual Desktop size. o Background windows are handled in a sensible fashion. o New panning keyboard accelerators have been added that do not require the command key. Also the arrow keys can be used for panning. o The PanDelta default has been changed from 50 to 100. o The Hide command has been removed and replaced with a miniaturize command. The mini-window now has a recognizable icon. o There is an alert panel posted when the Quit command is selected. The application returns the VDT View Port back to its startup origin before terminating. Permission is granted to redistribute this version of WideScreen to any interested user provided it has not modified. Any recipient of WideScreen is free to modify and use any of the source code for their own personel use, but are not allowed to redistribute the modified version without the original authors permission. Michael D. Marchionna San Jose, California (408) 264-1531 (home) (408) 473-4287 (work) Virtual Desktop Concept The idea of a virtual desktop is not new. Some of you may have encounterd a virtual desktop manager in the X11 environment (e.g. vtwm and tvtwm) or in the Macintosh environment. The idea is fairly simple. Imagine what it would be like if the root window was larger than the physical dimensions of the display screen. The physical display would only be able to view a portion of the larger virtual desktop(VDT). Now if you could change which portion of the VDT is shown on the physical display, you could then place windows all over the VDT. The physical display then behaves like a scrollable view on a window that is larger than the view. The advantages of a VDT manager become clear quickly after using one. Since you can place windows all over the VDT you can organize your work in different portions of the VDT. For example you could be using IB in one section of the VDT, the Digital Librarian in another, and some Terminal's in still another. The VDT manager provides a scaled down window that represents the entire VDT so you can see how you have spread all the windows out. You can then move about the VDT with a keystroke or a mouse drag to portions of the VDT that are interesting. Then end result is that you can reduce window clutter, and reduce the amount of window juggling needed without a VDT. The WideScreen Menu Info: Info Panel... Displays the obligatory Application Credits and Version number. Help Panel... Displays this panel. Preferences... Displays the application preference panel for setting all the WideScreen customization options. Panning: Panning refers to changing the position of the currently viewed portion of the Virtual Desktop. This visible region is called the VDT View Port. It is represented in the WideScreen VDT window as a light grey rectangle behind all the other scaled window icons. The VDT View Port can be positioned in several ways using the mouse or the keyboard. Panning With The Mouse: To move the VDT View Port with the mouse you need to give the VDT Window focus, and then click within the light grey rectangle representing the VDT View Port. Then simply drag the View Port to the desired position. You can click on a window icon that is inside the VDT View Port region and the View Port will still be selected. Panning With The Keyboard: The are a bunch of ways to move the VDT View Port with the keyboard. The most obvious are the command key options under the Panner Sub-menu. The compass directions each move the VDT View Port in the direction indicated. The amount the View Port is moved is determined by the PanDelta default described below. Note that all the Command Key accelerators make sense when you look at the numbers on the numeric keypad. The Center command moves the View Port to the center of the VDT. While the Home command returns to the View Port to the location it was initially at startup. The Top, Bottom, Left, and Right move the View Port to the indicated edge of the VDT. In addition to the command key options you can simply type a direction key. The direction keys are the same as the keys used for the Panner command key accelerators. Simply type the key without holding down the command key. In addition the arrow keys will perform the Panning functions North, South, East, and West. The Alternate key can be combined with anyone of the eight directional keys to move the View Port to the edge of the VDT in that given direction. For example typing ALT-7 would move the View Port to the extreme NorthWest (Top Left) corner of the VDT. Window Manipulation: WideScreen supports a number of window manipulation functions from the VDT window depending on what modifier key is held down when clicking in the VDT window. Moving Windows: You can move actual windows from the VDT window by dragging the associated window icon about in the VDT window. In order to drag a VDT window icon you must hold down the CONTROL key, and then click on the window icon you wish to drag. Then simply drag the window icon to the new location you wish the real window to be moved to. Ordering Windows: You can change the stacking order of actual windows from the VDT window. If you hold down the SHIFT key and click on the VDT window icon the actual window will be brought to the front of its window tier. If you hold down the COMMAND key and click on the VDT window icon the actual window will be moved to the bottom of its window tier. Sticky Windows: You can mark certain windows to be treated as sticky by Alt-Clicking on the window icon in the VDT window. A sticky window maintains its position within the VDT view port as the view port is moved. Sticky windows are identifiable in the VDT window black window icons with white borders, as opposed to normal windows which are shown as white window icons with black borders. You can unstick a window by Alt-Clicking the icon a second time. Utilities: This submenu provides utility commands that help support the use of the WideScreen Virtual Desktop. Align Icons: This command gathers all the non-Dock icons in the current VDT View Port, and arranges them sequentialy toward the selected Icon Gravity corner. Retrieve Dock: This command moves the entire Dock back within the current View Port from its current position in the VDT. This function is is useful when the Dock Handling option is set to "Slippery". Return Dock: This command moves the entire Dock back the VDT origin View Port position. This function is disabled when the Dock Handling option is set to "Sticky". Update Vdt: This command refreshes the VDT Window, and gives an up to date display of the VDT. WideScreen Preferences The WideScreen application uses a series of defaults that define all of the various Startup and Runtime options available to the user. All WideScreen options may be modified from the Preference panel or set through the UNIX shell command dwrite. Startup preferences only take affect the next time WideScreen is run. After changing a Startup preference you must click the Save button for the modification to be recorded to the defaults database. Runtime preferences take affect immediately, however if you wish the setting to be remembered the next time WideScreen is run you must click the Save button. The Revert button will reset all the preferences to those currently written to the defaults database. Each of the available preferences are discussed in detail below along with the associated dwrite command: Startup Preferences: Size "Width Height" The size is expressed in units of physical screen size. Two integers are expected in the Size default representing the desired width and height of the VDT. The default VDT Size is 2 x 2, or twice the physical screen width and twice as high. The VDT size is restricted to maximum of 8x8 to avoid hitting the 16000 absolute value limit of a screen coordinate. Default: "2 2" Example: dwrite WideScreen Size "2 3" This would create a virtual desktop that is two times the width and three times the height of the physical display screen. Scale scale The VDT Scale is the ratio of the VDT Size to the size of the window representing the VDT. The Scale factor must be sufficiently large to allow the VDT window to fit within the physical screen limits, yet not to large that it would reduce the VDT window to something smaller than 64x64 pixels. Default: 8 Example: dwrite WideScreen Size 12 This would cause the VDT window to be one twelfth the size of the full scale virtual desktop. Origin "X Y" The View Port Origin default determines which section of the VDT the View Port will initially be placed at. The Origin default defines the X and Y position in screen sizes of the viewport origin. In a 2 x 2 VDT an Origin of "0 0" puts the View Port at the bottom left of the VDT while an Origin of "1 1" will put the View Port at the upper left of the VDT. Default: "0 0" Example: dwrite WideScreen Origin "0 1" This would cause the VDT View Port to be initially placed in the upper left corner of a 2 x 2 VDT. WinLocX Xpos WinLocY Ypos The Window Location defaults define what screen position the bottom left corner of the VDT window will be placed at when the WideScreen application is started. The Xpos and Ypos values define the desired screen coordinate. Default: WinLocX 300 Default: WinLocY 300 Example: dwrite WideScreen WinLocX 0 dwrite WideScreen WinLocY 0 This would cause the VDT Window to be positioned at the bottom left hand corner of the physical screen at startup. ResizeBar YesNo The ResizeBar default determines if the VDT window will have a resize bar on startup and for the duration of its run. Default: ResizeBar Yes Example: dwrite WideScreen ResizeBar No This would cause the VDT Window to not have a resize bar. Immobile YesNo The Immobile default determines if the VDT window will have a drag bar on startup and for the duration of its run. If the VDT window has no drag bar the window will be made impossible to move, or at least very difficult. Default: Immobile No Example: dwrite WideScreen Immobile Yes This would cause the VDT Window to not have a drag bar. Runtime Preferences: Window Level: Changes the window tier that the VDT Window is in. The Normal tier means the VDT window can be raised and lowered in the same way all the normal windows are. The Floating setting is the default. At the this level the VDT window rides above the normal windows like an alert panel. The Dock level means the VDT window rides in the same window tier as the Dock. The SubMenu level puts the VDT window above the Dock but lower the Application Menu. The MainMenu level means the VDT window will ride above just about everything. I mean it's way up there lady! Default: WindowLevel Floating Settings: Normal Floating Dock SubMenu MainMenu Example: dwrite WideScreen WindowLevel Dock This would cause the VDT Window to be placed in the NX_DOCKLEVEL tier. Which happens to be one less than the window tier that the Dock icons are in. Go Figure! Icon Gravity: Changes action of the Uitlities->Align Icon function. This setting determines which corner of the physical screen the Align Icon function will gravitate all the non-Dock icons within the corrent View Port towards. Default: IconGravity BottomLeft Settings: TopLeft TopRight BottomLeft BottomRight Example: dwrite WideScreen IconGravity BottomRight This would cause the Align Icon function to start positioning icons at the bottom right corner of the screen moving towards the left for each additonal icon. If there are enough icons to exceed the width of the screen a new row will be started above the previous one. Dock Handling: Changes the way the Dock is handled durring View Port moves. If set to Sticky the Dock is always kept within the current View Port. If set to Slippery the Dock is treated as any ordinary window. Default: DockHandling Sticky Settings: Sticky Slippery Example: dwrite WideScreen DockHandling Slippery This would cause the Dock not to follow the View Port as it is moved. Window Motion: Changes the way the actual window position is updated when draging a VDT window icon. If set to Deferred the actual window's position is not updated until the drag opertation is completed. If set to Immediate the actual window's position is updated in tandem with the VDT window icon. Default: WindowMotion Deferred Settings: Deferred Immediate Example: dwrite WideScreen WindowMotion Immediate This would cause actual window positions to be updated in tandem with movement of the VDT window icon. PanDelta Percentage The PanDelta default expresses the percentage of the physical screen that is to be shifted in a single pan increment. The default value of 100 means the VDT view port is shifted by one physical screen size for the appropriate direction. Default: 100 Example: dwrite WideScreen PanDelta 50 This would cause the VDT View Port to pan one half a screens worth in the given direction. PanGrid Percentage The PanGrid default expresses the percentage of the physical screen that is to be used as the X and Y increments used in mouse panning. The default value of 0 means the X and Y increments are both 1 pixel. Percentages between 1 and 100 may increase these increments. Default: 0 Example:dwrite WideScreen PanGrid 50 This would cause mouse panning to shift the VDT View Port in one half a screen increments. PanJump YesNo The PanJump default determines if the VDT View Port jumps to where you click the cursor in the VDT window. The Pan Jump feature attempts to place the center of the View Port at the position the mouse was clicked. Default: PanJumpNo Example:dwrite WideScreen PanJump Yes This would enable the Pan Jump feature. BorderGray GrayValue The BorderGray default determines what gray value is used as the border highlight color when the Immobile option is set to Yes. This is used help indicate when the VDT window has keyboard focus. The GrayValue can range between 0.0 and 1.0. Default: 0.0 Example:dwrite WideScreen BorderGray 1.0 This would cause border high light color to white. Things To Do List: o Implement a safety feature that will give the user the option to move all the windows that are outside the current View Port back into view when the VDT App is exited normally or otherwise! o Implement a Window Inspection panel that allows the user get all the statistics about the given window that is clicked on. Acknowledgements: o Tom LaStrange - For adding the wonderful Virtual Desktop feature to the X11 twm window manager, and transforming it into tvtwm which I use every day at work. It makes working in X almost bearable. o Paul S. Kleppner - For writing the Mini Example Winfo which provided the DPS wrappers needed to implement WideScreen. o Beta Testers - To all those brave soles who risked hosing there WorkSpace, and donated their valuable time to report bugs, and offer valuable suggestions. Many Thanks! Please send comments and suggestions to: mdm@wdl1.wdl.loral.com
These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Netfuture.ch.