Window Management

The Window Manager is essentially the Motif window manager with extensions to provide the Front Panel GUI and workspace abstraction.

The Front Panel can be thought of as a graphic version of the root window menu supported by many window managers. It can also be thought of as a tuned object manager in which common objects are readily available to the user. The Front Panel can show dynamic system information, and it enables the user to invoke actions and system functions. The user dynamically customizes the Front Panel by dragging and dropping action icons from the Application Manager and File Manager onto subpanels. Applications can come equipped with special configuration files that extend the Front Panel, possibly defining drop behavior, drop zone animation feedback, and so on. The user can optionally install these configuration files depending on customization preferences. Figure 1-2 displays a typical desktop Front Panel.

Figure 1-2 Typical Front Panel

Workspaces are abstractions supported by the Window Manager that can be thought of as virtual desktops. Application windows exist within one, some, or all available workspaces. The user usually determines which workspaces an application window exists in as part of the user's customization. You should rarely use the workspace API other than to explicitly designate in which workspace your application appears on session restart. In general, do not place your application within multiple workspaces, because this overrides the user's prerogative.