Common Desktop Environment: Style Guide and Certification Checklist

Window Placement

Window positioning should be left to the Window Manager or to user control.

Recommended 

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Applications should not require or force windows or window icons to be positioned at a particular screen location. 

Recommended 

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A secondary window is placed by the application relative to the associated primary window. It should be placed close to, but not obscuring, the component that caused it to be displayed and the information that is necessary to interact with the dialog box. 

Recommended 

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If a secondary window is allowed to be stacked below its associated primary window (not constrained to stay on top of the primary window), it should be placed such that it is not completely covered by the primary window. This recommendation takes precedence over other placement recommendations. 

Recommended 

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If a menu or dialog box is already on display, reinvoking the command that caused it to be displayed automatically brings that window or menu to the front of the window stack without changing its position on the screen.