Creating and Modifying Subpanels

Users can create and modify subpanels using the Front Panel pop-up menus.

This section discusses how to provide system-wide customization, which requires you to modify the Front Panel configuration files.

A subpanel is “attached” to a control in the Main Panel.

Figure 15–3 A subpanel's container is the control to which it is attached

The attachment is done in the subpanel definition. The CONTAINER_NAME field specifies the control to which the subpanel is attached:

CONTROL control_name
 {
    …
 }

 SUBPANEL subpanel_name
 {
 	CONTAINER_NAME 					control_name
 	…
 }

To Create a New System-Wide Subpanel

1. Locate the control_name of the control in the Main Panel to which you want to attach the subpanel.

   If the control is one of the built-in controls, its definition is in /usr/dt/appconfig/types/language/dtwm.fp.

2. Create a new file /etc/dt/appconfig/types/language/*.fp.

3. Define the subpanel:

   	SUBPANEL subpanel_name
    	{
    		CONTAINER_NAME			control_name
    		TITLE						value
    		KEYWORD				value
    		…
    	}

4. Save the new configuration file.

5. Choose Restart Workspace Manager from the Workspace menu.

Customizing the Built-in Subpanels

You can modify general properties (such as the title) and the contents of the built-in subpanels.

To Modify General Properties of a Built-In Subpanel

1. Create a new Front Panel configuration file:

   • System-wide: /etc/dt/appconfig/types/language/name.fp

   • Personal: HomeDirectory/.dt/types/name.fp.

2. Copy the entire default SUBPANEL definition from /usr/dt/appconfig/types/language/dtwm.fp to the new file:

   	SUBPANEL   subpanel_name
    	{
     	 …
    	}

3. Modify the subpanel definition.

4. Save the new configuration file.

5. Choose Restart Workspace Manager from the Workspace menu.

   For example, the following definition, placed in the file /users/janice/.dt/types/PerApps.fp, changes the name of the Personal Applications subpanel:

   SUBPANEL PersAppsSubpanel
    {
    	CONTAINER_NAME					TextEditor
    	TITLE								Janice's Applications
    }

To Add a System-Wide Control to a Built-In Subpanel

1. Create a Front Panel configuration file /etc/dt/appconfig/types/language/name.fp.

2. Define the system-wide control in the file.

   Use the CONTAINER_NAME and CONTAINER_TYPE fields to specify the container for the control:

   	CONTROL control_name
    	{
    		CONTAINER_NAME					subpanel_name
    		CONTAINER_TYPE					SUBPANEL
    		…
    	}

   See Defining Front Panel Controls.

3. Save the configuration file.

4. Choose Restart Workspace Manager from the Workspace menu.

   For example, the following control defined in a new file /etc/dt/appconfig/types/language/DigitalClock.fp adds the DigitalClock (in the Desktop_Tools application group) to the Personal Applications subpanel for all users.

   CONTROL DigitalClockControl
    {
    	TYPE						icon
    	CONTAINER_NAME			PersAppsSubpanel
    	CONTAINER_TYPE			SUBPANEL
    	ICON						Dtdgclk
    	PUSH_ACTION				DigitalClock
    	PUSH_RECALL				True
    }

To Remove a Control from a Built-In Subpanel

Use the same procedure as for removing a Main Panel control. See To Remove a Control.

To Remove the Install Icon Control

Add the following field to the subpanel definition:

	CONTROL_INSTALL					False

To Change the Auto-Close Behavior of Subpanels

The default behavior of subpanels is to close when the user chooses a control, unless the user has moved the subpanel from its original position.

The Front Panel can be configured to keep subpanels open until the user explicitly closes them.

1. Create a new Front Panel configuration file in:

   • System-wide: /etc/dt/appconfig/types/language/*.fp

   • Personal: HomeDirectory/.dt/types/*.fp

2. Copy the default PANEL definition from /usr/dt/appconfig/types/language/dtwm.fp to the new file:

   	PANEL FrontPanel
    	{
    	  …
    	}

3. Add the following field to the PANEL definition:

   	SUBPANEL_UNPOST    False

4. Save the new configuration file.

5. Choose Restart Workspace Manager from the Workspace menu.