Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ub!boulder!stan!stan!toml From: toml@ninja.Solbourne.COM (Tom LaStrange) Newsgroups: comp.windows.x Subject: Re: virtual roots Message-ID: Date: 12 Dec 90 20:36:03 GMT References: Sender: news@Solbourne.COM Distribution: comp Organization: Solbourne Computer, Inc. Lines: 48 In-Reply-To: jsparkes@bwdls49.bnr.ca's message of 10 Dec 90 15:05:06 GMT >The problem with xwd not working correctly under swm or tvtwm is due to the >fact that the subwindow member of the of the button press event comes back >with the window id of the virtual desktop window. XmuClientWindow() >is called with this window id which simply looks through the descendants >for a client window (one with WM_STATE set). This of course results in >getting some window rather than the one under the pointer. Perhaps >we need a new Xmu routine that takes an xy coordinate pair and returns >the topmost client window at that location? I think the time has come to standardize this, and get it put into Xlib so everything works again. We need a standard property name (how about VIRTUAL_ROOT?) that the window manager sets as appropriate. The RootWindow macro can be replaced with a function similar to the one that Andreas Stolcke posted. I suspect that a more efficient way could be done with property change events and a little addition to XNextEvent. I have proposed something a little different. A WM_ROOT property on each top-level window indicating its "root" window. This would allow you to have multiple virtual roots. Each virtual root could then be reparented, iconified, moved etc. You would also be allowed to move windows between virtual roots. Don't think about all the possibilities too much, it'll give you a headache :-) There may be problems with this approach because the property will not be set until the window manager reparents the window so the RootWindow macros will reflect the actual root until the window is mapped. There are other issues dealing with override-redirect windows but I won't go into that here. This apporach would almost give you rooms capabilities. What is doesn't provide is sharing windows among virtual desktops. I realize that this has probably been discussed in the ICCCM mailing lists; will somebody point out how naive I am? Not really too much. This would be a good thing for patch 19..... I can't speak for MIT, but I don't think this issue has been discussed enough yet. And no, I'm not working on multiple virtual desktops for tvtwm, I barely have time to get my real work done :-) -- Tom (still here) LaStrange Solbourne Computer Inc. ARPA: toml@Solbourne.COM 1900 Pike Rd. UUCP: ...!{boulder,sun}!stan!toml Longmont, CO 80501