Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!ico!auto-trol!marbru
From: marbru@auto-trol.UUCP (Martin Brunecky)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: De-Transient'ing a transientShellWidget
Keywords: transient,shell,popup
Message-ID: <717@auto-trol.UUCP>
Date: 4 Feb 90 05:47:41 GMT
References: <597@igor.Rational.COM> <131190@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Reply-To: marbru@auto-trol.UUCP (Martin Brunecky)
Distribution: na
Organization: Auto-trol Technology, Denver
Lines: 43

In article <131190@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> hvr@sun.UUCP (Heather Rose) writes:
>In article <597@igor.Rational.COM> geb@amber.Rational.COM (Gary Barnes) writes:
>>
>>What I want to do is to give the user the option of making the popup menu a
>>permanent window on his screen.  I want to de-transient the transientShell.
>>window.  This is best illustrated by an open-look type window manager.
>>The window is decorated by a push-pin which means that the user just clicks on
>>the push-pin and the window goes away.

	Open Look calls it push-pin menus, some other people call
	it tear-off-menus, and some others may have other names.

	We consider the ability to change popup menu into a static
	one (Override shell -> Transient shell) very importatnt
	(our applications tend to have large and complex menu trees)
	Since we base our solutions on Xt (and Motif), we can not
	rely on Open Look WM or XView. Rather, we have implemented
	our own solution.
	
	Basically, to tear-off a part of menu cascade, we reparent
	the composite widget (menu) from original override shell
	(menushell) to a new transient shell. And the same when
	going backwards - note, we'w popped-down the override shell
	when we "stole" it's menu.
	Now, since the whole transition is user controlled, we must
	add a tear-off button (togglebutton), and some callbacks
	since the application may want to know what happened.
	I posted my fragment of reparenting code here a while ago,
	however, there is a little bit more to it - like a shell
	with a ter-off button and callbacks.

	Now, I would like to use my approach with Motif menus and
	shells (existing code uses our own widgets, R3 based).
	Unfortunatelly, it won't be that easy, because of the way
	Motif does business with menu cascades and shells in
	particular (I just wish they were not trying to be that
	much smarter than Intrinsics).
>
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Martin Brunecky                   marbru@auto-trol.COM
(303) 252-2499                    {...}ncar!ico!auto-trol!marbru
Auto-trol Technology Corp. 12500 North Washington St., Denver, CO 80241-2404