Callisto Desktop/User Guide

A concise introduction

Windows

Windows are floating containers furnished to applications by the system, which applications fill with their own content. The system retains ultimate control over windows, drawing a frame around each to clarify its state to the user and provide a means of manipulation.

If an application is able to override the window manager's instructions, it is a bug in need of correction.

Windows float over the Desktop in a "stack." Imagine paper piled on a desk, or a Z axis protruding towards you from the display, with the Desktop furthest away from you. A window's place in the stack determines which windows appear above it, and which appear below it. Any part of a window not obscured by other windows can receive focus and accept user input. The stack can be easily reordered, using various means, to display the desired windows.

Anatomy of a window

A window.

Frame

The border portion of a window, drawn and controlled by the system. Most window frames include a title bar at the top, which displays information about the window, provides a convenient space to grab the window with the mouse, and offers several widgets for controlling it. Transient windows, such as dialog boxes, often do not have title bars, but every window has a frame.

In addition to housing the window title and control boxes, the frame is a control itself, mostly used for changing the window's position onscreen or in the stack. It can also produce a popup menu, called the "operations menu," presenting a full list of available actions for the window.

Title

The window's title, as specified to the system by the application. This may be an object name, an application name, or some combination thereof.

Close box

The simplest of the window controls. Activating this closes the window.

Pin box

Pins the window in place. This control can be used to fix the window either to the top of the stack, or to the current desk (making it move with you as you change desks).

Zoom box

Controls the size of the window. It can be dragged to resize the window, or clicked to toggle between different sizes. The zoom box also allows using windows as templates to define the size of other windows. This is one of Callisto Desktop's most important controls, as windows sized appropriately to fit their contents are an essential component of a multi-window desktop environment.

Content area

Everything inside the frame is drawn by the application to which the window belongs. Most applications display a menu bar containing a complete listing of their available commands and features, and a document, tool, or view of some kind in the remaining area beneath. A window's content area may also contain toolbars with shortcuts to various functions, status bars displaying document information, or other elements as the application developers see fit.

Many developers have ideas about how applications should look and feel that conflict with the goals of Callisto Desktop; these developers' applications may exhibit unusual appearances and behavior within their content areas. Unfortunately, not much can be done about this, other than selecting a different application, but Callisto Desktop tries to mitigate it by enforcing consistency in the rest of the environment. The content area is the only place where application developers have free reign.

Window actions and states

Windows are controlled by interacting with their various parts using the keyboard and mouse. The available actions, and their affects, vary depending on the part of the window being manipulated.

Frame

Control the window's position on the desk.

Action	Result
	Move the window.
	Raise the window to the top of the stack.
	Raise all windows belonging to this application to the top of the stack.
	Open an operations menu for this window.
	Open an operations menu for all windows belonging to this application.
	Lower the window to the bottom of the stack.
	Lower all windows belonging to this application to the bottom of the stack.

Close box

Closes the window cleanly, giving the application a chance to interrupt if there are unsaved changes or unfinished actions that must be discarded or canceled in order to do so. Clicking the close box may do nothing if the application the window belongs to is unresponsive, in which case other means may be used to dismiss the window.

Action	Result
	Close the window.
	Close all windows on the current desk belonging to this application.

Pin box

Hold the window in place.

Action	Result
	Pin this window to the current desk.
	Pin this window to the top of the stack.

Zoom box

Control the window's geometry (size).

Action	Result
	Resize this window (moving the mouse off of an edge begins expanding or contracting that dimension).
	Return this window to its previous geometry.
	Copy this window's geometry to apply to another window.
	Return this window to the default geometry for its application.

• Toggle geometry (left click)
  • Returns the window to its last saved geometry.
• Copy or apply geometry (middle click)
  • Obtains the window's geometry, which can be applied to another window by middle-clicking its Zoom Box.
  • If a window's geometry has been copied, it displays a Zoom Box indicator icon in the tilebar when unfocused.
• Default geometry (right click)
  • If a default geometry for the application is present in the active configuration, apply it to the focused window.
• Resize window (drag)
  • Note about twm-style resize behavior