Sizing top level windows and gtk_widget_size_request problems

[nicholas allen <nicholas allen ireland sun com>]

Hi,

I'm hoping someone may be able to offer me some advise here. I guess I
don't fully understand the way that gtk sizes widgets and, in
particular, top level windows. When I set the size of a window with
gtk_widget_set_usize (width, height) the widget usually resizes to the
size I have specified. However, if I call this on a top level window
widget and the size is smaller than its current size nothing happens and
the window remains its current size. I have also seen the same thing
when a widget is inside a gtk_scrolled_window and I resize it. It never
gets smaller. Am I using the wrong function for this?

I have also noticed that if I create a button, say, with a label inside
it and then I change the text of the label and then ask the button what
size it wants to be (with gtk_widget_size_request) it returns the same
size as before the label was changed. Shouldn't it recompute its size to
take acount of the possibly longer or shorter text? On looking at the
code I can't see why this is not happening. Should I be using a
different function (eg gtk_widget_size_allocate) for this too or do I
need to call another function to clear the cached size to cause the
button (or whatever widget it is) to recalculate its preferred size?

Thanks for any advice anyone can offer....

--
Nick Allen
Software Engineer
Sun Microsystems Ireland Ltd
Hamilton House
East Point Business Park
Dublin 3

email: nicholas allen ireland sun com