Re: Window groups and multiple desktops

[Philipp Lohmann <Philipp Lohmann sun com>]

Am 03.09.01, 12:36:29, schrieb Michael Rogers 
<banthafodder connectfree co uk> zum Thema Re: Window groups and multiple 
desktops:

> Philipp Lohmann wrote:
> > > With b), the issue is that you can't minimize just one document.
> > > Might be inconvenient.
> >
> > I think this might be more useful as an additional option in WM menus
> > like "minimize whole group". This should IMHO not be what happens when i
> > press minimize on a single window.

> Even if that window is the group leader? When I iconify the group leader
> (eg the GIMP toolbar), I'd like the whole group to be iconified. But I'd
> like to be able to iconify other members of the group (dialogs, editing
> windows) without affecting the whole group. (Think of window-in-window
> MDI: the group leader should behave like the enclosing window.)

I see. There are probably two kinds of usage of window groups here, one 
like yours where there is a clear group leader and one where just all 
windows are in the same group like e.g. in OpenOffice.org where there is 
no central command window.  Because of that OpenOffice.org currently uses 
a window that is usually never mapped as group leader. Which is in 
accordance with the ICCCM by the way (§4.1.2.4 states explicitly that the 
group leader may be a window that exists only for that purpose and would 
never be mapped either by client or WM). Of course the user could never 
minimize a window that was not mapped, so this is not a real problem as 
long as the WM does not unmap all windows of the group just because the 
group leader is not mapped. :-)

> The tasklist could sort the windows into submenus based on window
> groups:
>  __________
> |Windows   |
> |----------|
> |Terminal  |  (each terminal is a logically separate application)
> |Terminal  |
> |Mutt      |_________
> |The GIMP >|The GIMP |  (group leader: operates on entire group)
> |XMMS     >|---------|
>  ----------|foo.jpg  |
>            |bar.xcf  |  (operates on a single window)
>            |Channels |
>             ---------

This looks good to me.

Regards, Philipp