C H A P T E R 5

Windows

Windows provide a way for people to view and interact with their data. There are various kinds of windows, each with its own function and appearance.

Document windows contain file-based user data. They present a view into the content that people create and store. If the document is larger than the window, the window shows a portion of the document’s contents, and provides users with the ability to scroll to other areas.

Other windows, commonly called utility windows, float above other windows and provide tools or controls that users can work with while documents are open. In Mac OS X, utility windows are either application-specific or systemwide. Application-specific utility windows disappear when the application is deactivated. These windows are available in Carbon with the kFloatingWindowClass constant and in Cocoa with NSUtilityWindowMask.

Systemwide utility windows, such as the Colors window and the Fonts window, float above all open windows. These windows are available in Carbon using kUtilityWindowClass; in Cocoa, use NSNonactivatingPanelMask.

Some applications are not document-based. Such applications typically still have at least one main window, which can use the standard Aqua document window appearance and features. For Cocoa developers, Mac OS X version 10.2 provides a definition for a new window appearance. For information, see “Textured Windows” (page 72).

Note: Dialogs and alerts are also types of windows; they are discussed in “Dialogs” (page 95).

For implementation information, Carbon developers should see Handling Carbon Windows and Controls, available on the Mac OS X developer documentation website.

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Apple Computer, Inc. June 2002