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2 WINDOWS
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Windows are rectangular boxes which can be as big as the screen
or only 1 pixel wide. They can be resized, moved around on the
screen, put in front or behind other windows and so on. All
this is taken care of Intuition, and your program does not even
need to know about it if you do not want.
The aim with Windows is to make the communication between the
user and the computer as easy as possible. Windows gives the
user a structured display which is easy to understand. It also
allows the user to interact with the programs through graphics
symbols (gadgets) which can be connected to the windows. (See
chapter 4 GADGETS for more information about gadgets.)
Windows are working close together with screens, since the
screen's resolution etc affects the way the windows are drawn.
Moving a screen will also result in moving all the windows
connected to that screen.
2.2 SPECIAL WINDOWS
The normal windows are rectangular boxes with a border around.
However, there exist some special types of windows:
2.2.1 BACKDROP WINDOWS
Backdrop Windows will always be behind any other windows. This
allows you to have a window in the bottom of the display, and
it will stay there, even if the user is using the "depth-
arrange gadgets".
Backdrop Windows differ from other windows since:
- It will always open behind all other windows, including other
already opened Backdrop Windows.
- The "close-window gadget" is the only System Gadget you can
attach to a Backdrop Window. (You can of course attach your
own gadgets as usual.)
- It will always be behind of any other windows.
The Backdrop Window is very handy when you want to have a
bottom drawing (for example your main display), with some tools
etc on top of the bottom window. This allows the user to move
around your tools as he/she wants without needing to worry
about hiding the windows behind the main display.
Drawing into a Backdrop Window instead of the screen itself is
very common since you can then not draw anything at the wrong
moment. If a menu (See chapter 5 MENUS for more information) is
displayed, the drawing routines will wait automatically, and
will therefore not destroy the menu, as it would have happened
if you were drawing directly into the screen.
2.2.2 BORDERLESS WINDOWS
Borderless windows are as normal windows except that they
(surprise, surprise) do not have any borders. It is very common
to combine a Borderless window with a Backdrop window, to cover
a screen.
It can be confusing for the user if a Borderless window does
not cover the entire display, since he/she will not be able to
see where the window's edges are. It is therefore normally
best to make a Borderless window as big as the screen.
2.2.3 GIMMEZEROZERO WINDOWS
A Gimmezerozero Window is as a normal window, except that it
consist of two drawing areas: one Outer and one Inner window.
The Outer window is used for displaying the borders, system
gadgets etc, while the Inner window is only used by yourself.
If you are drawing into a normal window you need to start some
pixels down/out (11, 1), so you don not draw into the borders
etc. However, if you are drawing into a Gimmezerozero Window
you do not need to make any adjustments. The top left corner of
your inner window is always at the position (0,0).
Gimmezerozero Windows are therefore very handy if you want to
make a lot of drawings, without wanting to worry about the
borders. The disadvantages is that it takes more memory and
processing time than a normal window.
2.2.4 SUPERBITMAP WINDOWS
If you are using a SuperBitMap Window you allocate display
memory yourself for the window instead of letting Intuition
take care of it. The advantage is that you can define a larger
drawing area then the size of the window. You can then scroll
the drawing area inside the window. A good example of this are
the demo programs that followed with you Workbench disk when
you bought your computer.
It normally best to combine a SuperBitMap Window together with
a Gimmezerozero Window. The borders etc will then NOT be drawn
into your SuperBitMap, and will instead be drawn in the Outer
window. This allows you to make whatever you want with the
inner window without destroying any borders etc.
2.3 SYSTEM GADGETS
The System Gadgets enables the user to move the window, resize
it, push it behind other windows etc, without your program even
knowing about it. The System Gadgets are controlled by
Intuition, and are always looking the same. The only thing you
need to do is to tell Intuition which gadgets you want, and the
rest is done for you.
The five System Gadgets are placed like this:
1 2 3 4
[*][***********][*][*]
| |
| WINDOW |
| |
| |
|__________________[*]
5
1 Close Gadget. Press this to close the window. (This is the
only System Gadget which your program have to respond to.
Your program will be told that the user has clicked on the
Close Gadget, but you need to close the window yourself by
calling the function CloseWindow().)
2 Drag Gadget. Pressing the left mouse button somewhere on it
and move the mouse while the button is still pressed, will
move the window. If your window has a title it will be
displayed over the Drag Gadget, but will not interfere with
it.
3 Depth-Arrangement Gadget BACK. Clicking on this gadget will
push the window behind all other windows.
4 Depth-Arrangement Gadget UP. Clicking on this gadget will
put the window in front of all other windows.
5 Sizing Gadget. Pressing the left mouse button somewhere on
it and move the mouse while the button is still pressed,
will change the size of the window.
2.4 REDRAWING THE WINDOW DISPLAY
Since windows can be dragged around the screen it is very
common that they sometimes overlap each other. If the user is
then moving away the top window, the bottom window has to be
refreshed.
There exist two methods of redrawing the window:
- Simple Refresh. Intuition will only tell you that you need
to refresh it, and your program has to redraw everything
itself.
- Smart Refresh. Intuition saves the oscured pieces, and
replaces them automatically. Needs more memory than Simple
Refresh, but redraws the display much faster.
If you have a SuperBitMap Window, you have allocated the
display memory yourself, and your window will therefore not be
destroyed by other windows.
If you change the size of a Simple Refresh Window, or it is
reveled after having been overlapped, Intuition will tell you
that you need to refresh the window. A Smart Refresh Window
will only ask you to redraw its display if you enlarged it.
The IDCMP message "REFRESHWINDOW" tells you that the window
needs to be refreshed. (See chapter 8 IDCMP for more about
IDCMP flags.)
IMPORTANT! If your program receive a REFRESHWINDOW message you
must call the functions BeginRefresh() - EndRefresh():
- BeginRefresh() will make the redrawing as fast as possible.
Only the destroyed pieces of the window will be refreshed.
- EndRefresh() tells Intuition that you are finished with the
redrawing.
If you receive a REFRESHWINDOW message and you do not want to
redraw the display, you should still call the two functions.
This will clear up the system and reorganize the Layer Library.
2.5 INITIALIZE A WINDOW
Before you can open a window you need to initialize a NewWindow
structure which look like this:
struct NewWindow
{
SHORT LeftEdge, TopEdge;
SHORT Width, Height;
UBYTE DetailPen, BlockPen;
ULONG IDCMPFlags;
ULONG Flags;
struct Gadget *FirstGadget;
struct Image *CheckMark;
UBYTE *Title;
struct Screen *Screen;
struct BitMap *BitMap;
SHORT MinWidth, MinHeight;
SHORT MaxWidth, MaxHeight;
USHORT Type;
};
LeftEdge: Initial x position of the window.
TopEdge: Initial y position of the window.
Width: Initial width of the window. If the window is
connected to a high-resolution screen, it can be
anything between 1 and 640. Otherwise (low-
resolution screen) it can be between 1 and 320.
Height: Initial height of the window. Can be anything
between 1 and the height of the screen.
DetailPen: The colour register used to draw the text with.
BlockPen: The colour register used for block fills etc.
IDCMPFlags: See chapter 8 IDCMP for a list and explanations
of the flags.
Flags: If you want any System Gadgets, a special window
(Borderless, Backdrop etc), you set the desired
flags:
System Gadgets:
WINDOWCLOSE
This will put the Close Gadget into the top
left corner of your window. (Remember that this
is the only System Gadget your program need to
response to. Intuition will simply inform you
that the user wants to close the window, but
you need to close the window yourself by
calling the CloseWindow() function.
WINDOWDRAG
This makes the whole title bar into a gadget,
which allows the user to move around the
Window.
WINDOWDEPTH
If you want that the user should be able to
push the window in front, or behind all other
windows you set this flag. The gadgets (to the
back and to the front) will be placed in the
top right corner of the window.
WINDOWSIZING
This enables the user to resize the window as
desired. (You can specify the maximum and
minimum size of the window by setting the
MinWidth/MinHeight/MaxWidth/MaxHeight
variables)
The Size Gadget will be placed in the right
border as default (SIZEBRIGHT), but can also be
put in the bottom border (set the flag
SIZEBOTTOM) if you want the window display to
be as wide as possible.
Special Windows:
BACKDROP
Set this flag if you want a Backdrop Window.
BORDERLESS
Set this flag if you want a Borderless Window.
GIMMEZEROZERO
Set this flag if you want a Gimmezerozero
Window.
SUPER_BITMAP
Set this flag if you want a SuperBitMap Window.
(If you are going to use your own allocated
BitMap you also need to set the BitMap variable
to point to your BitMap structure. Explained
later in this chapter.)
Refreshing Flags. If you do not use a SuperBitMap
Window you need to set one of these two flags:
SIMPLE_REFRESH
Your program must redraw the display itself.
SMART_REFRESH
Intuition will automatically redraw the display
if necessary. It is only when the user make the
window bigger you need to redraw the display
yourself.
Other flags:
REPORTMOUSE
Set this flag if you want to receive the pointer
movements as x,y coordinates. (See chapter 8
IDCMP for more information.)
NOCAREREFRESH
Set this flag if you do not want to receive any
messages telling you to redraw your window.
RMBTRAP
Set this flag if you do not want that the user
to be able to access any menus while this
window is active. (If you want that the right
mouse button on the mouse should be used for
something else than menu operations, you
should set this flag. See chapter 8 IDCMP for
more information.)
ACTIVATE
Set this flag if you want the window to become
active when it is opened. The user can of
course activate some other window later if
he/she wants. (Clicking inside a window will
activate it, and all input will go to the new
active window. All other widows will become
inactive, and their title bars will become
"ghosted".)
FirstGadget: A pointer to the first Gadget in your list, or
NULL if you do not have any own gadgets connected
to the window. (See chapter 4 GADGETS for more
information about gadgets.)
CheckMark: A pointer to an Image structure (See chapter 3
GRAPHICS for more information about Image
structures) which will be used for selected menus
items. (See chapter 7 MENUS for more information
about menus.) If no pointer is given (NULL)
Intuition will use the default checkmark.
Title: A pointer to a NULL-terminated string that will
be used as window's title. The string will appear
on the title bar, at the top of the window.
Screen: A pointer to your Custom Screen, or NULL if the
window should be connected to the Workbench
Screen. (If the window is connected to the
Workbench Screen set the Type variable to
WBENCHSCREEN, otherwise set it to CUSTOMSCREEN.)
BitMap: If you are going to use a SuperBitMap Window,
then you need to give Intuition a pointer to your
own initialized BitMap structure, otherwise write
NULL. (Remember to set the Flag SUPER_BITMAP, and
you should probably also make the window into a
Gimmezerozero Window.)
If you have asked for the System Gadget WINDOWSIZING you need
to decide the minimum/maximum size of your window, otherwise
you can ignore these variables. If any variable is set to zero
the initial size (Width/Height) will be used as max/min size:
MinWidth: Minimum width of the window.
MinHeight: Minimum height of the window.
MaxWidth: Maximum width of the window.
MaxHeight: Maximum height of the window.
Type: If your window should be connected to the
Workbench Screen you write WBENCHSCREEN,
otherwise you write CUSTOMSCREEN. (If you set
the CUSTOMSCREEN flag you need to give the Screen
variable a pointer to your already opened Custom
Screen.
It is common that you declare and initialize the
NewWindow structure with your requirements,
except that you ignore (NULL) the Screen pointer.
You then open your Custom Screen, and first now
initialize the Screen pointer with the pointer
returned from the OpenScreen() function. (See
Example 2 for more information.)
2.6 OPEN A WINDOW
The procedure to open windows is very similar to open Custom
Screens. The idea is that you declare a NewWindow structure
(similar to NewScreen) and initialize it with the requirements.
You then simply call the function OpenWindow() (similar to
OpenScreen()) with your NewWindow structure, and the function
returns a pointer to your Window structure. You will now not
need the NewWindow structure any more (if you do not want to
open more windows using the same structure of course).
This is how you call the OpenWindow() function:
my_window = OpenWindow( &my_new_window );
my_window has been declared as:
struct Window *my_window;
my_new_window has been declared as:
struct NewWindow *my_new_window;
and has been initialized with your requirements.
OpenWindow() will return a pointer to your Window structure. If
it could not open the Window (for example, not enough memory)
it will return NULL. Remember therefore to check what
OpenWindow() returned:
if( my_window == NULL )
{
/* PANIC! Could not open the window */
}
2.7 WINDOW STRUCTURE
Once you have opened the window you will receive a pointer
(my_window) to a Window structure:
struct Window
{
struct Window *NextWindow; /* Pointer to next window. */
SHORT LeftEdge, TopEdge; /* Position of the window. */
SHORT Width, Height; /* Size of the window. */
SHORT MouseY, MouseX; /* Position of the pointer */
/* relative to the top left */
/* corner of the window. */
SHORT MinWidth, MinHeight; /* Minimum/Maximum size of */
USHORT MaxWidth, MaxHeight; /* the window. */
ULONG Flags; /* The window's flags. */
struct Menu *MenuStrip; /* Pointer to the window's */
/* first menu. */
UBYTE *Title; /* The window's title. */
struct Requester *FirstRequest;
struct Requester *DMRequest;
SHORT ReqCount;
struct Screen *WScreen; /* A pointer to the Screen */
/* which the window is */
/* connected to. */
struct RastPort *RPort; /* The window's RastPort. */
BYTE BorderLeft, BorderTop, BorderRight, BorderBottom;
struct RastPort *BorderRPort; /* If your window is a */
/* Gimmezerozero this a */
/* pointer the the Outer */
/* window's RastPort. */
struct Gadget *FirstGadget;
struct Window *Parent, *Descendant;
USHORT *Pointer; /* Data for the Pointer. */
BYTE PtrHeight; /* Height of the pointer. */
BYTE PtrWidth; /* Width of the pointer. */
BYTE XOffset, YOffset; /* "Hot Spot" of the pointer. */
ULONG IDCMPFlags; /* The IDCMP flags. */
struct MsgPort *UserPort, *WindowPort;
struct IntuiMessage *MessageKey;
UBYTE DetailPen, BlockPen;
struct Image *CheckMark;
UBYTE *ScreenTitle; /* The title of the screen */
/* which the window is */
/* connected to. */
/* These are only used if you have opened a */
/* Gimmezerozero window: */
SHORT GZZMouseX; /* Position of the mouse relative to */
SHORT GZZMouseY; /* the inner window. */
SHORT GZZWidth; /* Size of the inner window. */
SHORT GZZHeight;
UBYTE *ExtData;
BYTE *UserData;
struct Layer *WLayer;
struct TextFont *IFont;
};
2.8 OPEN A SUPERBITMAP WINDOW
The difference in opening a normal window and a SuperBitMap
window is that Intuition will allocate display memory for the
normal window automatically, while a SuperBitMap window has to
allocate the memory itself. However, it is actually not so
hard as it may seem. You just need to follow these steps:
1. Declare and initialize a NewWindow structure with your
requirements.
(Set the Flags = SUPER_BITMAP, and BitMap=NULL)
struct NewWindow my_new_window={ .... };
2. Declare a BitMap structure:
struct BitMap my_bitmap;
3. Initialize your own BitMap by calling the function:
InitBitMap( &my_bitmap, Depth, Width, Height );
&my_bitmap: A pointer to the my_bitmap structure.
Depth: Number of bitplanes to use.
Width: The width of the BitMap.
Height: The height of the BitMap.
4. Allocate display memory for the BitMap:
for( loop=0; loop < Depth; loop++)
if( (my_bitmap.Planes[loop] = AllocRaster( Width,
Height )) == NULL )
{
/* PANIC! Not enough memory */
}
5. After you have allocated the display memory, it normally
best to clear the Bitplanes:
for( loop=0; loop < Depth; loop++)
BltClear(my_bitmap.Planes[loop], RASSIZE(Width, Height), 0);
6. Make sure the NewWindow's BitMap pointer is pointing to your
BitMap structure:
my_new_window.BitMap=&my_bitmap;
7. At last you can open the window:
my_window = OpenWindow( &my_new_window );
8. Do not forget to close the window, AND deallocate the
display memory:
CloseWindow( my_window );
for( loop=0; loop < Depth; loop++)
if( my_bitmap.Planes[loop] )
FreeRaster( my_bitmap.Planes[loop], Width, Height );
2.9 MAKE YOUR OWN CUSTOM POINTER
Each window can have its individual pointer. When the window
becomes active the pointer can change image. This makes it
easier for the user to see which window is active, and can
also give the user a hint about what the computer is doing.
For example, a wordprocessor can have a pointer that looks
similar to a pencil, and when the computer is busy, the pointer
change to a little Zzz symbol.
If your window is going to use a "custom" pointer you need to:
1. Allocate and initialize a Sprite data structure.
2. Use the function SetPointer() to change the window's
pointer.
When you are going to make a new image for your pointer, you
first need to sketch how it should look like. The pointer is
actually a Sprite (See chapter 10 SPRITES for more information
about Sprites), and can therefore be up to 16 pixels wide, and
be as tall as you want. You may use 3 colours, and transparent.
(Since the pointer is a Sprite (no. 0) it can move between
different screens with different resolutions, without destroying
the display.)
A nice "arrow" pointer (16 pixels wide, 16 lines high) may look
something like this:
0000000200000000 0: Transparent
0000002200000000 1: Red
0000023200000000 2: Black
0000231200000000 3: White
0002311200000000
0023111222222200
0231111133333320
2311111111111132
0211111111111112
0021111222221112
0002111200023112
0000211200023112
0000021200023112
0000002200023112
0000000200023112
0000000000022222
You now need to translate this into Sprite Data. Each line of
the pointer will be translated into two words of data. The
first word represents the first Bitplane, and the second word
the second Bitplane. The idea is that if you want colour 0 both
Bitplane zero and one should be 0, if you want colour 1 Bitplane
zero should be 1 and Bitplane one 0 and so on:
Colour Bitplane One Bitplane Zero Since
------------------------------------------------------------
0 0 0 Binary 00 = Decimal 0
1 0 1 " 01 = " 1
2 1 0 " 10 = " 2
3 1 1 " 11 = " 3
The data for the pointer would then look like this:
Bitplane ZERO Bitplane ONE
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0001 0000 0000
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0011 0000 0000
0000 0010 0000 0000 0000 0111 0000 0000
0000 0110 0000 0000 0000 1101 0000 0000
0000 1110 0000 0000 0001 1001 0000 0000
0001 1110 0000 0000 0011 0001 1111 1100
0011 1111 1111 1100 0111 0000 1111 1110
0111 1111 1111 1110 1100 0000 0000 0011
0011 1111 1111 1110 0100 0000 0000 0001
0001 1110 0000 1110 0010 0001 1111 0001
0000 1110 0000 1110 0001 0001 0001 1001
0000 0110 0000 1110 0000 1001 0001 1001
0000 0010 0000 1110 0000 0101 0001 1001
0000 0000 0000 1110 0000 0011 0001 1001
0000 0000 0000 1110 0000 0001 0001 1001
0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0000 0001 1111
The last step is to translate the binary numbers to base
hexadecimal. Group the binary number in four and translate it
to Hexadecimal:
0000 = 0
0001 = 1
0010 = 2
0011 = 3
0100 = 4
0101 = 5
0110 = 6
0111 = 7
1000 = 8
1001 = 9
1010 = A
1011 = B
1100 = C
1101 = D
1110 = E
1111 = F
The result will look like this:
ZERO: ONE:
------------
0000 0100
0000 0300
0200 0700
0600 0d00
0E00 1900
1E00 31FC
3FFC 60FE
7FFE c003
3FFE 4001
1E0E 21F1
0E0E 1119
060E 0919
020E 0519
000E 0319
000E 0119
0000 001F
Since the Amiga need to store the position of the pointer, the
size etc, you should also declare two empty words at the top,
and to empty words at the bottom of the Sprite data. These
words will be initialized and maintained by Intuition, so you
do not need to bother about them.
A declaration and initialization of a nice arrow as Sprite data
for a pointer would therefore be: (A hexadecimal number as 3FFE
will written in C be 0x3FFE.)
UWORD chip my_sprite_data[36]=
{
0x0000, 0x0000, /* Used by Intuition only. */
0x0000, 0x0100,
0x0000, 0x0300,
0x0200, 0x0700,
0x0600, 0x0D00,
0x0E00, 0x1900,
0x1E00, 0x31FC,
0x3FFC, 0x60FE,
0x7FFE, 0xC003,
0x3FFE, 0x4001,
0x1E0E, 0x21F1,
0x0E0E, 0x1119,
0x060E, 0x0919,
0x020E, 0x0519,
0x000E, 0x0319,
0x000E, 0x0119,
0x0000, 0x001F,
0x0000, 0x0000 /* Used by Intuition only. */
};
It is actually not so complicated once you got used to it, but
to make the life a bit easier I have written some utilities
which will help you with translating graphics to sprite data.
See the TOOL drawer for more information.
The last step is to call the function SetPointer() which would
look like this:
SetPointer( my_window, my_sprite_data, 16, 16, 0, -7);
my_window: Pointer to the window.
my_sprite_data: Pointer to the Sprite Data.
16: Height.
16: Width. (Must be 16 or less!)
0: XOffset, left side. (Position of the Hot Spot)
-7: YOffset, 7 lines down. -"-
The "Hot Spot" is the pixel which should be the sensitive spot
on the pointer. On the default pointer it is on the top left
side, but on our custom pointer it should be on the left side
(0), half way down (-7).
To restore the default pointer you simply call the function
ClearPointer():
ClearPointer( my_window );
Since you are going to use graphics data it is important that
the data is placed in the Chip Memory. Chip Memory is the first
512 KB of RAM, and the graphics routines in the Amiga demands
that Sprite Data, as well as other graphics data, is placed
there. (The reason why is that the CPU on the Amiga can reach
the first 9MB of RAM, while the Blitter (a graphics co-processor)
only can reach the first 512 KB.
There will soon be a new Chip set for the Amiga 500 and 2000
which enables the Blitter etc to reach the first 1 MB, but up
to now the data MUST be placed somewhere in the memory between
$00000 to $7FFFF.)
If you are using Lattice C Compiler V5.0 or higher it is very
simple. You only need to place the little word "chip" in front
of the data. Eg:
UWORD chip graphics_data[]={ ... };
On the Lattice C Compiler V4.0 you can compile the source with
the added command: "-acdb" which will load everything into the
Chip Memory. Eg:
lc -acdb -Lm my_program.c
This will do both the lc1 and lc2 compilation, and it will
also link the code together with the standard math library.
Everything is loaded into Chip Memory.
If you do not have one of these C compilers you will probably
find out how to do it in your manual. REMEMBER! If you do not
tell the compiler to always put the graphics in the Chip Memory
you can end up with horrible bugs. It may sometimes work,
especially if you have an unexpanded Amiga, but it will
probably crash on an expanded Amiga.
2.10 FUNCTIONS
Here are some functions that are often used together with
windows:
OpenWindow()
This function will open a window with the characteristics
defined in the NewWindow structure. It returns a pointer
to a Window structure.
If you are going to use the Workbench screen, and it has
been closed, it will automatically reopen. If you on the
other hand is going to connect the window to a Custom screen,
you need to open it yourself before calling the OpenWindow()
function.
Synopsis: my_window = OpenWindow( my_new_window );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
or NULL if the window could not be opened.
my_new_window: (struct NewWindow *) Pointer to a NewWindow
structure which has been initialized with
your requirements.
CloseWindow()
This function will close a window you have previously opened.
Remember that you need to close all windows connected to a
screen before you may close the screen, and all opened
windows must have been closed before your program quits.
Synopsis: CloseWindow( my_window );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
MoveWindow()
This function will move a window. It has the same effect as
if the user would have moved the window by using the Drag
Gadget.
Synopsis: MoveWindow( my_window, delta_x, delta_y );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
delta_x: (long) Deltamovement horizontally.
delta_y: (long) Deltamovement vertically.
SizeWindow()
This function will change the size of the window as desired.
It has the same effect as if the user would have resized the
window by using the Size Gadget.
Synopsis: SizeWindow( my_window, delta_x, delta_y );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
delta_x: (long) Number of pixels the horizontally size of
the window will change.
delta_y: (long) Number of pixels the vertically size of the
window will change.
WindowToFront()
This function will put the window in front of all other
windows.
Synopsis: WindowToFront( my_window );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
WindowToBack()
This function will push the window behind all other windows.
Synopsis: WindowToBack( my_window );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
SetWindowTitles()
This function allows you to change the window title after the
window has been opened.
Synopsis: SetWindowTitles( my_window, window_t, screen_t );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
window_t: (char *) Pointer to a NULL-terminated string which
will become the window's title, or
0 : clear title bar, or
-1 : keep the old title.
screen_t: (char *) Pointer to a NULL-terminated string which
will become the window's screen title, or
0 : clear title bar, or
-1 : keep the old title.
WindowLimits()
This function will change the maximum/minimum size limits of
the window. Any values which are set to 0 will remain
unchanged.
Synopsis: WindowLimits( my_window, min_w, min_h, max_w, max_h );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
min_w: (long) Minimum width of the window.
min_h: (long) Minimum height of the window.
max_w: (long) Maximum width of the window.
max_h: (long) Maximum height of the window.
SetPointer()
This function allows you to change the window's pointer.
Synopsis: SetPointer( my_window, data, height, width, x, y );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
data: (short *) Pointer to the Sprite data.
width: (long) The width of the pointer. Less or equal
to 16.
height: (long) The height of the pointer. Can be any
height.
x: (long) The pointer's "Hot Spot" x position.
y: (long) The pointer's "Hot Spot" y position.
ClearPointer()
This will remove the "custom" pointer, and replace it with
Intuition's default pointer.
Synopsis: ClearPointer( my_window );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
ReportMouse()
You can call this function if you want the window to start/
stop reporting the mouse position. (See chapter 8 IDCMP for
more information about REPORTMOUSE.)
Synopsis: ReportMouse( my_window, boolean );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
boolean: (long) Set to TRUE if you want the window to start
reporting mouse position, else set to FALSE, and
the window will stop reporting.
BeginRefresh()
This function will speed up your redrawing of the window. You
should call this function before you start to refresh the
window, and only the parts that needs to be redrawn are
redrawn.
Synopsis: BeginRefresh( my_window );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
EndRefresh()
This function will tell Intuition that you have finished with
your redrawings. IMPORTANT! If you receive a REFRESHWINDOW
message, you must call the functions BeginRefresh() and
EndRefresh(), even if you do not want to redraw anything.
Synopsis: EndRefresh( my_window );
my_window: (struct Window *) Pointer to a Window structure
which has previously been initialized by an
OpenWindow() call.
2.11 EXAMPLES
We have now looked at different types of windows, how to
connect System Gadgets, the steps to customize your pointer
and much more. It is now again time to look at some examples:
Example1
This program will open a normal window which is connected to
the Workbench Screen. It will display it for 30 seconds, and
then close it.
Example2
This program will open a high resolution 16 colour Custom
Screen and a normal window which is connected to it. It will
display it for 30 seconds, and then close the Custom Screen
and the window.
Example3
This program will open a normal window which is connected to
the Workbench Screen. The window will use all System Gadgets,
and will automatically Activate the window. It will display
it for 30 seconds, and then close it. (Remember that the
Close Gadget does NOT close the window by itself, it will
only inform you that the user wants to close it. But in
this example we will not listen to what the user wants.)
Example4
This program will open two normal windows which are connected
to the Workbench Screen. The windows will use all System
Gadgets. It will display them for 30 seconds, and then close
them.
Example5
This program will open a Borderless window which is connected
to the Workbench Screen. It will display it for 30 seconds,
and then quit.
Example6
Same as Example5 except that the window will also use all
System Gadgets.
Example7
This program will open three windows, two are normal and the
third is a Backdrop window. The windows will use all System
Gadgets, except the Backdrop window, which only can use the
close-window gadget. After 30 seconds the program quits. (Try
to push either window 1 or 2 behind the Backdrop window.)
Example8
This program will open a SuperBitMap window which is
connected to the Workbench Screen. Since it is a SuperBitMap
we also make the window into a Gimmezerozero window. The
window will use all System Gadgets, and some boxes will be
drawn. It will display the window for 30 seconds, and then
close it. (Shrink the window, and then enlarge it again, and
you will noticed that the lines are still there!)
Example9
This program will open a normal window with all system
gadgets connected to it. If you activate the window, the
pointer will change shapes into a "nice" arrow.
Example10
This program will open a two normal windows with all system
gadgets connected to them. If the first window is Activated,
the pointer will change shapes into a Zzz symbol, if the
second window is activated, the pointer will look like a
pistol.