WINDOWS Aegis WINDOWS
NAME
windows
DESCRIPTION
Windows are areas on the screen in which you can read or edit text or
execute programs. Each window is a separate computing environment. You
can have many different windows on the screen at one time. You can move
windows on your screen, change a window's size and shape, stack, shuffle,
and overlap windows.
PADS
A pad holds the information displayed through a window. You can move a
pad beneath a window. To move a pad up, down, right, or left, use the
predefined boxed-arrow keys. To move the cursor to the top of the
current pad, press CTRL/T. Press CTRL/B to position the cursor at the
bottom of the pad.
CREATING WINDOWS AND PADS
Press <EDIT> or <READ> to open a window to a file. Use <READ> to view an
existing file, and use <EDIT> to create a new file or to change the
contents of an existing one. The full pathname of the file you are
viewing appears in the window legend at the top border of the window.
Pressing the <EDIT> key causes the cursor to move to the Display Manager
input window, next to the Command prompt. Type the name of the file you
wish to create and press <RETURN>. The DM creates an empty edit pad and
window in which you can work. To edit an old file, type the name of the
file and press <RETURN>. The DM displays a copy of the file. To close
an edit pad and its window, and save the new text, press CTRL/Y. To
discard changes made to a file, press CTRL/N. When you press CTRL/N, the
following message appears:
File modified. OK to quit?
Type y to quit. Type N to resume editing.
Pressing the <READ> key causes the cursor to move to the Display Manager
input window, next to the Command prompt. Type the pathname of the file
you wish to read and press <RETURN>. The specified file must exist. If
it does not, the system responds: "File not found". When a file is
found, the DM copies the file into a READ-ONLY pad for viewing. You
cannot edit text displayed in a READ pad. To change a READ pad to an
EDIT pad, press CTRL/M. Type CTRL/N to close a READ pad and its window.
(You can create a new shell process, along with a pad and window, by
pressing the <SHELL> key. The cursor appears in the new window beside
the "$" prompt. Use the appropriate shell commands to execute the
programs you need. Type CTRL/Z to close the pad. Type CTRL/N to erase
the pad and window.)
CHANGING WINDOW SIZE
To change the size of a window use the <GROW> and <MARK> keys (on the
Low-profile keyboard) or CTRL/G and <MARK> (on the 880 Keyboard). First,
position the cursor at one corner of the window and press <GROW>
(CTRL/G). After you press <GROW>, an outline of the window (or
"rubberband") appears, and shows you the new size and shape of the
window. Move the cursor until the rubberband shows the window size you
want, then press <MARK>. The windows takes the shape of the rubberband.
MOVING A WINDOW
To move a window use the <MOVE> and <MARK> keys (on the Low-profile
keyboard), or CTRL/M and <MARK> (on the 880 Keyboard). First, position
the cursor in one corner of the window and press <MOVE> (CTRL/M). After
you press <MOVE>, an outline of the window (or "rubberband") appears, and
shows you new the position of the window. Move the cursor until the
window is in the new position, then press <MARK>. The window moves to the
position shown by the rubberband.
PUSHING OR POPPING A WINDOW
You can display windows that are partially or completely hidden by other
windows on your screen. Place the cursor in the specified partially
hidden window. Press <POP> or CTRL/P. The window appears on the top of
the pile. To display a completely hidden window, press <POP> or CTRL/P
until the window appears in view. Pressing <POP> or CTRL/P when the
cursor rests in a completely visible window pushes that window to the
bottom of the stack.
DEFINING POINTS AND REGIONS
Some DM commands require that you point with the cursor or define a
region on the screen. To point, simply move the cursor to the desired
place. For example, to point to a window, place the cursor anywhere
inside the window. To declare a region (the area between two points),
point the cursor to the start of the region and press <MARK>. Then,
point to the end of the region (the region is highlighted in reverse
video) and issue the DM command.
GROUPING WINDOWS
You use window groups to make a list of window names so that you can
refer to the list with a single group name. Groups can contain
individual windows and other groups. You can make these windows or groups
invisible; and you can use icons to represent windows or groups of
windows on your display. Refer to the DM commands wgra, wgrr, wi and icon
in the system help files or in the "Domain System Command Reference
Manual" for more information.
USING WINDOW ICONS
Icons are a pictorial representation of a window. By using icons, you
can have easy access to many windows without keeping each window in full
display on your screen. Refer to the DM command icon, in the system help
files or in the "Domain Display Manager Command Reference Manual", for
more information.
DEFINING WINDOW BOUNDARIES
When a window's size or position on the screen is changed in any way, the
Display Manager determines the new boundaries of the window using
calculations based on a pair of points on the screen. Normally, the
points are chosen based on predetermined defaults. You may, however,
specify the new location for a window using the procedure described in
"Defining Points and Regions" immediately prior to creating the window.
You may also provide absolute point coordinates as arguments to the
window creation commands instead of using the <MARK> and point procedure.
See the window creation command help files and the "Domain Display
Manager Command Reference Manual" for more information.