TIP 231: Support for [wm attributes] on X11

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Author:		Joe English <jenglish@flightlab.com>
State:		Final
Type:		Project
Created:	06-Nov-2004
Tcl-Version:	8.5
Vote:		Done
Post-History:	

Abstract

This TIP adds three UNIX/X11-specific attributes to the wm attributes command to take advantage of features newer Unix window manager control standards.

Specification

This TIP proposes to add support for the following window attributes under X11 in the wm attributes command:

  • -fullscreen

    This attribute has the same meaning as the equivalent option for Windows (see [223]) with one restriction (outlined below).

  • -topmost

    This attribute has the same meaning as the equivalent option for Windows (see [95]) with one restriction (outlined below).

  • -zoomed

    This attribute requests that the window be maximized; it is the same as [wm state win zoomed] on Windows, subject to the restriction outlined below.

Restrictions

Under X11, the -fullscreen, -topmost, and -zoomed attributes require cooperation from the window manager. If the window manager does not support these attributes, setting them will have no effect. In particular, they are not supported by older window managers like MWM and DTWM.

Under X11, the wm attributes command operates asynchronously: [wm attributes -attribute] returns the current value of the attribute, which will not be the same as the value most recently set if the window manager has not yet processed the request or if it does not support the attribute.

Reference Implementation

See patch #1062022 http://sf.net/support/tracker.php?aid=1062022 which is based on the freedesktop.org Extended Window Manager Hints specification http://www.freedesktop.org/Standards/wm-spec .

Copyright

This document has been placed in the public domain.

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