Floating dockables as JDialog

jEdit is a programmer's text editor written in Java.

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#537 Floating dockables as JDialog

Milestone: None

Status: closed-rejected

Owner: Alan Ezust

Labels: None

Priority: 5

Updated: 2017-10-15

Created: 2014-10-26

Creator: Makarius

Private: No

The change of JFrame into JDialog makes floating dockables depend on the enclosing frame more formally. Thus window managers are more likely to keep parts together where they belong. This is particularly important with full-screen mode, especially on Mac OS X, but also on Windows: as JDialog the floating windows stay on top of the view, as JFrame they may fall behind it and become inaccessible.

This change of policy has worked out quite well for Isabelle/jEdit since May 2014. Afterwards I've enjoyed OSX full-screen mode a lot, and in Yosemite it even replaces the former "maximize" button of the window.

Nonetheless, such window policies are subject to discussion. See also the isabelle-dev mailing list thread "NEWS: Improved management of dockable windows" from May 2014: https://mailmanbroy.informatik.tu-muenchen.de/pipermail/isabelle-dev/2014-May/005365.html

1 Attachments

floating_dialog.dif

Discussion

Alan Ezust - 2014-10-27

assigned_to: Alan Ezust

Group: -->
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Alan Ezust - 2014-10-27

status: open --> closed-accepted
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Alan Ezust - 2014-10-27

Committed 23704

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Alan Ezust - 2015-12-08

It looks like we will have to roll this one back, as it changes the behavior of dockables and is not desired by many users.

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Alan Ezust - 2015-12-08

status: closed-accepted --> pending-rejected
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Makarius - 2015-12-08

It would be interesting to understand what the problem of FastOpen actually is.

The intention was not so much to make jEdit do anything that "I want", but to try improving the general platform portability. I don't mind if it is rolled back, it merely means that Isabelle/jEdit will have one additional patch.

The difference is that users of Isabelle don't have a choice: they have to use jEdit as front-end, so it really needs to work everywhere. Users of plain jEdit do have a choice: when it does not work for their platform / window manager, they can vote with their feet and use another editor.

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Alan Ezust - 2015-12-10

Please ignore what I said about FastOpen. My problems were unrelated.

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Alan Ezust - 2015-12-10

I can see why in full-screen mode, you would want all your dockables to be in front of the View.

However, when you are NOT in full screen mode and have a window manager, then the dockables work in a more flexible way, and you can use the window manager to switch between them, show/hide them, whatever you want.

By making them dialogs, you are taking away flexibility of the way dockables can be used in a non-full-screen mode.

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Alan Ezust - 2017-10-15

status: pending-rejected --> closed-rejected
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