[crossfire] GTK2-v2 Client new layout defined

[Lalo Martins]

Also spracht Mark Wedel (Mon, 30 Jul 2007 22:24:29 -0700):
>   The real advantage of libglade is that it then makes it very easy for
>   anyone
> to be a tinkerer - anyone with some proficiency in libglade can go about
> and try moving things about, and not have to worry about needing to
> recompile, etc. There is a non trivial number of people that download
> the precompiled packages - OTOH, I have no idea how many of those would
> then try to go about playing with glade files.

Yeah, that was my thinking exactly.  First time I got my hands on the v2 
client, years ago, I had a 1024x768 system only for playing.  So I 
fearlessly whipped up glade and made a layout that allowed me to play.  
No sweat.

>>> Of course, my preference would be for using a widget similar to the
>>> Gimp's dockable panes, so an user can change the layout at runtime. 
>>> But I looked around and found no such widget in a library format.
> 
>   At one point, that was the reason for the gnome client - the sub
>   windows were
> tearaway, so you could pull one off, put it elsewhere, etc.
> 
>   I don't see that functionality in glade - doesn't mean that those
>   widgets
> don't exist, but there is some amount of stuff that requires extra work
> to do.

I did some research a while ago, there is no such a thing, at least not 
in library format.  It would certainly be a great service to the 
community in general if someone could abstract the relevant code from the 
Gimp, either into a new library, or as a contribution to one of libgnome, 
libsexy, or even gtk+.

In fact, for those who haven't used the Gimp in the last few years (or 
ever), I have to say -- the Gimp dock widgets are simply awesome, they do 
much more and much better than the Gnome 1 thingies did (or the v1/x11 
client's "split windows" mode).  Of notably relevance to the CF client: 
tabbed widgets would become an user decision.  Gimp docks create tabs if 
more than one pane is docked in the same slot.  (Did that sentence even 
make sense?  If not, fire up the Gimp and experiment a bit.)

>   I know it has also been suggested that there be a split window mode -
>   I think
> the only thing to do that would be to remove the root window and make
> sub windows for all the other stuff.  But I'm sure there is some stuff
> that presumes that window_root actually exists, and that the other
> windows are children off it.  Making window_root exist would be easy -
> if some code requires that heirarchy, that is a problem.
> 
>   Also, with the gtk2 client (compared to the X11 client), some window
>   still has
> to be nominated as the main/root window - need someplace to put the
> menubar. X11 client doesn't have a menubar.

But the gtk-v1 client does (did?) have a "split windows" mode, and a 
menubar.  The menubar goes on the window with the stats.  On v2 I'd argue 
it would be on the map.

best,
                                               Lalo Martins


best,
                                               Lalo Martins
-- 
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       summon the will, they soon become inevitable.
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