> I think overlapping windows have historically been a huge mistake for > many reasons, the main ones being: > - Overlapping windows require additional constructs need to be > introduced to allow access to the hidden windows (i.e. Windows Task > Bar, Exposé, Window lists). Windows can get lost under the pile. > - Overlapping windows can be confusing to look at. Even in OS X, with > the drop-shadow, it is often hard to comprehend the mess of windows > stacked on the screen. > - Non-overlapping windows remove the need for a "proxy icon" such as > in Mac OS X; since windows cannot overlap, the window itself can be > dragged into other windows as an object. > - Non-overlapping windows allow for a faster, simpler drawing > implementation. > - Etc... >
... > This strategy makes each non-full-screen container like a little > resizable dock, containing scaled-down windows. Also, since dormant > windows (inside the little containers) are no longer activated when > clicked, it makes it easier to drag them around (i.e. by dragging > anywhere on the dormant window). > > Now, finally, how the multiple-document-editing issue is addressed in my > model: > - There is only one key window. > - All windows (including containers) that are direct children of the > full-screen container are "active" (manually-sized). This means that > there can be several active windows on the screen at once. > - All windows within other visible containers are "dormant" (either > thumbnail or locked). > - Because windows can't overlap, resizing a window larger "pushes" > other windows out of the way, and resizing a window smaller "pulls" > adjacent windows inward. This provides split-pane functionality > without needing split-panes. I've been reading this over my lunch break, trying to visualize how your concept would work, and the only things that come to mind are: http://modeemi.fi/~tuomov/ion/screenshots/ion2-18.png http://pages.cpsc.ucalgary.ca/~mirtchov/screenshots/arialuni.png I also found this, which is worth a read: http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?TiledWindows I don't know that the "windows can't overlap" paradigm really makes sense when you have a lot of windows open. Maybe you can convince me otherwise, but I think only being able to see a tiny part of a window at once would be very limiting -- and would lead to a lot of scroll bars on the screen at one time. J.
