Motif User's Guide Migration Version

Motif 2.1 User's Guide

Using the mwm Virtual Desktop

The window manager provides virtual desktop capabilities to the Motif user. Some window managers limit the canvas upon which the user positions windows to the area visible on the display screen. The Motif window manager does not have this restriction. Instead, the display screen may be thought of as a viewport onto an infinite-sized canvas. This allows you to pan the view over a root window that appears to be much larger than the actual size of the display screen. The mwm can be panned to any location that a window can be placed. This allows you to position windows on a root window of virtually unlimited size.

Access to mwm's virtual desktop capabilities is provided via the mwm and X resource files. There are basically three ways to move about and view objects on the virtual desktop:

You can make the viewport jump to an absolute location somewhere on the virtual canvas. For example, you can create a key binding such that, whenever you pressed that key, the top left of the viewport would automatically jump to coordinates 500,2000.

You can pan the viewport a relative distance from its current location. For example, you can create a key binding such that, whenever you pressed that key, the viewport would slide 10 pixels to the left.

You can interactively and continuously pan the viewport by sliding the mouse. For example, if you establish the appropriate mouse bindings, you can interactively slide the viewport left as you slide the mouse left.

The mwm provides these capabilities through resource files that you can set up and access via an mwm menu, or through key or button bindings. Refer to Chapter 6 for a description of menu functions and how they work.