GNOME Documentation Library

struct GdkWindow

struct GdkWindow;

An opaque structure representing an onscreen drawable. Pointers to structures of type GdkPixmap, GdkBitmap, and GdkWindow, can often be used interchangeably. The type GdkDrawable refers generically to any of these types.

enum GdkWindowType

typedef enum
{
  GDK_WINDOW_ROOT,
  GDK_WINDOW_TOPLEVEL,
  GDK_WINDOW_CHILD,
  GDK_WINDOW_DIALOG,
  GDK_WINDOW_TEMP,
  GDK_WINDOW_FOREIGN
} GdkWindowType;

Describes the kind of window.

enum GdkWindowClass

typedef enum
{
  GDK_INPUT_OUTPUT,
  GDK_INPUT_ONLY
} GdkWindowClass;

GDK_INPUT_OUTPUT windows are the standard kind of window you might expect. GDK_INPUT_ONLY windows are invisible; they are used to trap events, but you can't draw on them.

enum GdkWindowHints

typedef enum
{
  GDK_HINT_POS	       = 1 << 0,
  GDK_HINT_MIN_SIZE    = 1 << 1,
  GDK_HINT_MAX_SIZE    = 1 << 2,
  GDK_HINT_BASE_SIZE   = 1 << 3,
  GDK_HINT_ASPECT      = 1 << 4,
  GDK_HINT_RESIZE_INC  = 1 << 5,
  GDK_HINT_WIN_GRAVITY = 1 << 6,
  GDK_HINT_USER_POS    = 1 << 7,
  GDK_HINT_USER_SIZE   = 1 << 8
} GdkWindowHints;

Used to indicate which fields of a GdkGeometry struct should be paid attention to. Also, the presence/absence of GDK_HINT_POS, GDK_HINT_USER_POS, and GDK_HINT_USER_SIZE is significant, though they don't directly refer to GdkGeometry fields. GDK_HINT_USER_POS will be set automatically by GtkWindow if you call gtk_window_move(). GDK_HINT_USER_POS and GDK_HINT_USER_SIZE should be set if the user specified a size/position using a --geometry command-line argument; gtk_window_parse_geometry() automatically sets these flags.

GdkGeometry

typedef struct {
  gint min_width;
  gint min_height;
  gint max_width;
  gint max_height;
  gint base_width;
  gint base_height;
  gint width_inc;
  gint height_inc;
  gdouble min_aspect;
  gdouble max_aspect;
  GdkGravity win_gravity;
} GdkGeometry;

The GdkGeometry struct gives the window manager information about a window's geometry constraints. Normally you would set these on the GTK+ level using gtk_window_set_geometry_hints(). GtkWindow then sets the hints on the GdkWindow it creates.

gdk_window_set_geometry_hints() expects the hints to be fully valid already and simply passes them to the window manager; in contrast, gtk_window_set_geometry_hints() performs some interpretation. For example, GtkWindow will apply the hints to the geometry widget instead of the toplevel window, if you set a geometry widget. Also, the min_width/min_height/max_width/max_height fields may be set to -1, and GtkWindow will substitute the size request of the window or geometry widget. If the minimum size hint is not provided, GtkWindow will use its requisition as the minimum size. If the minimum size is provided and a geometry widget is set, GtkWindow will take the minimum size as the minimum size of the geometry widget rather than the entire window. The base size is treated similarly.

The canonical use-case for gtk_window_set_geometry_hints() is to get a terminal widget to resize properly. Here, the terminal text area should be the geometry widget; GtkWindow will then automatically set the base size to the size of other widgets in the terminal window, such as the menubar and scrollbar. Then, the width_inc and height_inc fields should be set to the size of one character in the terminal. Finally, the base size should be set to the size of one character. The net effect is that the minimum size of the terminal will have a 1x1 character terminal area, and only terminal sizes on the "character grid" will be allowed.

Here's an example of how the terminal example would be implemented, assuming a terminal area widget called "terminal" and a toplevel window "toplevel":

	GdkGeometry hints;

	hints.base_width = terminal->char_width;
        hints.base_height = terminal->char_height;
        hints.min_width = terminal->char_width;
        hints.min_height = terminal->char_height;
        hints.width_inc = terminal->char_width;
        hints.height_inc = terminal->char_height;

	gtk_window_set_geometry_hints (GTK_WINDOW (toplevel),
				       GTK_WIDGET (terminal),
 				       &hints,
				       GDK_HINT_RESIZE_INC |
                                       GDK_HINT_MIN_SIZE |
                                       GDK_HINT_BASE_SIZE);

The other useful fields are the min_aspect and max_aspect fields; these contain a width/height ratio as a floating point number. If a geometry widget is set, the aspect applies to the geometry widget rather than the entire window. The most common use of these hints is probably to set min_aspect and max_aspect to the same value, thus forcing the window to keep a constant aspect ratio.

enum GdkGravity

typedef enum
{
  GDK_GRAVITY_NORTH_WEST = 1,
  GDK_GRAVITY_NORTH,
  GDK_GRAVITY_NORTH_EAST,
  GDK_GRAVITY_WEST,
  GDK_GRAVITY_CENTER,
  GDK_GRAVITY_EAST,
  GDK_GRAVITY_SOUTH_WEST,
  GDK_GRAVITY_SOUTH,
  GDK_GRAVITY_SOUTH_EAST,
  GDK_GRAVITY_STATIC
} GdkGravity;

Defines the reference point of a window and the meaning of coordinates passed to gtk_window_move(). See gtk_window_move() and the "implementation notes" section of the Extended Window Manager Hints specification for more details.

enum GdkWindowEdge

typedef enum
{
  GDK_WINDOW_EDGE_NORTH_WEST,
  GDK_WINDOW_EDGE_NORTH,
  GDK_WINDOW_EDGE_NORTH_EAST,
  GDK_WINDOW_EDGE_WEST,
  GDK_WINDOW_EDGE_EAST,
  GDK_WINDOW_EDGE_SOUTH_WEST,
  GDK_WINDOW_EDGE_SOUTH,
  GDK_WINDOW_EDGE_SOUTH_EAST  
} GdkWindowEdge;

Determines a window edge or corner.

enum GdkWindowTypeHint

typedef enum
{
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_NORMAL,
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_DIALOG,
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_MENU,		/* Torn off menu */
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_TOOLBAR,
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_SPLASHSCREEN,
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_UTILITY,
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_DOCK,
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_DESKTOP,
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_DROPDOWN_MENU,	/* A drop down menu (from a menubar) */
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_POPUP_MENU,	/* A popup menu (from right-click) */
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_TOOLTIP,
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_NOTIFICATION,
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_COMBO,
  GDK_WINDOW_TYPE_HINT_DND
} GdkWindowTypeHint;

These are hints for the window manager that indicate what type of function the window has. The window manager can use this when determining decoration and behaviour of the window. The hint must be set before mapping the window.

See the Extended Window Manager Hints specification for more details about window types.

GdkWindowAttr

typedef struct {
  gchar *title;
  gint event_mask;
  gint x, y;
  gint width;
  gint height;
  GdkWindowClass wclass;
  GdkVisual *visual;
  GdkColormap *colormap;
  GdkWindowType window_type;
  GdkCursor *cursor;
  gchar *wmclass_name;
  gchar *wmclass_class;
  gboolean override_redirect;
  GdkWindowTypeHint type_hint;
} GdkWindowAttr;

Attributes to use for a newly-created window.

enum GdkWindowAttributesType

typedef enum
{
  GDK_WA_TITLE	   = 1 << 1,
  GDK_WA_X	   = 1 << 2,
  GDK_WA_Y	   = 1 << 3,
  GDK_WA_CURSOR	   = 1 << 4,
  GDK_WA_COLORMAP  = 1 << 5,
  GDK_WA_VISUAL	   = 1 << 6,
  GDK_WA_WMCLASS   = 1 << 7,
  GDK_WA_NOREDIR   = 1 << 8,
  GDK_WA_TYPE_HINT = 1 << 9
} GdkWindowAttributesType;

Used to indicate which fields in the GdkWindowAttr struct should be honored. For example, if you filled in the "cursor" and "x" fields of GdkWindowAttr, pass "GDK_WA_X | GDK_WA_CURSOR" to gdk_window_new(). Fields in GdkWindowAttr not covered by a bit in this enum are required; for example, the width/height, wclass, and window_type fields are required, they have no corresponding flag in GdkWindowAttributesType.

gdk_window_new ()

GdkWindow*          gdk_window_new                      (GdkWindow *parent,
                                                         GdkWindowAttr *attributes,
                                                         gint attributes_mask);

Creates a new GdkWindow using the attributes from attributes. See GdkWindowAttr and GdkWindowAttributesType for more details. Note: to use this on displays other than the default display, parent must be specified.

gdk_window_destroy ()

void                gdk_window_destroy                  (GdkWindow *window);

Destroys the window system resources associated with window and decrements window's reference count. The window system resources for all children of window are also destroyed, but the children's reference counts are not decremented.

Note that a window will not be destroyed automatically when its reference count reaches zero. You must call this function yourself before that happens.

gdk_window_ref

#define gdk_window_ref                 gdk_drawable_ref

Deprecated equivalent of g_object_ref()

gdk_window_unref

#define gdk_window_unref               gdk_drawable_unref

Deprecated equivalent of g_object_unref()

gdk_window_get_window_type ()

GdkWindowType       gdk_window_get_window_type          (GdkWindow *window);

Gets the type of the window. See GdkWindowType.

gdk_window_at_pointer ()

GdkWindow*          gdk_window_at_pointer               (gint *win_x,
                                                         gint *win_y);

Obtains the window underneath the mouse pointer, returning the location of that window in win_x, win_y. Returns NULL if the window under the mouse pointer is not known to GDK (if the window belongs to another application and a GdkWindow hasn't been created for it with gdk_window_foreign_new())

NOTE: For multihead-aware widgets or applications use gdk_display_get_window_at_pointer() instead.

gdk_window_show ()

void                gdk_window_show                     (GdkWindow *window);

Like gdk_window_show_unraised(), but also raises the window to the top of the window stack (moves the window to the front of the Z-order).

This function maps a window so it's visible onscreen. Its opposite is gdk_window_hide().

When implementing a GtkWidget, you should call this function on the widget's GdkWindow as part of the "map" method.

gdk_window_show_unraised ()

void                gdk_window_show_unraised            (GdkWindow *window);

Shows a GdkWindow onscreen, but does not modify its stacking order. In contrast, gdk_window_show() will raise the window to the top of the window stack.

On the X11 platform, in Xlib terms, this function calls XMapWindow() (it also updates some internal GDK state, which means that you can't really use XMapWindow() directly on a GDK window).

gdk_window_hide ()

void                gdk_window_hide                     (GdkWindow *window);

For toplevel windows, withdraws them, so they will no longer be known to the window manager; for all windows, unmaps them, so they won't be displayed. Normally done automatically as part of gtk_widget_hide().

gdk_window_is_visible ()

gboolean            gdk_window_is_visible               (GdkWindow *window);

Checks whether the window has been mapped (with gdk_window_show() or gdk_window_show_unraised()).

gdk_window_is_viewable ()

gboolean            gdk_window_is_viewable              (GdkWindow *window);

Check if the window and all ancestors of the window are mapped. (This is not necessarily "viewable" in the X sense, since we only check as far as we have GDK window parents, not to the root window.)

gdk_window_get_state ()

GdkWindowState      gdk_window_get_state                (GdkWindow *window);

Gets the bitwise OR of the currently active window state flags, from the GdkWindowState enumeration.

gdk_window_withdraw ()

void                gdk_window_withdraw                 (GdkWindow *window);

Withdraws a window (unmaps it and asks the window manager to forget about it). This function is not really useful as gdk_window_hide() automatically withdraws toplevel windows before hiding them.

gdk_window_iconify ()

void                gdk_window_iconify                  (GdkWindow *window);

Asks to iconify (minimize) window. The window manager may choose to ignore the request, but normally will honor it. Using gtk_window_iconify() is preferred, if you have a GtkWindow widget.

This function only makes sense when window is a toplevel window.

gdk_window_deiconify ()

void                gdk_window_deiconify                (GdkWindow *window);

Attempt to deiconify (unminimize) window. On X11 the window manager may choose to ignore the request to deiconify. When using GTK+, use gtk_window_deiconify() instead of the GdkWindow variant. Or better yet, you probably want to use gtk_window_present(), which raises the window, focuses it, unminimizes it, and puts it on the current desktop.

gdk_window_stick ()

void                gdk_window_stick                    (GdkWindow *window);

"Pins" a window such that it's on all workspaces and does not scroll with viewports, for window managers that have scrollable viewports. (When using GtkWindow, gtk_window_stick() may be more useful.)

On the X11 platform, this function depends on window manager support, so may have no effect with many window managers. However, GDK will do the best it can to convince the window manager to stick the window. For window managers that don't support this operation, there's nothing you can do to force it to happen.

gdk_window_unstick ()

void                gdk_window_unstick                  (GdkWindow *window);

Reverse operation for gdk_window_stick(); see gdk_window_stick(), and gtk_window_unstick().

gdk_window_maximize ()

void                gdk_window_maximize                 (GdkWindow *window);

Maximizes the window. If the window was already maximized, then this function does nothing.

On X11, asks the window manager to maximize window, if the window manager supports this operation. Not all window managers support this, and some deliberately ignore it or don't have a concept of "maximized"; so you can't rely on the maximization actually happening. But it will happen with most standard window managers, and GDK makes a best effort to get it to happen.

On Windows, reliably maximizes the window.

gdk_window_unmaximize ()

void                gdk_window_unmaximize               (GdkWindow *window);

Unmaximizes the window. If the window wasn't maximized, then this function does nothing.

On X11, asks the window manager to unmaximize window, if the window manager supports this operation. Not all window managers support this, and some deliberately ignore it or don't have a concept of "maximized"; so you can't rely on the unmaximization actually happening. But it will happen with most standard window managers, and GDK makes a best effort to get it to happen.

On Windows, reliably unmaximizes the window.

gdk_window_fullscreen ()

void                gdk_window_fullscreen               (GdkWindow *window);

Moves the window into fullscreen mode. This means the window covers the entire screen and is above any panels or task bars.

If the window was already fullscreen, then this function does nothing.

On X11, asks the window manager to put window in a fullscreen state, if the window manager supports this operation. Not all window managers support this, and some deliberately ignore it or don't have a concept of "fullscreen"; so you can't rely on the fullscreenification actually happening. But it will happen with most standard window managers, and GDK makes a best effort to get it to happen.

Since 2.2

gdk_window_unfullscreen ()

void                gdk_window_unfullscreen             (GdkWindow *window);

Moves the window out of fullscreen mode. If the window was not fullscreen, does nothing.

On X11, asks the window manager to move window out of the fullscreen state, if the window manager supports this operation. Not all window managers support this, and some deliberately ignore it or don't have a concept of "fullscreen"; so you can't rely on the unfullscreenification actually happening. But it will happen with most standard window managers, and GDK makes a best effort to get it to happen.

Since 2.2

gdk_window_set_keep_above ()

void                gdk_window_set_keep_above           (GdkWindow *window,
                                                         gboolean setting);

Set if window must be kept above other windows. If the window was already above, then this function does nothing.

On X11, asks the window manager to keep window above, if the window manager supports this operation. Not all window managers support this, and some deliberately ignore it or don't have a concept of "keep above"; so you can't rely on the window being kept above. But it will happen with most standard window managers, and GDK makes a best effort to get it to happen.

Since 2.4

gdk_window_set_keep_below ()

void                gdk_window_set_keep_below           (GdkWindow *window,
                                                         gboolean setting);

Set if window must be kept below other windows. If the window was already below, then this function does nothing.

On X11, asks the window manager to keep window below, if the window manager supports this operation. Not all window managers support this, and some deliberately ignore it or don't have a concept of "keep below"; so you can't rely on the window being kept below. But it will happen with most standard window managers, and GDK makes a best effort to get it to happen.

Since 2.4

gdk_window_set_opacity ()

void                gdk_window_set_opacity              (GdkWindow *window,
                                                         gdouble opacity);

Request the windowing system to make window partially transparent, with opacity 0 being fully transparent and 1 fully opaque. (Values of the opacity parameter are clamped to the [0,1] range.)

On X11, this works only on X screens with a compositing manager running.

For setting up per-pixel alpha, see gdk_screen_get_rgba_colormap(). For making non-toplevel windows translucent, see gdk_window_set_composited().

Since 2.12

gdk_window_set_composited ()

void                gdk_window_set_composited           (GdkWindow *window,
                                                         gboolean composited);

Sets a GdkWindow as composited, or unsets it. Composited windows do not automatically have their contents drawn to the screen. Drawing is redirected to an offscreen buffer and an expose event is emitted on the parent of the composited window. It is the responsibility of the parent's expose handler to manually merge the off-screen content onto the screen in whatever way it sees fit. See Example 7, “Composited windows” for an example.

It only makes sense for child windows to be composited; see gdk_window_set_opacity() if you need translucent toplevel windows.

An additional effect of this call is that the area of this window is no longer clipped from regions marked for invalidation on its parent. Draws done on the parent window are also no longer clipped by the child.

This call is only supported on some systems (currently, only X11 with new enough Xcomposite and Xdamage extensions). You must call gdk_display_supports_composite() to check if setting a window as composited is supported before attempting to do so.

Since 2.12

gdk_window_move ()

void                gdk_window_move                     (GdkWindow *window,
                                                         gint x,
                                                         gint y);

Repositions a window relative to its parent window. For toplevel windows, window managers may ignore or modify the move; you should probably use gtk_window_move() on a GtkWindow widget anyway, instead of using GDK functions. For child windows, the move will reliably succeed.

If you're also planning to resize the window, use gdk_window_move_resize() to both move and resize simultaneously, for a nicer visual effect.

gdk_window_resize ()

void                gdk_window_resize                   (GdkWindow *window,
                                                         gint width,
                                                         gint height);

Resizes window; for toplevel windows, asks the window manager to resize the window. The window manager may not allow the resize. When using GTK+, use gtk_window_resize() instead of this low-level GDK function.

Windows may not be resized below 1x1.

If you're also planning to move the window, use gdk_window_move_resize() to both move and resize simultaneously, for a nicer visual effect.

gdk_window_move_resize ()

void                gdk_window_move_resize              (GdkWindow *window,
                                                         gint x,
                                                         gint y,
                                                         gint width,
                                                         gint height);

Equivalent to calling gdk_window_move() and gdk_window_resize(), except that both operations are performed at once, avoiding strange visual effects. (i.e. the user may be able to see the window first move, then resize, if you don't use gdk_window_move_resize().)