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the new window on the second screen. If there is sufficient room on the screen, display subsequent windows to the lower right of the frontmost window. If there isn’t enough room on the screen, display subsequent windows starting in the original visually centered position, and then continue to display additional windows slightly offset to the lower right.

If the user moves a window so that it is entirely positioned on a second monitor and then opens the window on a single-monitor system, respect the window’s previous size, if possible.

Figure 14-33 Appropriate placement of a new window on a system with multiple monitors (the user moved the first window to span the screens)

If the user opens several windows on a multiple-monitor system, continue to place the windows on the screen where the user is working, each new one below and to the right of its predecessor. Don’t open a window so that it spans monitors; the initial position of a window should always be contained on a single screen.

Moving Windows

The user moves a window by dragging any part of the window frame (see “Window Appearance” (page 188) for more information on parts of the window). As a user drags, the full window and its contents move.

Pressing the Command key while dragging an inactive window moves the window but does not make it active. See “Main, Key, and Inactive Windows” (page 217) for more information about active and inactive windows.

Your application should never allow users to move a window to a position from which they can’t reposition it.

Resizing and Zooming Windows

Your application determines the minimum and maximum window size. Base these sizes on the resolution of the display and on the constraints of your interface. For document windows, try to show as much of the content as possible, or a reasonable unit, such as a page.

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Your application also sets the values for the initial size and position of a window, called the standard state. Don’t assume that the standard state should be as large as possible; some monitors are much larger than the useful size for a window. Choose a standard state that is best suited for working on the type of document your application creates and that shows as much of the document’s contents as possible.

The user can’t change the standard size and location of a window, but your application can change the standard state when appropriate. For example, a word processor might define the standard size and location as wide enough to display a document whose width is specified in the Page Setup dialog.

The user changes a window’s size by dragging the size control (in the lower-right corner). As a user drags, the amount of visible content in the window changes. The upper-left corner of the window remains in the same place. The actual window contents are displayed at all times.

If the user changes a window’s size or location by at least 7 pixels, the new size and location is the user state.The user can toggle between the standard state and the user state by clicking the zoom button. When the user clicks the zoom button of a window in the user state, your application should first determine the appropriate size of the standard state. Move the window as little as possible to make it the standard size, and keep the entire window on the screen. The zoom button should not cause the window to fill the entire screen unless that was the last state the user set.

When a user with more than one monitor zooms a window, the standard state should be on the monitor containing the largest portion of the window, not necessarily the monitor with the menu bar. This means that if the user moves a window between monitors, the window’s position in the standard state could be on different monitors at different times. The standard state for any window must always be fully contained on a single monitor.

When zooming a window, make sure it doesn’t overlap with the Dock. For more information about the Dock, see “The Dock” (page 62).

Minimizing and Expanding Windows

When the user clicks the minimize button, double-clicks the title bar, or presses Command-M, the window minimizes into the Dock. The window’s icon remains in the Dock until the user clicks it or, if it is the application’s only open window, until the user clicks the application icon in the Dock. For more information about the Dock, see “The Dock” (page 62).

Clicking an application icon in the Dock should always result in a window—a document or another appropriate window—becoming active. If a document-based application is not open when the user clicks the Dock icon, the application should open a new, untitled window.

While an application is open, the Dock icon has a symbol below it. When a user clicks an open application’s icon in the Dock, the application becomes active and all open unminimized windows are brought to the front; minimized document windows remain in the Dock. If there are no unminimized windows when the user clicks the Dock icon, the last minimized window should be expanded and made active. If no documents are open, the application should open a new window. (If your application is not document-based, display the application’s main window.)

Closing Windows

Users can close windows by:

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2008-06-09 | © 1992, 2001-2003, 2008 Apple Inc. All Rights Reserved.