 | |
| Original author(s) | Nick Gravgaard |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 2001 |
| Stable release | 1.40[1]  / 4 April 2010 |
| Written in | C |
| Operating system | Unix-like |
| Type | Window manager |
| License | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| Website | nickgravgaard |
WindowLab is anX window manager forUnix-like systems. It is based onaewm and retains that window manager's lightweight aesthetic.[2] In many aspects, WindowLab has looked to theAmiga's user interface for inspiration without cloning it completely. Its top-levelmenu bar is accessed by a right click as on the Amiga and it followsFitts's law of usability in that once the mouse enters the menu area it is constrained there in both the horizontal and vertical directions. Unlike on the Amiga, the menu bar is not controlled by applications; it is a globallauncher menu which is populated by adot file in the user'shome directory containing a list of menu titles and commands.
WindowLab follows aclick-to-focus but notraise-on-focus policy - when a window is clicked it gets focus, but it is not redrawn to obscure other windows. This allows one, for example, to switch to a terminal to enter commands while keeping documentation visible in a web browser. Acompositing window manager will allow this also, with a transparent terminal layered above the browser window, but WindowLab's solution is far less demanding of system resources. A window can be brought to the front in a number of ways; by clicking on a window's title in the taskbar, clicking on the center title bar widget, by cycling through windows with theAlt+Tab key combination, or by double clicking anywhere in the title bar. Open windows may also be cycled by clicking & dragging across the tiles in the taskbar area. The developer states that many users find this faster thanMac OS X'sExposé feature.
An unusual trait of WindowLab is that a window's entire title bar is constrained to the screen; a window can't be partially dragged out of the display area except toward the screen bottom. This keeps the title bar widgets always accessible, and also mimics the Amiga's sliding "screens" functionality. A window may be resized from any edge by holding down thealt key and dragging from either the window's interior (to enlarge) or exterior (to shrink). WindowLab has simplified task switching and app launching and no clock/calendar, status indicators or theming engine (although fonts and colors can be changed via command line options).
