An icon is a stylized representation of an object. A window icon is a minimized representation of a window or window family that can help organize windows and tasks in the display. Iconifying a window is also known as minimizing a window. The window manager must iconify all windows of a window family together. It must not iconify any single window, primary or secondary , from a window family without also iconifying all the other windows in the window family. The iconic representation of a window family should not change any state in the windows, except the visual representation of the window. The application running inside of a window must continue running even when the application is iconified. The application can adjust its own state when it is iconified.
An icon is made up of an image and a label. A typical Motif icon is shown below.
The image should be surrounded by a border that indicates when the icon has the keyboard focus. The image area can contain text or a bitmap. The label should be located just below the image and its border. The label can also indicate when the icon has the keyboard focus by highlighting with the image area.
The label should contain the same text as the title area of the
corresponding primary window, or an abbreviated form of it.
When the icon does not have the keyboard focus, the width of the
label must be the same as the width of the image area and its
border, truncating text if necessary.
When the icon has the keyboard focus, the width of the label can
expand to display the entire text.
Icon Menu
Clicking BSelect in an icon must give the icon the keyboard focus and post the icon Menu. The icon Menu must be the same Menu as the window Menu for the associated primary window. Size should not be available from the icon Menu. Navigating to the icon must also give the icon the keyboard focus and should post the icon Menu.
Double-clicking
BSelect
anywhere in the icon must restore the
window family, just as the icon Menu item
Restore
does.
If the window is currently minimized, but its previous state was maximized,
double-clicking BSelect returns it to the maximized state.
Selecting Maximize from the icon Menu always maximizes the corresponding
window. If the window is minimized, Minimize must not be available in
the icon Menu; otherwise, selecting it minimizes the window family.
Pressing
BSelect
or
BTransfer
anywhere in the icon and dragging the mouse
pointer must move the icon to track the pointer, just as the icon
Menu item
Move
does.
If the window manager has been customized by the user so that
the icon Menu does not pop up when the icon gets the focus,
[Escape],
,
,
and
BMenu
must pop up the icon Menu.
Icon Box
An icon box is a specialized window that acts as a storage location for icons. An icon box acts like a typical window in the sense that it has a window frame and frame components. The client area of an icon box must have an area for holding icons and can have horizontal and vertical scroll bars for moving around the icon area. A typical icon box is shown below.
The icon box must have all the same
components as any other primary window.
Like other windows it can be sized, moved,
minimized, maximized, restored, and lowered.
However, the window manager must not allow the icon box to be closed.
The system Menu action
Close
must be replaced with the system Menu action
Pack Icons
in an icon box. Double-clicking
BSelect
in the icon box system
Menu must only open the icon box system Menu. It must not close
the icon box.
Pack Icons
arranges the icons as close as possible together in the visible
icon area if possible.
Pack Icons
must have the mnemonic
P.
If
Pack Icons
has an accelerator, it should be
[F12]
if
[F12]
is available.
When the input focus is in the
icon box,
[Escape]
or
must pop up the icon box system Menu if the Menu is unposted.
If the Menu is already posted,
[Escape]
or
must unpost the Menu.
The icon box can contain an icon for each window family, even if it is active. The icon for minimized window families must be the same as the icon would be outside of the icon box. The icon for an active window family should be similar to the minimized icon, deemphasized somehow.
Clicking
BSelect
in an icon must give the icon keyboard focus and
post the icon Menu. The icon Menu must be the same Menu as the window
Menu for the associated primary window.
If the icon represents an active window family,
Restore
and
Size
must not be available from the icon Menu.
If the icon represents a minimized window family,
Size
must not be available from the icon Menu.
If the window manager is customized so that the icon with the focus
does not have its window Menu automatically posted,
BMenu
or
must post its Menu.
Double-clicking BSelect anywhere in an icon that represents a minimized window family must restore the window family, just as the icon Menu item Restore does. Double-clicking BSelect anywhere in an icon that represents an active window family must raise the window family to the top of the window hierarchy. If the window is currently minimized, but its previous state was maximized, double-clicking BSelect returns it to the maximized state. Selecting Maximize from the icon Menu always maximizes the corresponding window. If the window is minimized, Minimize must not be available in the icon Menu; otherwise, selecting it minimizes the window family. Pressing BSelect or BTransfer anywhere in the icon and dragging the mouse pointer must move the icon within the icon area to track the pointer, just as the icon Menu item Move does.
The directional keys
,
,
,
and
must navigate among the icons in the icon box.
Icon navigation must behave as described in the following text.
Note that
and
do not need to traverse icons in the same order.