[Lazarus] Patch for improved window layout

[Kostas Michalopoulos]

I updated the patch with some suggestions by fpcfan and martin_frb from 
#lazarus-ide:

1. Added some failsafe code to make sure there won't be negative results in 
dual mode screens
2. The form is brought to top only if a new project is made at startup

The attached patch replaces the previous one.

Kostas

--------------------------------------------------
From: "Kostas Michalopoulos" <badsector at slashstone.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 28, 2009 10:01 PM
To: <lazarus at lazarus.freepascal.org>
Subject: [Lazarus] Patch for improved window layout

> I've attached a patch for ide\main.pp (rev 18847) which provides a more
> coherent window layout. Its not exactly what I had in my mind (an
> approximation of which can be seen when you open a default early Delphi
> installation) mostly because there doesn't seem to be a method to obtain 
> the
> real window boundaries including the titlebar and frame (as a sidenote, 
> this
> is something that should be addressed since this functionality is required
> for automatic alignment of multiwindow applications). So I did what I 
> could
> with the existing resources.
>
> Some modifications I did has to do with the "first look" of the program. I
> believe that 0.9.26 leaves much to be desired regarding the initial look. 
> So
> I modified the code in order to:
>
> 1. The component bar ("MainIDEBar")'s height is calculated to match the
> contents and current window size.
> 2. Line up the windows so they don't appear inconsistent and they don't
> overlap each other.
> 3. Make the default new form size to cover a large area made up of the 
> area
> left by the object inspector, the main bar and the messages window.
> 4. Resize the source editor window to be smaller than the default new form
> size but similar in aspect.
> 5. When a new project is made (or the IDE starts), the form is brought on
> top instead of the source editor.
> 6. Try to not mess it up with other themes :-)
>
> I did #1 and #2 to make Lazarus look less chaotic and more consistent. I
> really believe it looks better now.
> I did #3, #4 and #5 to focus on the visual side of Lazarus. Lazarus's
> strength is the RAD, which means the user doesn't have to type code. By
> showing the form (#5) instead of the code this is highlighted, especially
> since the form is not a tiny little form (#3). I made the source window a
> little smaller to enhance even more this aspect of the IDE: the design 
> part
> is more important than the code part so the code editor is hidden behind 
> the
> form (#4).
> Lastly I did #6, or at least I tried to, for practical reasons.
>
> This is how Lazarus looks with my patch after an initial launch (I just
> launched the program):
>
> Aero: http://gimme.badsectoracula.com/winlazarus_aero.png
> Basic: http://gimme.badsectoracula.com/winlazarus_vistabasic.png
> Classic: http://gimme.badsectoracula.com/winlazarus_classic.png
>
> I would like to make Classic look more tight, but the frame width of Aero
> and Basic makes the windows to overlap. Here is where I wanted to be able 
> to
> use the real window bounds instead of the client areas. I compromised a 
> bit
> and I gave more weight to the Aero/Basic themes since this is what most
> people will use in the near future. Also from my experience from Linux, 
> many
> window managers look more like Aero/Basic than Classic.
>
> So here it is, I hope this patch will be added (after maybe tested in 
> other
> platforms - I only have Windows Vista available at the moment). I really
> believe it makes Lazarus look more "professional" and coherent.
>
> Kostas
>
>



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