HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

HP DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS
New Features

The file DXMDEFAULTS.DAT allows you to control how many dynamic color cells are allocated and what resources are affected. This file contains resource specifications like the following:

*background:       DXmDynamicWindowBackground
*foreground:       DXmDynamicWindowForeground
*topShadowColor:   DXmDynamicWindowTopShadow

When the customizer is started, the file DXMDEFAULTS.DAT is written to a property on the root window. Any application that is subsequently run and that uses the correct version of Xt merges these resources with its normal resource database. Resource specifications in this file take precedence over specifications with equivalent resource names in other resource default files.

The resource values within the file DXMDEFAULTS.DAT have a special format. For each unique color value in this file that begins with the string "DXmDynamic", a color button is created in the color customizer. If the string "Shadow" is encountered in a name, the color button is placed in the shadow button box rather than the normal color button box. If a color value string ends with the suffix "Background", it is linked to any color buttons with identical prefixes and suffixes of "TopShadow", "BottomShadow", or "SelectColor" for purposes of automatic shadowing. If a color value named "DXmDynamicScreenBackground" is encountered, the color cell allocated is used by the customizer to set the root window background color.

You can edit the file DXMDEFAULTS.DAT and define resources to use the same color cells. You can have separate dynamic color cells, for scroll bar widgets or for your DECwindows Mail application, for example, by adding the following lines to the file DXMDEFAULTS.DAT:

Mail*background:         DXmDynamicMyMailBackground
Mail*foreground:         DXmDynamicMyMailForeground
Mail*topShadowColor:     DXmDynamicMyMailTopShadow
Mail*bottomShadowColor:  DXmDynamicMyMailBottomShadow

Adding the previous lines to the file DXMDEFAULTS.DAT and restarting the customizer causes four new color cells to be allocated and four new color buttons to be added to the customizer interface. These buttons are assigned default color values (usually black or white) for each palette. These defaults can then be modified for each palette through the customizer interface.

To change the colors of DECterm windows, copy the DECterm resource specifications from the file DXMDEFAULTS.DAT and add them to the DECterm resource defaults file DECW$USER_DEFAULTS:DECW$TERMINAL_DEFAULT.DAT. For example, add the following lines to the DECterm resource defaults file:

  DECW$TERMINAL.main.terminal.background: DXmDynamicTerminalBackground
  DECW$TERMINAL.main.terminal.foreground: DXmDynamicTerminalForeground

This allows the DECterm window colors to be customized with the color customizer.

2.1.3.9 Changing the Default Value of the Automatic Shadowing Toggle Button

The default value of the automatic shadowing toggle button is set using the Custom.autoShadow resource in the CUSTOM.DAT file as follows:

Custom.autoShadowing: False

The default value is True.

2.1.3.10 Using the Customizer on Multihead Systems

The color customizer affects only applications started on the same screen as the customizer. On most multihead systems, you can start a different color customizer for each screen and have a different palette in effect on each screen. On multihead systems using XINERAMA, a single instance of the color customizer affects all applications, since the screens function as a single logical screen.

The color customizer can be configured so that it is invoked once and affects all applications regardless of where they are started. This mode is invoked by modifying the Custom.multiScreen resource in the CUSTOM.DAT file as follows:

Custom.multiScreen: True

The default value is False.

2.1.3.11 Using the XSETROOT_CUST.EXE Demonstration Program

The XSETROOT_CUST.EXE demonstration program, created during the customizer build, is a modified version of the X utility xsetroot that is used to set a bitmap on the root window. The XSETROOT_CUST.EXE program uses DXmDynamicScreenBackground and DXmDynamicScreenForeground as the background and foreground colors of the specified bitmap. If your DXMDEFAULTS.DAT file contains entries for these two dynamic colors, then use the customizer to dynamically modify the colors of your bitmap.

For example:

$ XSETROOT_CUST :== "$SYS$LOGIN:XSETROOT_CUST.EXE"
$ XSETROOT_CUST -BITMAP your_xbm_file.XBM

V1.2

The drag-and-drop feature lets you move or copy screen objects. This feature is provided primarily for programmers who choose to incorporate drag-and-drop into their applications. For example, you can move text from a text entry area and paste it elsewhere.

All DECwindows Motif applications except Notepad support the drag-and-drop feature. DECwindows Mail supports the drag-and-drop feature in all windows except the main message area, where DECwindows Mail has its own drag-and-drop; you can use MB2 to move messages around with the SVN interface.

To drag and drop text into a new location:

1. Select the text to be copied or moved with MB1.
2. To move the text, press and hold MB2; to copy the text, press and hold Ctrl/MB2.
   A move or copy icon appears.
3. Drag the icon to the location where you want to drop the text and release MB2.
   If the object is highlighted as you drag the icon across it, you can drop the text into that location.

For a list of the widgets that support drag-and-drop functionality, see Section 4.3.1.

2.1.5 Tear-Off Menu Support

V1.2

Most DECwindows Motif applications allow you to tear off pull-down and popup menus. Tear-off menus let you keep frequently used menus displayed without repeatedly pulling them down or popping them up.

To tear off a menu:

1. Display a pull-down or popup menu.
   If the menu is a tear-off menu, a dotted line is displayed at the top of the menu.
2. Click on the dotted line with MB1.
   The menu remains active until it is closed or until the parent application is closed.

To close a tear-off menu:

1. Click on the Window menu button in the tear-off menu.
2. Choose the Close menu item.

This section describes new features related to the New Desktop environment.

2.2.1 Updated Welcome Message

V1.2--6

The welcome message in the Login Screen now displays a host name regardless of the transport. If the DECnet transport is configured, the DECnet host name is displayed. If the TCP/IP transport is configured, the TCP/IP host name is displayed. If neither transport is configured, a default message of "Welcome to OpenVMS" is displayed.

2.2.2 Setting the File Manager Refresh Rate

V1.2--6

You can now specify that the File Manager periodically update its view on the New Desktop by adjusting the Dtfile.rereadTime setting in the DTFILE.DAT resource file. The value of this setting represents the seconds elapsed between checking for changes in the viewed directories. Note that this setting does not work when viewing search lists.

2.2.3 Selecting Screens on Application Launch

V1.2--5

You can graphically select the screen on which a new application is displayed when launched from either the Front Panel, the File Manager, or the Application Manager. By default, the new application appears on the current screen (that is, the screen containing the mouse pointer). The feature allows you to drop an application icon from the File Manager or Application Manager onto one of the numbered screen controls of the Set Default Screen window. This starts the application on the selected screen without changing the current screen.

The Set Default Screen window is activated by selecting the "Set Default Screen" application in the Application Manager's Desktop Tools folder. You can start a separate instance of the Set Default Screen window on each screen. The highlighting of the default screen is synchronized across all instances of the Set Default Screen window.

2.2.4 Front Panel Icons Support MB3 Operations

V1.2--4

The New Desktop Front Panel supports mouse button 3 (MB3) operations. When the cursor is placed over a Front Panel icon and you press MB3, a subpanel or menu appears. The menu items are as follows:

• Top item--The label of the menu.
• Second item--The application that starts if you single click on the icon.
• Third item--Add or delete a subpanel, depending on whether a subpanel already exists for the control panel.

  Caution If the third item is "Delete Subpanel", this change is difficult to reverse without reinstalling the kit.

This section describes new features related to the traditional DECwindows desktop environment.

2.3.1 Resource Added for DECwindows XUI Applications

V1.0

The resource Mwm*useDECMode has been added to allow previous versions of DECwindows XUI applications to behave correctly with the Motif Window Manager. In particular, this resource is used to control focus, window placement, multiline icons, and the window's initial state (normal or minimized).

2.4 Applications

The following sections describe new features related to specific DECwindows Motif applications.

2.4.1 CDA Viewer

This section describes features related to the Compound Document Architecture (CDA) Viewer application.

2.4.1.1 Using the CDA Viewer to View Asian-Language Text

V1.2--3

You can use the CDA Viewer in two ways to view text files that contain Asian characters:

• Specify an options file to the CDA Viewer application.
• Define logical names at the DCL command level or in a LOGIN.COM file.

Refer to the DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Applications Guide for information about using the CDA Viewer.

2.4.1.1.1 Specifying an Options File

Specify an options file by including a one-line entry in the file in the following format:

TEXT TEXT_ENCODING text_encoding_value

• TEXT is the format.
• TEXT_ENCODING is the option you specify to CDA.
• text_encoding_value is the value of the codeset. (See Table 2-1 for a list of values.)

Table 2-1 shows the languages, codesets, and text-encoding values.

The following table shows examples of one-line entries.

To view the EXAMPLES_CUSTOMERS.TXT file that contains Japanese text in DEC Kanji, use your editor to create an options file called KANJI.CDA$OPTIONS. Add the following one-line entry to the file:

TEXT TEXT_ENCODING DEC_KANJI

When you access the file through the Options File dialog box with the CDA Viewer, the EXAMPLES_CUSTOMERS.TXT file is viewable in the DEC Kanji codeset (Japanese language).

2.4.1.1.2 Defining Logical Names

The second option to enable viewing files in Asian languages is to specify the text file and encoding value by defining two logical names:

• DDIF$READ_TEXT_GL
• DDIF$READ_TEXT_GR

Table 2-2 shows the logical names and associated encoding values.

You can define the logical names on the DCL command line or in your LOGIN.COM file. For example:

$ DEFINE DDIF$READ_TEXT_GL LATIN1
$ DEFINE DDIF$READ_TEXT_GR KANJI

Note that this example defines the text encoding for DEC Kanji (see Table 2-2).

2.4.1.2 Converting Files That Contain Asian-Language Characters

V1.2--3

You can convert an Asian-language text file to another format by specifying an options file or by defining the logical names DDIF$READ_TEXT_GL and DDIF$READ_TEXT_GR as discussed in Section 2.4.1.1.1 and Section 2.4.1.1.2.

The format for converting a document from TEXT to another format is as follows:

$ CONVERT/DOCUMENT/OPTION=language.CDA$OPTIONS filename.TXT/FORMAT=TEXT -
_$ filename.output_extension/FORMAT=output_format

For example, to convert a traditional Chinese language text file to a DDIF file, enter the following command line:

$ CONVERT/DOCUMENT/OPTION=HANYU.CDA$OPTIONS -
_$ GUIDELINES_PERSONNEL.TXT/FORMAT=TEXT  GUIDELINES_PERSONNEL.DDIF

Note that this command line does not include the /FORMAT=DDIF qualifier; DDIF is the default.

The output file, GUIDELINES_PERSONNEL.DDIF, contains language data.

You can also create Asian language PostScript files from a DDIF, DTIF, or text (ASCII) file. For example, to convert a DDIF file to PostScript (.PS) format, enter the following command:

$ CONVERT/DOCUMENT filename.DDIF filename.PS/FORMAT=PS

When you print an Asian language PostScript file on a PostScript printer, ensure that the required language fonts are available on the printer. Otherwise, the PostScript file defaults to a basic set of fonts. If these fonts do not exist, the PostScript file defaults to Courier fonts. Table 2-3 shows the languages and their associated basic fonts.

V1.2

As well as supporting a static-table for the fonts supported by the DECfonts Typeface Collection Version 1.2, the CDA Run-Time Services includes support for dynamic font lookup. This enables the CDA Viewer to use new fonts as they are installed on the system.

Dynamic font support is implemented using the WRITE$FONTS.INI file, which you can maintain using the Font utility provided with either DECwrite or DECpresent. If a document contains a font not found in the static tables, the CDA Viewer tries to open the WRITE$FONTS.INI file and search for the font. If the font is not found or if the system does not contain a WRITE$FONTS.INI file, the viewer uses a fallback font.

The WRITE$FONTS logical name references an initialization file used to provide font definitions to the CDA Viewer.

The default location for the WRITE$FONTS.INI file is SYS$LIBRARY, but, if the logical name WRITE$FONTS is defined, the CDA Viewer uses the logical name definition to search for the WRITE$FONTS.INI file.

Full path support is included, so any of the following definitions are valid:

V1.2

The current version of CDA Run-Time Services includes a performance enhancement that decreases the time it takes to display the first page of a CDA document. Other applications that use the CDA Viewer to view documents (for example, DECwindows Mail) also benefit from this enhancement.

The CDA Viewer enables this performance enhancement feature by default. You can disable the feature as follows:

$ DEFINE CDA_QUICK_FIRST_PAGE FALSE

The CDA Viewer might not display some documents correctly when this feature is enabled. If you encounter such a problem, disable the feature and invoke the CDA Viewer again.

2.4.1.5 Pack and Unpack Applications

V1.2

CDA Run-Time Services includes two standalone applications that can be used for transferring CDA documents across a network. The CDA Pack application packages a CDA document along with all of its externally referenced files into a single file that can be copied between systems or mailed to other users. The CDA Unpack application reads a file that is packaged by the CDA Pack application and creates a copy of the original document file and all its externally referenced files.

These applications allow you to copy CDA documents between systems without copying externally referenced files separately or correcting external file reference information after copying documents.

To use these applications, add the following lines to your LOGIN.COM file (or add the lines to the SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGIN.COM file):

$ PACK == "$SYS$SYSTEM:CDA$PACK.EXE"
$ UNPACK == "$SYS$SYSTEM:CDA$UNPACK.EXE"

These lines enable you to use the symbols PACK and UNPACK to invoke the Pack and Unpack applications, respectively.