摘要 |
A window linking system is provided that links windows on a video display to reduced window clutter. When two windows are linked, the linked windows combine to form one larger window, known as an aggregate window, that is manipulated as a single window. By linking windows together, fewer individual windows are contained on the workspace of a video display, which reduces window clutter and which allows a user to more easily reorganize their workspace since fewer windows require manipulation. The window linking system implements window linking by using a container. A "container" is a screen object like a window to which another window, called a docking window, can be linked. The window linking system detects when a docking window is attempting to be linked with a container by determining whether the docking window is being dropped at the border of the container. If the docking window is being dropped at the border of the container, the window linking system links the docking window with the container, displaying both the container and the docking window adjacent to each other. After being linked, the linked windows form an aggregate window that is manipulated as a single window. As such, all resizing of the aggregate window, movement of the aggregate window, minimization of the aggregate window, and maximization of the aggregate window is applied to the aggregate window as a whole, including both the container and the docking window.
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