.title
Window Management Menu

.synonyms
window management menu,

.definition
The description of an application of pie menus to window managment.

.contents

	In a graphical environment supporting multiple overlapping windows on
	the screen, such as the NeWS window system, pie menus can be a very
	effective interaction technique for window management tasks. They can
	be used to issue commands to move, resize, and manipulate windows,
	invoke programs, and control the environment in many ways. 
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	In NeWS, windows generally have a border around them called the
	frame. When the cursor is in a window's frame, pressing the mouse's
	menu button pops up a frame menu of window management commands.
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	The standard frame menu, in linear format, is illustrated in figure 3.
	The items are grouped in more or less logical order.  The "Move"
	item lets the user reposition the window with the mouse. "Move
	Constrained" allows user to indicate either the x or y axis with the
	next mouse click, and then to position the window horizontally or
	vertically with the following click.  "Top" brings the window to the
	top of the stack of overlapping windows, and "Bottom" puts it on the
	bottom.  "Zap" destroys the window. "Resize" prompts the
	user to specify two corners of a rectangle, to which the window is
	moved and reshaped.  "Stretch corner" and "Stretch edge" allow the
	user to indicate either a corner or an edge with the next mouse click,
	and then to reposition it with the following click. "Close" replaces
	the window with a small icon representing the window. "Redisplay"
	erases and redraws the graphics in the window.
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	A pie menu with the same functions in the same order as the standard
	frame menu is illustrated in figure 4. The pie menu has a larger area
	than the linear menu, and the logical label grouping does not
	especially take advantage of the circular layout. 
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	The goal was to design a pie menu with the functionality of the
	standard frame menu, but with its items labeled and arranged so
	that the menu would be easy to learn and use.
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	Figure 5 is an illustration of a window management pie menu designed
	and implemented in object oriented PostScript, for the NeWS window
	system. The following is an explanation of the rationale behind the
	choice of functions, labels, and positions.
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	The items in the window managment pie menu are
	.~ Top and Bottom,~ .~ Close Icon,~ .~ Paint,~
	.~ Stretch,~ .~ Move,~ .~ Reshape,~ and .~ Zap.~
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	==> .~ Top and Bottom~