Cc4FuzzyHuggles Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Alright, so I'm just wondering, we have these windows in paint.net, the Tools Window, History Window, Layers Window, and the Colors Window. Is there one word that is used to represent all of the windows, instead of listing each one? I could make up my own one word references, but if there is already a term that's used, I'd prefer to use that. Thanks. Quote *~ Cc4FuzzyHuggles Gallery ~* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mottoman Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 At a guess, I would call it the User Interface (or UI) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midora Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 Technically spoken these windows are floating panels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ego Eram Reputo Posted August 8, 2014 Share Posted August 8, 2014 I occasionally refer to these as 'child' windows because they are spawned by the parent application. In the PDN documentation I'm sure I've seen them called the Utility windows. Quote ebook: Mastering Paint.NET | resources: Plugin Index | Stereogram Tut | proud supporter of Codelab plugins: EER's Plugin Pack | Planetoid | StickMan | WhichSymbol+ | Dr Scott's Markup Renderer | CSV Filetype | dwarf horde plugins: Plugin Browser | ShapeMaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cc4FuzzyHuggles Posted August 8, 2014 Author Share Posted August 8, 2014 @ Mottoman, thanks for the suggestion. I've thought maybe something like UI Windows or Work-space Windows are what they might be called. But unfortunately, I haven't seen them be referred to by those words before, and the UI seems to include everything from the Menu bar to the Status bar, and the canvas. When looking at the Paint.NET Documentation, I don't see a word that defines just the four little windows. @ Midora, I like it. It's very similar to what I have sometimes tried to call them myself, which is, "The Floating Windows". But, I haven't seen others call them the floating windows, so I've been hesitant to call them that, as I'm not sure how familiar people would be with my unofficial use of words for them. @ ERR, I see. Thanks. I've tried looking at the Paint.NET documentation a bit, and I haven't come across a term for the little windows yet, which has been leaving me at a loss for what to call them without listing each one or using my own unofficial terms. Thank you for the answers everyone, communicating with others about paint.net's little windows should be easier now. You see, one of the reasons I asked is because it's sometimes difficult to explain or refer to all four windows, and yet have people still understand or follow what I'm referring to. Here are some examples of where or how I would want to reference the four little windows, "Now, let me show you the little windows of Paint.NET." "You can move the little windows to any where you want." "At the top left of paint.net are icons for toggling the little windows on and off." These examples are vague, and the term "the little windows" is just a filler, and doesn't sound correct. True, I could probably use UI Windows or Work-space Windows, but if that's not the vocabulary that's used for Paint.NET, I don't want to confuse people. But, now I have several nice answers and other word choices from you guys! Just out of curiosity, if for example, I were to make a paint.net video, what term would I use now? Child windowsUtility windowsFloating panelsor if floating panels is good, maybe my own, Floating windows? Also, since there is a new and up coming Paint.NET Documentation, what term or new lingo might be used there? This may sound a little funny, but for me, the new documentation is as exciting as paint.net it's self! Thanks again! Quote *~ Cc4FuzzyHuggles Gallery ~* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ego Eram Reputo Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 IMHO they are windows and not panels. They have a title bar and everything. PDN Docs: First sentence on this page http://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/WindowMenu.html Quote ebook: Mastering Paint.NET | resources: Plugin Index | Stereogram Tut | proud supporter of Codelab plugins: EER's Plugin Pack | Planetoid | StickMan | WhichSymbol+ | Dr Scott's Markup Renderer | CSV Filetype | dwarf horde plugins: Plugin Browser | ShapeMaker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midora Posted August 9, 2014 Share Posted August 9, 2014 Well I said 'Technically spoken'. This may not be what is right for the user. A typical application window has bars and panels to collect elements of a specific logical group. Panels and bars are docked inside of the application window but some applications allow you to change the dock position. If an application allows you to undock a panel then it will become a floating panel with window elements like a mover or a close box. This is where the expression floating panel comes from. Panels are different from normal windows because they are sharing the state of the main window. Typically they do not allow to get the focus if they are clicked. This is different to modal or unmodal dialog windows. Check the Paint.NET panels: The title bar and the close box share the active state with the main window. Means they are all active if the application is in the foreground and inactive in the background. The same is true for Paint.NET dialog windows which is a bug from my point of view or let's say not the standard Windows behaviour. Paint.NET has the additional feature which allows to dock the floaters to a window border. But if Rick used the expression 'Floating utitlity windows' already then I would stay with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.