Re: [Nautilus-list] Desktop window

["John Sullivan" <sullivan eazel com>]

on 11/16/00 9:22 AM, Ross Burton at r burton 180sw com wrote:

> John Sullivan wrote:
>> 
>> on 11/16/00 2:52 AM, Ross Burton at r burton 180sw com wrote:
>> 
>>> I've noticed that Nautilus doesn't really draw on the desktop window, as
>>> programs like xhangglider (which flys a small hang glider around the
>>> desktop) are hidden beneath the Nautilus desktop.  Why is this?  Will
>>> this be fixed before release?
>>> 
>>> Ross
>> 
>> Nautilus uses a screen-covering window instead of drawing on the
>> pre-existing desktop, as you saw. The main reason is to use anti-aliased
>> graphics, which is not possible if each item is implemented as a separate
>> window a la gmc. We do not plan to change this approach. However, you can
>> (as I'm sure you already know) turn the Nautilus desktop off entirely.
> 
> You mean that you can't draw onto the existing desktop window in the
> same way you can draw onto a new window?  X is very strange at times...

True, because the existing one doesn't use an anti-aliased canvas.

> I think this needs to be documented some place - in a few weeks time
> xsnow will come out across this office and everyone running Nautilus
> will not be able to see anything...  :-(

Only people who have turned the preference for drawing the desktop on, but I
get your drift (ha ha).

We might be able to come up with a more elegant way to handle the desktop
some day, but we definitely won't be able to before our first release.

John