[BrandonCorbin]

Is there any possible way to run an application, inside another application? Say I have a window that I can resize to my hearts desires, and inside that application window, run another application that would be confined to the parent window? This might be a far strech, but I could think of a lot of possibilities for that.

Thanks
Brandon

[depolitic]

Yes it can be doen, in java you can create virtual desktop with an application inside another, but it is not recommended by Apple, as it break the UI. By having two desktop spaces.

You see this on Windows sometmes and pissses me to no end.

[BrandonCorbin]

Any idea on what methods you would use to impliment a virtual desktop like that?

In the right usages, it could be extremely powerful...

[depolitic]

Here is a link:

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutor...rnalframe.html

[Angus_D]

Well, you can implement a MDI in Java or in Qt if you really want to, but you shouldn't do it. In that case you're just having windows within a parent window within your own application, you're not running an application in another application - that makes no sense. You can't do that.

[itai195]

Please don't make an app with virtual desktops

This is only necessary in Windows because Windows has a poor implementation of the distinction between 'programs' and 'windows.'

[BrandonCorbin]

Virtual desktops are for power users on any OS, it has nothing to do with how the os uses windows and applications, it has to do with productivity and app/window clutter.

But talking about window management on the mac... Applications like photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver, word, excel etc... All have seperate document windows. Now if you have 13 document windows open you can not easily get to a specific document with out knowing that applications specific document switching key command, or accessing the dock and waiting for the list. but this has nothign to do with running an application inside another application.

The concept i am playing with is a application that uses modules. instead of a special API to build modules in, it would actually just execute any kind of application... it could be great, but it could be bad too... So i have scratched that idea...

[itai195]

Originally posted by BrandonCorbin:
But talking about window management on the mac... Applications like photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver, word, excel etc... All have seperate document windows. Now if you have 13 document windows open you can not easily get to a specific document with out knowing that applications specific document switching key command, or accessing the dock and waiting for the list. but this has nothign to do with running an application inside another application.

Actually command + ~ is the standard command for this on the Mac, and I think it's built into cocoa's document architecture. Expose helps out as well.

The reason this is a problem in Windows is because generally a 'window' is a 'program.' If Photoshop on Windows didn't use a virtual desktop, you could have five documents open in Photoshop and when you close all five the program would close. In fact, this is how IE and other apps used to work. This behavior doesn't happen on the Mac, it enforces the distinction between windows/documents and programs/applications, except for a few misbehaved apps. On Windows, many programs use virtual desktops to achieve this same architecture. It has little to do with power users -- even the MS Office programs use virtual desktops. I think even Adobe's consumer-level photo manipulation tools use virtual desktops.

I happen to think it's clunky, but regardless it's not a standard UI practice on the Mac.

You're right, this whole thing is OT anyway