User Guide

Controlling the appearance of a MIAW 413
Controlling the appearance of a MIAW
You can control the appearance of a MIAW by setting different appearance properties. You can do
this by using Lingo or JavaScript syntax. Some default appearance properties can also be set by
using the Display Template tab found in the Property inspector. You can set the type of window
you want—for example, a tool window—and how it will behave and act. For example, a
document window can have a titlebar, be resizable, and have a minimize and maximize box.
Because the Windows and Macintosh operating systems handle windows differently, some
window properties are only available on the Windows platform. For more information about
Lingo and JavaScript syntax, see the Scripting Reference topics in the Director Help Panel.
Window appearance properties
Window appearance properties let you customize how your MIAWs look and behave. Depending
on what you purpose the MIAW serves, different properties can help you achieve the effects you
need. You can set these properties using Lingo or JavaScript syntax. The Display Template,
available from the Property Inspector, also allows you to define some default values for a movie's
window appearance properties.
General
General properties let you set what type of MIAW you want, its title, whether it is resizable and
more. Some properties are for Windows only.
Title lets you set the window’s title. It appears in the titlebar of the window.
Type determines the type of window. It can be a tool, document, or dialog window type. If Tool
is selected, the window can appear with a short titlebar and a small close box. Tool windows do
not receive activate or deactivate events, because tool windows are always active. They appear on
top of document windows but layer with each other. If Document is selected, the window can
appear with a standard titlebar, a close box, and a minimize and maximize box. If Dialog is
selected, the window has a standard titlebar and a close box. Dialog windows are always on top
and are modal.
Location determines the distance of the window from the left side and top of the screen. These
values specify pixels, and they apply only if the Stage is smaller than the current monitor’s screen
size.
Centered places the window in the center of the monitor. This option is useful if users might play
a movie that was created for a 13-inch screen on a larger screen or if you are creating a movie on a
large screen that will be seen on smaller screens.
Resizable determines whether the MIAW is resizable or not.
Docking determines whether a MIAW is a dockable window when opened for authoring. For
more information, see “About dockable MIAWs” on page 414.
Titlebar options
Title bar properties determine what icons appear in the title bar of a window. These are accessed
as part of the
titleBarOptions list.
Maximize Box determines whether a maximize box appears in the title bar of a window.
Close Box determines whether a close box appears in the window.