Title bar
Encyclopedia
In computing
, the title bar (or titlebar) consists of that part of a window
where the title of the window appears. Most graphical operating system
s and window manager
s position the title bar at the top of the application
window as a horizontal bar.
Default title-bar text often incorporates the name of the application and/or of its manufacturer. The name of the host running the application also appears frequently. Various methods (menu
-selections, escape sequences, setup parameters, command-line
options — depending on the computing environment) may exist to give the end-user
some control of title-bar text. Most web browser
s will render
the contents of the
in their title bar, often pre- or postfixed by the application name. Google Chrome
places its tabs in the title bar, so it is not necessary to use the main window for the tabs.
The title bar often contains icon
s for system commands relating to the window, such as a maximize, minimize, rollup and close buttons; and may include other content such as an application icon, a clock
, etc.
In many graphical user interface
s, including the Mac OS
and Microsoft Windows
interfaces, the user may move a window by grab
bing the title bar and dragging.
action.
s provide useless titlebars which are purely for decorative purposes and offer no window motion facility. These window manager
s do not allow windows to be moved around the screen by using a drag
action on the titlebar.
s provide titlebar buttons which provide the facility to minimize, maximize, roll-up or close application windows. Some window managers may display the titlebar buttons in the taskbar or taskpanel, rather than in the titlebars.
The following buttons may appear in the titlebar:
Note that a context menu
may be available from some titlebar buttons or by right-clicking.
s display a small icon in the titlebar that may vary according to the application on which it appears. The titlebar icon may behave like a menu button, or may provide a context menu
facility.
changes its close icon from an X to a dot; RISC OS
appends an asterisk
to the title.
Note that many of these window manager allow customization of the buttons shown in the titlebar, some with much greater flexibility than others.
Computing
Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and improving computer hardware and software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology...
, the title bar (or titlebar) consists of that part of a window
Window (computing)
In computing, a window is a visual area containing some kind of user interface. It usually has a rectangular shape that can overlap with the area of other windows...
where the title of the window appears. Most graphical operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
s and window manager
Window manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...
s position the title bar at the top of the application
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
window as a horizontal bar.
Default title-bar text often incorporates the name of the application and/or of its manufacturer. The name of the host running the application also appears frequently. Various methods (menu
Menu (computing)
In computing and telecommunications, a menu is a list of commands presented to an operator by a computer or communications system. A menu is used in contrast to a command-line interface, where instructions to the computer are given in the form of commands .Choices given from a menu may be selected...
-selections, escape sequences, setup parameters, command-line
Command-line interface
A command-line interface is a mechanism for interacting with a computer operating system or software by typing commands to perform specific tasks...
options — depending on the computing environment) may exist to give the end-user
End-user
Economics and commerce define an end user as the person who uses a product. The end user or consumer may differ from the person who purchases the product...
some control of title-bar text. Most web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
s will render
Rendering (computer graphics)
Rendering is the process of generating an image from a model , by means of computer programs. A scene file contains objects in a strictly defined language or data structure; it would contain geometry, viewpoint, texture, lighting, and shading information as a description of the virtual scene...
the contents of the
title HTML elementHTML element
An HTML element is an individual component of an HTML document. HTML documents are composed of a tree of HTML elements and other nodes, such as text nodes. Each element can have attributes specified. Elements can also have content, including other elements and text. HTML elements represent...
in their title bar, often pre- or postfixed by the application name. Google Chrome
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google that uses the WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a beta version for Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the graphical user interface frame, or...
places its tabs in the title bar, so it is not necessary to use the main window for the tabs.
The title bar often contains icon
Icon (computing)
A computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...
s for system commands relating to the window, such as a maximize, minimize, rollup and close buttons; and may include other content such as an application icon, a clock
Clock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
, etc.
In many graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
s, including the Mac OS
Mac OS
Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
interfaces, the user may move a window by grab
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
bing the title bar and dragging.
Types of titlebar
Typically titlebars can be used to provide window motion enabling the window to be moved around the screen by using a dragDrag-and-drop
In computer graphical user interfaces, drag-and-drop is the action of selecting a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object...
action.
Useless titlebars
Some window managerWindow manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...
s provide useless titlebars which are purely for decorative purposes and offer no window motion facility. These window manager
Window manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...
s do not allow windows to be moved around the screen by using a drag
Drag-and-drop
In computer graphical user interfaces, drag-and-drop is the action of selecting a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object...
action on the titlebar.
Titlebar buttons
Some window managerWindow manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...
s provide titlebar buttons which provide the facility to minimize, maximize, roll-up or close application windows. Some window managers may display the titlebar buttons in the taskbar or taskpanel, rather than in the titlebars.
The following buttons may appear in the titlebar:
- close
- maximize
- minimize
- resize
- roll-up
Note that a context menu
Context menu
A context menu is a menu in a graphical user interface that appears upon user interaction, such as a right mouse click or middle click mouse operation...
may be available from some titlebar buttons or by right-clicking.
Titlebar icon
Some window managerWindow manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...
s display a small icon in the titlebar that may vary according to the application on which it appears. The titlebar icon may behave like a menu button, or may provide a context menu
Context menu
A context menu is a menu in a graphical user interface that appears upon user interaction, such as a right mouse click or middle click mouse operation...
facility.
Document status icon
Some window managers display an icon or symbol to indicate that the contents of the window have not been saved or confirmed in some way: Mac OS XMac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
changes its close icon from an X to a dot; RISC OS
RISC OS
RISC OS is a computer operating system originally developed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England for their range of desktop computers, based on their own ARM architecture. First released in 1987, under the name Arthur, the subsequent iteration was renamed as in 1988...
appends an asterisk
Asterisk
An asterisk is a typographical symbol or glyph. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often pronounce it as star...
to the title.
List of OS specific window managers and the types of titlebar they use
| OS | icon | back | close | maximize | menu Menu (computing) In computing and telecommunications, a menu is a list of commands presented to an operator by a computer or communications system. A menu is used in contrast to a command-line interface, where instructions to the computer are given in the form of commands .Choices given from a menu may be selected... |
meta Meta key The meta key is a special key on MIT keyboards, such as the space-cadet keyboard, and on Sun Microsystems keyboards, marked as a solid diamond.The key is similar in function to the Macintosh's command key, which has the same location... |
minimize | resize | roll-up | status | context menu Context menu A context menu is a menu in a graphical user interface that appears upon user interaction, such as a right mouse click or middle click mouse operation... |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac Os X Mac OS X Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems... |
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| RISC OS RISC OS RISC OS is a computer operating system originally developed by Acorn Computers Ltd in Cambridge, England for their range of desktop computers, based on their own ARM architecture. First released in 1987, under the name Arthur, the subsequent iteration was renamed as in 1988... |
||||||||||||
| Windows | Icon is context menu |
List of X window managers and the types of titlebar that they use
- 3dwm - close and menuMenuIn a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
buttons - 4dwm4Dwm4Dwm is a window manager normally used on Silicon Graphics workstations running IRIX. 4Dwm is derived from the older mwm window manager and uses the Motif widget toolkit on top of the X Window System found on most Unix systems....
- metaMetaMeta- , is a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter....
, minimize and maximize buttons - 5dwm - menuMenuIn a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
, minimize and maximize buttons - aewm - metaMetaMeta- , is a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter....
button - aewm++ - metaMetaMeta- , is a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter....
button - afterstepAfterStepAfterStep is a stacking window manager for the X Window System. The goal of AfterStep's development is to provide for flexibility of desktop configuration, improved aesthetics and efficient use of system resources, and was used in such distributions as MachTen...
- close, menuMenuIn a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
and optional minimize and maximize buttons - alloywm
- amiwmAmiwmIn computing, the AMIga Window Manager is a stacking window manager for the X Window System.Amwim was written by Marcus Comstedt. "The purpose of amiwm is to make life more pleasant for Amiga-freaks like myself who has/wants to use UNIX workstations once in a while."Amiwm emulates the Amiga...
- menuMenuIn a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
, minimize, maximize, and close buttons - antico - metaMetaMeta- , is a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter....
and close buttons - afterstepAfterStepAfterStep is a stacking window manager for the X Window System. The goal of AfterStep's development is to provide for flexibility of desktop configuration, improved aesthetics and efficient use of system resources, and was used in such distributions as MachTen...
- menuMenuIn a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
, minimize, maximize, and close buttons - asclassic - close and menuMenuIn a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
buttons - awesomeAwesome (window manager)awesome is a dynamic window manager for the X Window System developed in the C and Lua programming languages. The latter is also used for configuring and extending the window manager. Its development began as a fork of dwm...
- icon and minimize, maximize and close buttons - azaleaAzaleaAzaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
- icon, minimize, maximize, and close buttons - berylBerylThe mineral beryl is a beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate with the chemical formula Be3Al26. The hexagonal crystals of beryl may be very small or range to several meters in size. Terminated crystals are relatively rare...
- icon, minimize, maximize, rollupRollupA Rollup is a technique used by investors where multiple small companies in the same market are acquired and merged. The principal aim of a rollup is to reduce costs through economies of scale. Rollups also have the effect of increasing the valuation multiples the business can command as it...
and close buttons - blackboxBlackboxIn Unix computing, Blackbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System.Blackbox has specific design goals, and some functionality is provided only through other applications. One example is the bbkeys hotkey application....
- icon, minimize, maximize, and close buttons - ctwmCTWMIn Unix computing, CTWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System in the twm family of window managers...
- icon and menuMenuIn a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
, minimize, maximize, rollupRollupA Rollup is a technique used by investors where multiple small companies in the same market are acquired and merged. The principal aim of a rollup is to reduce costs through economies of scale. Rollups also have the effect of increasing the valuation multiples the business can command as it...
and close buttons - fluxboxFluxboxFluxbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, which started as a fork of Blackbox 0.61.1, with the same aim to be lightweight. Its user interface has only a taskbar, a pop-up menu accessible by right-clicking on the desktop, and minimal support for graphical icons...
- title only - FLWMFLWMThe Fast Light Window Manager is a stacking window manager written in C++ and available for redistribution under the terms of the GNU General Public Licence.- Features :Features of the FLWM window manager include:* Stacking windows* Written in C++...
- vertical titlebars - fpcbol - minimize, maximize, and close buttons
- fvwmFVWMThe F Virtual Window Manager is a virtual window manager for the X Window System. Originally a twm derivative, FVWM has evolved into a powerful and highly configurable environment for Unix-like systems.- History:...
- menuMenuIn a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
, minimize, maximize, rollupRollupA Rollup is a technique used by investors where multiple small companies in the same market are acquired and merged. The principal aim of a rollup is to reduce costs through economies of scale. Rollups also have the effect of increasing the valuation multiples the business can command as it...
and close buttons - fvwm95FVWM95FVWM95 is a window manager for the X Window System based on the popular FVWM 2 window manager. It is similar to the original FVWM, but is designed to closely resemble the look of Windows 95....
- minimize, maximize, and close buttons - heliwm - optional, title only
- icewmIceWMIceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System graphical infrastructure, written by Marko Maček. It was coded from scratch in C++ and is released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License...
- rightclick menu and have minimize, maximize, rollupRollupA Rollup is a technique used by investors where multiple small companies in the same market are acquired and merged. The principal aim of a rollup is to reduce costs through economies of scale. Rollups also have the effect of increasing the valuation multiples the business can command as it...
and close buttons - ion2 - rightclick menu
- jwmJWMJWM is a lightweight stacking window manager for the X Window System written by Joe Wingbermuehle. JWM is written in C and uses only Xlib at a minimum...
- minimize, maximize, rollupRollupA Rollup is a technique used by investors where multiple small companies in the same market are acquired and merged. The principal aim of a rollup is to reduce costs through economies of scale. Rollups also have the effect of increasing the valuation multiples the business can command as it...
and close buttons - karmen - minimize and close buttons
- Lightweight window managerLightweight window managerlwm is a lightweight X11 window manager written by Elliott Hughes. It was based upon the 9wm window manager.- Features :Features of the lightweight window manager are:* A stacking window manager* Written in C* Uses the xlib toolkit...
- close button - mvwm - icon, minimize, maximize and close buttons
- mwmMWMMWM INTERNATIONAL Motores is a Brazilian company, specialised in the manufacturing of diesel engines for Latin American automotive applications. MWM is a fully owned subsidiary of Navistar International since 2005...
- menuMenuIn a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
, minimize and maximize buttons - olwmOlwmolwm was the default stacking window manager for OpenWindows, the original desktop environment included with SunOS and Solaris...
- rightclick menu, and a minimize button - openboxOpenboxOpenbox is a free window manager for the X Window System, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Originally derived from Blackbox 0.65.0 , Openbox has now been totally rewritten in the C programming language and since version 3.0 is not based upon any code from Blackbox.Openbox is designed...
- minimize, maximize, rollupRollupA Rollup is a technique used by investors where multiple small companies in the same market are acquired and merged. The principal aim of a rollup is to reduce costs through economies of scale. Rollups also have the effect of increasing the valuation multiples the business can command as it...
and close buttons - pekwm - minimize, maximize and close buttons
- pwm2 - rightclick menu
- qvwm - minimize, maximize, and close buttons
- sawfishSawfishSawfish, also known as the Carpenter Shark, are a family of rays, characterized by a long, toothy nose extension snout. Several species can grow to approximately . The family as a whole is largely unknown and little studied...
- minimize, maximize, rollupRollupA Rollup is a technique used by investors where multiple small companies in the same market are acquired and merged. The principal aim of a rollup is to reduce costs through economies of scale. Rollups also have the effect of increasing the valuation multiples the business can command as it...
and close buttons - smallwm - close button
- twmTwmIn computing, twm is the standard window manager for the X Window System, version X11R4 onwards...
- minimize, resize buttons - vtwmVtwmVtwm is an X window manager that was developed from the twm codebase. The first release was in 1990, and it is very much an "old school" window manager. It added features like xpm icons, autoraising of windows, and a virtual desktop; the latter feature is from where the program takes its name...
- menuMenuIn a restaurant, a menu is a presentation of food and beverage offerings. A menu may be a la carte – which guests use to choose from a list of options – or table d'hôte, in which case a pre-established sequence of courses is served....
, minimize, resize buttons - Mutter (Gnome Shell) - Close
Note that many of these window manager allow customization of the buttons shown in the titlebar, some with much greater flexibility than others.
External links
- Example and discussion using Microsoft Paint's title bar