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Maximizing the ECB windows

How to maximize and minimize special ecb-tree-windows

To get a better overlook about the contents of a certain ECB-window every ECB-window can be "maximized", means all other ECB-windows are deleted so only the edit-window(s) and this maximized ECB-window are visible (and maybe a compile-window if active). There are several ways to do this:

• Via the node-popup-menus of the ECB-windows
• Via the main "ECB"-menu and here "Display window maximized"
• Via calling the adviced version of delete-other-windows¹ (bound to C-x 1) in one of the ECB windows.
• Via one of the commands ecb-maximize-window-directories, ecb-maximize-window-sources, ecb-maximize-window-methods, ecb-maximize-window-history or ecb-maximize-window-speedbar or the bound short-cuts for those commands.
• Via the new command ecb-cycle-maximized-ecb-buffers which cycles through all ecb-buffers of current layout by maximizing exactly one of the ecb-windows after every cycle-step.
• Via the option ecb-maximize-ecb-window-after-selection and then just by selecting an ECB-window. "Deselecting" an ECB-window brings back all ECB-windows of current layout.
• Via the default modeline-mechanisms for deleting other windows. GNU Emacs binds mouse-2 in its modeline to delete-other-window. XEmacs binds a popup-menu with some window commands to button-3 in its modeline.

  ECB combines the best of both worlds by supporting both of these mechanisms for both Xemacs and Emacs: ECB binds a toggle-command to mouse-2 in the modeline of each tree-buffer which maximizes the current tree-window if all ECB-windows are visible and displays all ECB-windows if current tree-window is maximized. In addition ECB binds a popup-menu to mouse-3 which offers exactly 2 commands: Maximizing current tree-window and displaying all ECB-windows.

"Minimizing" such a maximized ECB-window, i.e. bringing back to its original size and displays all ecb-windows of current layout, can simply be done by redrawing the layout via the command ecb-redraw-layout (bound to C-c . lr).

Selecting a node in a maximized ecb-tree-window

When you select a node (either via mouse or RET) in a maximized tree-window the default behavior of ECB is the following:

Maximized directories-window: When selecting a directory then first automatically the maximized directories-window will be "minimized" (i.e. all ecb-windows of current layout are displayed) if the current layout contains a sources-buffer and no sources are shown in the directories-window - see ecb-show-sources-in-directories-buffer. So the source-files can be displayed in the sources-window.

Maximized sources- or history-window: When selecting a source-file in one of these buffers then first automatically the maximized window will be "minimized" (i.e. all ecb-windows of current layout are displayed) if the current layout contains a methods-buffer. So the tag-contents of the selected source-file can be displayed in the methods-window.

For a even smarter behavior ECB offers the option ecb-maximize-next-after-maximized-select which automatically maximizes the next logical tree-window after a node selection. The definition of "next logical is": Directories -> sources, sources/history -> methods. But if the current maximized tree-buffer is also contained in the option ecb-tree-do-not-leave-window-after-select (see also the tree-buffer-command ecb-toggle-do-not-leave-window-after-select which is bound to <C-t> in each tree-buffer) then ECB does *not* maximize the next logical tree-window but point stays in the currently maximized tree-buffer so for example the user can select more than one source-file from the sources-buffer.

Footnotes

1. This command is adviced per default, see The edit-area.