Opening and Closing Windows

This article describes how to open and close a window.

Opening—that is, making a window visible—is normally accomplished by placing the window into the application's window list by invoking one of the NSWindow methods makeKeyAndOrderFront:, orderFront:, and so on. Also, with proper bits set in Interface Builder, the window is shown when the nib is loaded in some cases.

Closing a window involves explicit use of either the close method, which simply removes the window from the screen, or performClose:, which highlights the close button as though the user clicked it. Closing a window involves at least removing it from the screen but adds the possibility of disposing of it altogether. The setReleasedWhenClosed: method specifies whether a window releases itself when it receives a close message. A window’s delegate is also notified when it’s about to close, as described in “Using Window Notifications and Delegate Methods.”

These methods hide a window without closing it. The method orderOut: removes a window from the screen. You can also set a window to be removed from the screen automatically when its application isn’t active using setHidesOnDeactivate:. And the isVisible method tells whether a window is on or off the screen.

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Last updated: 2006-10-03

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