Any way to get the Process Explorer window on top of process windows?

[wadeh237]

I have a quick question:

I would like to be able to get the Process Console to the top of the z order when PixInsight is doing a long running operation.  Currently, any open process windows are displayed over the Process Console.  I should note that I keep the Process Console tab (as with all other tabs) on the right side of the workspace, since I have a bad habit of accidentally opening tabs when moving image windows to the left side of the workspace.  Also, I have the "Stick" icon for the Process Console selected.

Ideally, I would like whichever window I click on to take the top of the z order, regardless of whether it's an image window, a process window, or one of the flyout windows, like the Process Console.

Thanks,
-Wade

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Wade,

When the Process Console window (or any explorer window) is docked, it is a child of PixInsight's workspace, just above image windows. Since process windows are top-level windows, they are always above the workspace and all of its children, on top of the main application window. This is the natural Z order, imposed by the hierarchical structure of the application's graphical interface, which follows the general design of an MDI (multiple document interface) application.

The only way to get what you want is making every window a top-level window, including tools, images, explorers, dialogs and control windows. That would break all existing logical relationships between the different elements of the GUI.

You can try undocking the Process Console window (by selecting the Floating placement option). This will make it a top-level window, which can be brought to the top of the Z order stack by just clicking on it.

[Niall Saunders]

Hi Wade,

Have you ever considered a multi-monitor setup?

I have two 'side-saddle' monitors, one on each side of my main monitor. The side monitors are in Portrait Mode and are very low resolution compared to the main high-res Landscape Mode.

I put the Processing Console on the left-hand side monitor amd the likes of the Histogram wimdow on the right-hand monitor. I have the STF window at full-screen width at the bottom of the main monitor - which gives me very good control of the sliders.

A decent return on a $200 investment - but perhaps worth considering?

[wadeh237]

Thanks, Juan!

Undocking the window will probably work fine for my purposes.

As for a multi-monitor setup, I do have one.  I use three monitors (all high DPI).  Unfortunately, they are not arranged side-by-side.  The center monitor is below the left and right monitors, which are positioned together.  This arrangement is not supported by the graphics libraries that PixInsight uses, so PixInsight is constrained to the center monitor, underneath the left and right ones.  This is actually fine, because it means that PixInsight is arranged the same, whether I am at my desk or in the field using just the laptop.

Since my workstation is used as a home office, I can't optimize the arrangement for just PixInsight (and even if I could, I am not fond of a monitor arrangement where the farthest left and right points are so far apart that it's uncomfortable to turn when I switch between them).

[Niall Saunders]

I use three monitors (all high DPI).  Unfortunately, they are not arranged side-by-side.  The center monitor is below the left and right monitors, which are positioned together.  This arrangement is not supported by the graphics libraries that PixInsight uses, so PixInsight is constrained to the center monitor, underneath the left and right ones.

Surely you could still utilise the upper two monitors for the likes pf the Process Console, HistogramTransform. etc.

I hear what you are saying about a 'field computer', but isn't that just a case of using PI in two different ways?

No matter how you approach this, the result will always be a compromise. PI has a lot of information to display but it already does a pretty good job of trying to only present a user with the information that they have asked for when that information
may be most needed.

Finally, don't forget that un-docked windows floated to secondary windows have the added benefit of being maxmised, or re-sized, without interfering with the main PI monitor. (And, my side monitors in Portrait Mode have nearly the same physical and graphical dimensions as the vertical edge of my Landscape Mode main monitor, but they are also angled towards me such that the entire three fields of view can be seen with very little head movement).

[wadeh237]

Surely you could still utilise the upper two monitors for the likes pf the Process Console, HistogramTransform. etc.

No, actually I can't.

The problem is that PixInsight won't let any window move to a monitor above the primary display.  That's the limitation that I was talking about.

If I try to drag a window to one of the upper monitors, it stops at the top of the lower monitor and won't go any further.

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Wade,

Yes, this is a limitation of the current PixInsight core application: In multiple monitor configurations, all monitors must be placed horizontally and the leftmost monitor is the main one. You can extend the workspace across multiple monitors, but it must be anchored at the leftmost one.

I'll try to overcome this limitation during the 1.8.7 version cycle, priorities permitting.

[Niall Saunders]

Hi Juan,

So, was there a change at some point? PI certainly used to be able to give me the main window on the central monitor.