The Palm-size PC desktop provides a user with an interface for launching applications and switching between tasks. The background of the desktop can consist of a wallpaper image, no wallpaper, or an Active Desktop. An Active Desktop is a technology delivered in Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer that allows you to include HTML documents, ActiveX controls, and Java-based applets on your desktop. A user can customize an Active Desktop to contain any available component, or Web and HTML content supplied by a content provider. In Active Desktop mode, each desktop component is displayed in its own HTML control, all of which are tiled to share the available screen space. If a user adds or removes a component, the total space is redistributed equally among the remaining components. Users can adjust the spacing at any time.
The Palm-size PC desktop includes a taskbar that contains a Start menu, an Input Panel button, a Desktop button, and a date and time annunciator panel. Because taskbars do not contain buttons for running applications, users cannot switch between applications by pressing a taskbar button. Instead, users launch new applications or reactivate idle applications using the Start menu or by pressing application-switching buttons found on the device casing.
The Start menu has two components: the main menu and cascading menus. The main menu, which has a maximum height of 320 pixels, contains four standard items: Programs, Settings, Find, and Help. It also has room for 11 additional applications known as Favorites. If there are too few applications on the main menu to use the entire 320 pixels, it shrinks vertically to fit the list of Favorites. The minimum height of the main menu equals the height of the Windows CE banner displayed on the left side of the menu. The width of the main menu is 180 pixels; item names are truncated with ellipses if they are too long to display in the menu. All Palm-size PC menus use 9-point Tahoma Bold.
A cascading menu can accommodate more items than can fit vertically in a single column by displaying a scroll arrow above the top item and below the bottom item. As a menu cascades, it overlaps the previous menu, including the main menu. A cascading menu has a maximum width of 180 pixels, but child menus overlap at 120-pixel intervals to accommodate three columns of menus on the screen at one time. As on other Windows-based platforms, the main and cascading menus of a Palm-size PC use an icon associated with the menu item that is 16 x 16 pixels. Items that cascade to additional menus are appended with a triangular arrow. Items on a cascading menu appear in alphabetical order by default. Because users cannot manipulate or view the file system on a Palm-size PC, folders are not displayed on cascading menus.
The Input Panel button displays and hides the input panel, a user interface element that contains either a keyboard or a handwriting recognition display. Users operate the input panel using a touch screen and a stylus. When the input panel is displayed, application windows typically resize so that the input panel does not obscure any information. To switch from one input method to another, users tap the Input Panel Selector button. The icon on the Input Panel button changes to reflect the current input method. For example, if handwriting recognition is the current input method, the button displays the handwriting icon, and if the keyboard is the selected input method, the button displays the keyboard icon.
The Desktop button provides quick access to the desktop. When the button is pressed, it brings the desktop forward and into focus, effectively hiding the current application. When the desktop is in the foreground, the Desktop button appears depressed to denote that the desktop is displayed. Pressing the Desktop button while it appears depressed causes the previously active application to reactivate. The Desktop button is 23 x 22 pixels, the size of a standard toolbar button, and is located on the right edge of the taskbar.
The date and time annunciator panel provides immediate access to date and time information from any state or application. It also displays icons, called annunciators, which indicate that a user notification is active. Taskbars can contain up to six annunciator icons at once for different applications. However, only one instance of an icon for any application is displayed at a time. If more than six annunciators are displayed, the annunciator for the application that has remained idle the longest is hidden until there is space to accommodate it again. When you design an application, include an annunciator only when necessary in order to conserve space in the taskbar. If you do include an annunciator, be sure to use icons that are unambiguous.