[Qt-creator] Why QtC does not use QDockWidget for most tool-panel

[Ziller Eike]

> On Apr 7, 2016, at 3:21 PM, Prav <pr12og2 at programist.ru> wrote:
> 
> Hi, Ziller.
> 
>>>> Currently there is no way to use QtC better if you have multiple monitors.
>>>> That did improve somewhat in the last couple of versions. At least you can detach editor windows now.
>>> In 4.0.0 rc1 snapshot April 6 I did not get how to detach editor. Could you explain which version and how?
>> You can open additional editor windows since Qt Creator 2.8. Window > Open in New Window, or use the little button in the top-right corner of the editor tool bar.
> But 2.8 is not like "the last couple of versions". It was meant somethings else ... or I am wrong ... this is it?

There have been several smaller improvements regarding various parts wrt multi monitor support. The versions after 2.8 fixed several issues with opening additional windows, and added the option to see context help in a separate window. There are more things on the todo list, including refinements of what currently is there but still feels not right/unfinished.

> This feature work also strange because this new windows are not part of "splits-list" and I can not do things like "follow in next split"
> with this windows so they are like island ... non so usefull as splits.
> Can they be made part of this "splits-list" to make "follow in next split" work?
> 
> 
>>> Another help of using QDockWidget could be simultaneously edit code and edit widget-base-UI ... for ex. at second monitor I put
>>> my UI editing panel-widget and on the main monitor code editor. Would not it be nice ?!
>>> Because all current switches from UI to code and to UI back and to code again are so on ... let's say ... frustrating.
>> You currently cannot put the UI editor into a separate window, but you can put your code into a separate window.
> Try  it ... currently it is implemented so that it makes no sense. Like as soon as you switch to edit code in separate window you loose widgets-UI
> visibility ... which is like ... WHY?!

Right, forgot about that. This doesn’t have anything to do with using dockwidgets or not, though.

> You can rearrange and pull out the individual panels in design mode, and in debug/analyze mode.
> Yeeeees ... this is the questions ... why not to make all panels like this? Who will be hurt if all pannels will be moveble?
> If someone like default way ... do no rearange them. That is it.

Debug/Analyze/Design mode have gone through a longer evolution of hacking around QMainWindow+DockWidget. Just using plain QMainWindow+DockWidget was and is not really an option (adds too much UI clutter for normal use, and also makes certain UI design decisions at least harder). I’m sure that the evolution will continue (it currently continues with the merged Debug + Analyze mode and hopefully better sharing of dock widgets for these in 4.x).

(Just as a side note: QMainWindow+DockWidget does also not solve ripping out the editor window, because of QMainWindow’s design with a unmovable central widget.)

Br, Eike

-- 
Eike Ziller, Principle Software Engineer - The Qt Company GmbH
 
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