Editing Dockapps (section)

== Protocol ==

For an application window to be recognized as a dockapp, a protocol must be followed. The [[ICCCM]] specifies the WM_HINTS property, which applications must set. It communicates the desired initial state of a window to the window manager. Common values are Normal and Iconic. For a dockapp, that state must be set to Withdrawn. The WM_HINTS also specifies the icon window to be used. Commonly, it has a dimension of 64 by 64 pixels.

In 2010, a second method was 
[https://repo.or.cz/w/wmaker-crm.git/commit/9318a7f added to Window Maker]. When the Class part of the WM_CLASS property is set to 'DockApp', the window is also recognized as a dockapp. The motivation was that in [[GTK]] it is impossible to create windows in the Withdrawn state. This method was also adopted by other window managers, like [[AfterStep]], [[Fluxbox]], [[Ion (window manager)|Ion]], [[Openbox]] and [[IceWM]].