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43 \page desktop-integration.html
44 \title Desktop Integration
45 \ingroup gui-programming
47 Various classes in Qt are designed to help developers integrate applications into
48 users' desktop environments. These classes enable developers to take advantage
49 of native services while still using a cross-platform API.
53 \section1 Opening External Resources
55 Although Qt provides facilities to handle and display resources, such as
56 \l{QImageIOHandler}{common image formats} and \l{QTextDocument}{HTML},
57 it is sometimes necessary to open files and external resources using external
60 QDesktopServices provides an interface to services offered by the user's desktop
61 environment. In particular, the \l{QDesktopServices::}{openUrl()} function is
62 used to open resources using the appropriate application, which may have been
63 specifically configured by the user.
65 \section1 System Tray Icons
67 Many modern desktop environments feature docks or panels with \e{system trays}
68 in which applications can install icons. Applications often use system tray icons
69 to display status information, either by updating the icon itself or by showing
70 information in "balloon messages". Additionally, many applications provide
71 pop-up menus that can be accessed via their system tray icons.
73 The QSystemTrayIcon class exposes all of the above features via an intuitive
74 Qt-style API that can be used on all desktop platforms.
76 \section1 Desktop Widgets
78 On systems where the user's desktop is displayed using more than one screen,
79 certain types of applications may need to obtain information about the
80 configuration of the user's workspace to ensure that new windows and dialogs
81 are opened in appropriate locations.
83 The QDesktopWidget class can be used to monitor the positions of widgets and
84 notify applications about changes to the way the desktop is split over the
85 available screens. This enables applications to implement policies for
86 positioning new windows so that, for example, they do not distract a user
87 who is working on a specific task.