A library for imitating operating system graphical user interfaces on the web
Specifically, Windows 98 â for now at least; it could be expanded in the future.
This library powers 98.js.org, a web-based version of Windows 98, including Paint, Notepad, Sound Recorder, and more.
See the homepage for more information.
Features
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Menu bars, with support for checkbox items, disabled states, and submenus
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App windows which you can drag around, maximize, minimize, close, and resize
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Dialog and tool window variants
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Flying titlebar animation that guides your eyes, for maximize/minimize/restore
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Focus containment: if you Tab or Shift+Tab within a window, it wraps around to the first/last control.
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Button styles, including lightweight buttons, disabled buttons, and default action buttons
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Scrollbar styles, webkit-specific (in the future there could be a custom scrollbar based on a nonintrusive scrollbar library, or styles supporting a library, where you're expected to use the library directly)
- Procedurally rendered arrows, allowing for different scrollbar sizes
- Inversion effect when clicking on scrollbar track
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Themeable with Windows
.theme&.themepackfiles at runtime!
Demo
See also
- 98.js, my web desktop
- padraigfl/packard-belle
- arturbien/React95
- React95/React95
Requirements
This library currently requires jQuery for the windowing implementation. Menu bars do not require jQuery.
(Eventually I want to have no dependencies. So far I've removed jQuery from the menu code...)
Setup
The library is not (yet) provided as a single convenient file.
You can either 1. download the repository as a ZIP file, 2. clone the repository, or 3. install the library as an npm package.
You have to include scripts for the components you want to use (MenuBar.js or $Window.js),
along with stylesheets for layout, a theme, and a color scheme.
Make sure to use the compiled CSS files, not the source files.
In <head>:
<link href="os-gui/layout.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<link href="os-gui/windows-98.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<link href="os-gui/windows-default.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">In <head> or <body>:
<script src="os-gui/MenuBar.js"></script>
<script src="lib/jquery.js"></script> <!-- required by $Window.js -->
<script src="os-gui/$Window.js"></script>API
Note: The API will likely change a lot, but I maintain a Changelog.
Panel & Inset Styles
.inset-deepcreates a 2px inset border.outset-deepcreates a 2px inset border (like a button or window or menu popup).inset-shallowcreates a 1px inset border.outset-shallowcreates a 1px outset border
Button styles
Button styles are applied to button elements globally.
(And if you ever want to reset it, note that you have to get rid of the pseudo element ::after as well. @TODO: scope CSS)
Toggle Buttons
To make a toggle button, add the .toggle class to the button.
Make it show as pressed with the .selected class. (@TODO: rename this .pressed)
You should use the styles together with semantic aria-pressed, aria-haspopup, and/or aria-expanded attributes as appropriate.
Default Buttons
You can show button is the default action by adding .default to the button.
Note that in Windows 98, this style moves from button to button depending on the focus.
A rule of thumb is that it should be on the button that will trigger with Enter.
Lightweight Buttons
You can make a lightweight button by adding .lightweight to the button.
Lightweight buttons are subtle and have no border until hover.
Disabled Button States
You can disable a button by adding the standard disabled attribute to the button.
Pressed Button States
You can show a button as being pressed by adding the .pressing class to the button.
This is useful for buttons that are triggered by a keystroke.
Scrollbar styles
Scrollbar styles are applied globally, but they have a -webkit- prefix, so they'll only work in "webkit-based" browsers, generally, like Chrome, Safari, and Opera.
(Can be overridden with ::-webkit-scrollbar and related selectors (but not easily reset to the browser default, unless -webkit-appearance: scrollbar works... @TODO: scope CSS)
Selection styles
Selection styles are applied globally.
(Can be overridden with ::selection (but not easily reset to the browser default... unless with unset? @TODO: scope CSS)
MenuBar(menus)
Creates a menu bar component.
menus should be an object holding arrays of menu item specifications, keyed by menu button name.
Returns an object with property element, which you should then append to the DOM where you want it.
See examples in the demo code.
closeMenus()
Closes any menus that are open.
setKeyboardScope(...elements)
Hotkeys like Alt will be handled at the level of the given element.
By default, the scope is window (global), for the case of a single-page application where the menu bar is at the top.
If you are putting the menu bar in a window, you should call this with the window's element:
menu_bar.setKeyboardScope($window[0]);or better yet,
$window.setMenuBar(menu_bar);which takes care of the keyboard scope for you.
Note that some keyboard behavior is always handled if the menu bar has focus.
Note also for iframes, you may need to call this with $window[0], iframe.contentWindow currently, but this should be changed in the future (keyboard events should be proxied).
Event: info
Can be used to implement a status bar.
A description is provided as event.detail.description when rolling over menu items that specify a description. For example:
menubar.element.addEventListener("info", (event)=> {
statusBar.textContent = event.detail?.description || "";
});Event: default-info
Signals that a status bar should be reset to blank or a default message.
menubar.element.addEventListener("default-info", (event)=> {
statusBar.textContent = "";
// or:
statusBar.textContent = "For Help, click Help Topics on the Help Menu.";
// like in MS Paint (and JS Paint)
// or:
statusBar.textContent = "For Help, press F1.";
// like WordPad
// or perhaps even:
statusBar.innerHTML = "For Help, <a href='docs'>click here</a>";
// Note that a link is not a common pattern, and it could only work for the default text;
// for menu item descriptions the message in the status bar is transient, so
// you wouldn't be able to reach it to click on it.
});Menu item specification
Menu item specifications are either MENU_DIVIDER - a constant indicating a horizontal rule, or an object with the following properties:
item: a label for the itemshortcut(optional): a keyboard shortcut for the item, like "Ctrl+A"; this is not functionally implemented, you'll need to listen for the shortcut yourself!action(optional): a function to execute when the item is clicked (can only specify eitheractionorcheckbox)checkbox(optional): an object specifying that this item should behave as a checkbox. Propertycheckof this object should be a function that checks if the checkbox should be checked or not and returnstruefor checked andfalsefor unchecked. What a cutesy name. Propertytoggleshould be a function that toggles the state of the option, however you're storing it; called when clicked.enabled(optional): can befalseto unconditionally disable the item, or a function that determines whether the item should be enabled, returningtrueto enable the item,falseto disable.submenu(optional): an array of menu item specifications to create a submenudescription: for implementing a status bar; aninfoevent is emitted when rolling over the item with this description
Menu hotkeys
Menus can be navigated using the first letter of the menu item, or if you place & in front of a letter in the menu item, it will be used as the hotkey.
For menu button hotkeys, you need to press Alt, and within menu popups you must press the key directly. Alt will close the menus.
If there are multiple menu items with the same hotkey, it will cycle between them without activating them. You should try to make the hotkeys unique, including between hotkeys and first letters of menu items without defined hotkeys. (This behavior is observed in Windows 98's Explorer's Favorites menu, where you can make bookmarks that match other accelerators or menu items.)
$Window(options)
Creates a window component that can be dragged around and such, brought to the front when clicked, and closed. Different types of windows can be created with different options. Note that focus wraps within a window's content.
Returns a jQuery object with additional methods and properties (see below, after options).
The DOM node can be accessed with $window.element, and the $Window object can be accessed from the DOM node with with element.$window.
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Returns a jQuery object with additional methods and properties:
title(text)
Sets the title, or if text isn't passed, returns the current title of the window.
close()
Closes the window.
focus()
Tries to focus something within the window, in this order of priority:
- The last focused control within the window
- A control with
class="default" - If it's a tool window, the parent window
- and otherwise the window itself (specifically
$window.$content)
blur()
Removes focus from the window. If focus is outside the window, it is left unchanged.
minimize()
Minimizes the window. If $window.task.$task is defined it will use that as a target for minimizing, otherwise the window will minimize to the bottom of the screen.
maximize()
Maximizes the window. While maximized, the window will use position: fixed, so it will not scroll with the page.
restore()
Restores the window from minimized or maximized state. If the window is not minimized or maximized, this method does nothing.
center()
Centers the window in the page. You should call this after the contents of the window is fully rendered, or you've set a fixed size for the window.
If you have images in the window, wait for them to load before showing and centering the window, or define a fixed size for the images.
applyBounds()
Fits the window within the page if it's partially offscreen. (Doesn't resize the window if it's too large; it'll go off the right and bottom of the screen.)
bringTitleBarInBounds()
Repositions the window so that the title bar is within the bounds of the page, so it can be dragged.
bringToFront()
Brings the window to the front by setting its z-index to larger than any z-index yet used by the windowing system.
setDimensions({ innerWidth, innerHeight, outerWidth, outerHeight })
Sets the size of the window. Pass { innerWidth, innerHeight } to specify the size in terms of the window content, or { outerWidth, outerHeight } to specify the size including the window frame.
(This may be expanded in the future to allow setting the position as well...)
setIcons(icons)
Changes the icon(s) of the window. icons is in the same format as options.icons.
setTitlebarIconSize(size)
Sets the size of the window's title bar icon, picking the closest size that's available.
getTitlebarIconSize()
Returns the size of the window's title bar icon.
getIconAtSize(size)
Picks the closest icon size that's available, and returns a unique DOM node (i.e. cloned).
This can be used for representing the window in the taskbar.
setMenuBar(menuBar)
Appends the menu bar to the window, and sets the keyboard scope for the menu bar's hotkeys to the window.
Can be called with null to remove the menu bar.
setMinimizeTarget(minimizeTargetElement)
The minimize target (taskbar button) represents the window when minimized, and is used for animating minimize and restore.
If minimizeTargetElement is null, the window will minimize to the bottom of the screen (the default).
$Button(text, action)
Creates a button in the window's content area. It automatically closes the window when clicked. There's no (good) way to prevent this, as it's intended only for dialogs.
If you need any other behavior, just create a <button> and add it to the window's content area.
Returns a jQuery object.
$content
jQuery object.
Where you can append contents to the window.
$titlebar
jQuery object.
The titlebar of the window, including the title, window buttons, and possibly an icon.
$title
jQuery object.
The title portion of the titlebar.
$x
jQuery object.
The close button.
element
The DOM element that represents the window.
Event: closed
Whether the window has been closed.
Event: close
Can be used to prevent closing a window, with event.preventDefault().
Since there could be multiple listeners, and another listener could prevent closing, if you want to detect when the window is actually closed, use the closed event.
Event: closed
This event is emitted when the window is closed. It cannot be prevented.
Event: window-drag-start
Can be used to prevent dragging a window, with event.preventDefault().
Event: title-change
Can be used to update a taskbar button's label.
Event: icon-change
Can be used to update a taskbar button's icon.
Use $window.getIconAtSize(size) to get an appropriate icon.
Theming
parse-theme.js contains functions for parsing and applying themes.
parseThemeFileString(themeString)
Parses an INI file string into CSS properties.
Automatically renders dynamic theme graphics, and includes them in the CSS properties.
applyCSSProperties(cssProperties, {element=document.documentElement, recurseIntoIframes=false})
cssProperties is an object with CSS properties and values. It can also be a CSSStyleDeclaration object.
element is the element to apply the properties to.
If recurseIntoIframes is true, then the properties will be applied to all <iframe> elements within the element as well.
This only works with same-origin iframes.
renderThemeGraphics(cssProperties)
Can be used to update theme graphics (scrollbar icons, etc.) for a specific section of the page. Used by the demo to show variations.
Returns CSS properties representing the rendered theme graphics.
element.style.setProperty('--scrollbar-size', '30px');
applyCSSProperties(renderThemeGraphics(getComputedStyle(element)), { element });makeThemeCSSFile(cssProperties)
Exports a CSS file for a theme. Assumes that the theme graphics are already rendered. Includes a "generated file" comment.
makeBlackToInsetFilter()
Initializes an SVG filter that can be used to make icons appear disabled. It may not work with all icons, since it uses the black parts of the image to form a shape.
Usage from CSS:
button:disabled .icon {
filter: saturate(0%) opacity(50%); /* fallback until SVG filter is initialized */
filter: url("#os-gui-black-to-inset-filter");
}License
Licensed under the MIT License, see LICENSE for details.
Development
Install Node.js if you don't already have it.
Clone the repository, then in the project directory run npm i to install the dependencies.
Also run npm i when pulling in changes from the repository, in case there are changes to the dependencies.
Run npm start to open a development server. It will open a demo page in your default browser. Changes to the library will be automatically recompiled, and the page will automatically reload.
It's a good idea to close the server when updating or installing dependencies; otherwise you may run into EPERM issues.
The styles are written with PostCSS, for mixins and other transforms.
Recommended: install a PostCSS language plugin for your editor, like PostCSS Language Support for VS Code.
Currently there's some CSS that has to manually be regenerated in-browser and copied into theme-specific CSS files.
In the future this could be done with a custom PostCSS syntax parser for .theme/.themepack files, and maybe SVG instead of any raster graphics to avoid needing node-canvas (native dependencies are a pain). Or maybe UPNG.js and plain pixel manipulation.