Anjuta IDE Manual
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# Main Window

In the main window, there are three frames that you ought to be familiar with before you start doing anything (although some of them may not be visible when you start `Anjuta`). These are:

- Editor window

- Project window

- Message window

The frame on the left is the Project window, at the right is the Editor window and the one at the bottom is the Message window.

The Project window and the Message window can be detached into separate windows, instead of docking them into the main window. You can detach them by clicking on the detach button (you will find them along with the frames: the small buttons with the un-docking icon). Similarly, you can hide them by clicking on the hide buttons (the small buttons with the red cross). You can make them visible at any time by choosing the menu items View->Project Listing and View->Messages, or by clicking on the corresponding toolbar buttons.

1. The Editor window is part of the main window, so it cannot be detached or hidden. However, you can always detach the individual documents, which are shown as pages in the Editor window. The Editor window will have one document active at a time (if there are any files opened). All of the file commands will apply to this active document. You can switch to any page by clicking on the page tab. You can do the same by right-clicking on the page tabs and choosing the document from the pop-up menu that will appear. This is especially useful when you have a lot of files opened, but not all of them are visible in the page tab area.

2. The Project window shows a tree of the project files if you have a project opened. Otherwise, the Project window is usually hidden. Double-clicking on any item in the Project window will open that file.

3. The Message window will list all the messages (both `stdout` and `stderr` outputs) when an external command is executed. The Message window is usually hidden, but appears as soon as an external command is executed, such as during file or project compilation, debugging sessions, searches, and many other operations. `Anjuta` also adds its own messages here when necessary.

   The colors used to display the messages are important. Messages displayed in the standard foreground color (usually Black) are normal messages. Those displayed in Blue are important messages such as errors or other information. Messages shown in Red are Hot Linked. Double-clicking on such a message will take you to the particular file and line number specified in the message.

   For example, when you compile a file which contains bugs, some red messages will appear showing what the problems are, and where they occur. Double-clicking on such messages will open the file and highlight the line containing the error.

| Tip
| All three frames are resizable and detachable. Try adjusting them by dragging the edges (handles) which separate them. To detach, click on the detach button at the top corner of the windows.

| Note
| All of the settings, including the window sizes and window positions, are saved when you exit `Anjuta`. Session management is still under development, so you should not exit `Anjuta` with any unsaved documents. `Anjuta` will display a warning if you try to exit with unsaved documents still open.

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