javascriptnode.jstypescriptelectronelectron-forge

How to disable Electron.js panel window movable area click event on macOS?


In Electron.js, a panel type Browser window has an approximately 28-pixel top area that acts as a moveable area. Clicking in this area focuses the application, bringing the app menu to the top taskbar, while clicking elsewhere does not. I want to prevent this focusing behavior when clicking the top area to create a spotlight-like panel window. Here is my Electron app's index.ts code.

//index.ts
import { app, BrowserWindow, globalShortcut, ipcMain } from "electron";
// This allows TypeScript to pick up the magic constants that's auto-generated by Forge's Webpack
// plugin that tells the Electron app where to look for the Webpack-bundled app code (depending on
// whether you're running in development or production).
declare const MAIN_WINDOW_WEBPACK_ENTRY: string;
declare const MAIN_WINDOW_PRELOAD_WEBPACK_ENTRY: string;

declare const QUICK_WINDOW_WEBPACK_ENTRY: string;
declare const QUICK_WINDOW_PRELOAD_WEBPACK_ENTRY: string;

// Handle creating/removing shortcuts on Windows when installing/uninstalling.
if (require("electron-squirrel-startup")) {
  app.quit();
}

let mainWindow: BrowserWindow | null;
let quickWindow: BrowserWindow | null;

const createWindow = (): void => {
  // Create the browser window.
  mainWindow = new BrowserWindow({
    height: 600,
    width: 1000,
    webPreferences: {
      preload: MAIN_WINDOW_PRELOAD_WEBPACK_ENTRY,
    },
  });

  quickWindow = new BrowserWindow({
    type: "panel",
    frame: false,
    show: false,
    height: 600,
    width: 600,

    movable: false,
    focusable: true,
    skipTaskbar: true,
    maximizable: false,
    vibrancy: 'sidebar',
    

    webPreferences: {
      preload: QUICK_WINDOW_PRELOAD_WEBPACK_ENTRY,
    },
  });

  // and load the index.html of the app.
  mainWindow.loadURL(MAIN_WINDOW_WEBPACK_ENTRY);
  quickWindow.loadURL(QUICK_WINDOW_WEBPACK_ENTRY);

  globalShortcut.register("CmdOrCtrl+Shift+1", () => {
    quickWindow?.show();
  });

  // Open the DevTools.
  // mainWindow.webContents.openDevTools();
};

// This method will be called when Electron has finished
// initialization and is ready to create browser windows.
// Some APIs can only be used after this event occurs.
app.on("ready", createWindow);

// Quit when all windows are closed, except on macOS. There, it's common
// for applications and their menu bar to stay active until the user quits
// explicitly with Cmd + Q.
app.on("window-all-closed", () => {
  if (process.platform !== "darwin") {
    app.quit();
    mainWindow = null;
    quickWindow = null;
  }
});

app.on("activate", () => {
  // On OS X it's common to re-create a window in the app when the
  // dock icon is clicked and there are no other windows open.
  if (BrowserWindow.getAllWindows().length === 0) {
    createWindow();
  }
});

// In this file you can include the rest of your app's specific main process
// code. You can also put them in separate files and import them here.

ipcMain.handle("hideQuickAccess", () => {
  quickWindow && quickWindow.hide();
});

ipcMain.handle("resizeToExtended", () => {
  if (quickWindow) {
    quickWindow.setBounds({ height: 450, width: 500 });
  }
});

ipcMain.handle("resizeToNormal", () => {
  if (quickWindow) {
    quickWindow.setBounds({ height: 400, width: 300 });
  }
});


Solution

  • In macOS, the panel type browser window is NSWindow type, not NSPanel. Calling some private API at runtime makes NSWindow look like NSPanel, but not 100% like NSPanel. (I found this in the Electron source code.)