# Translucent window **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [February 13, 2007, 5:26am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/translucent-window/85388 "2007-02-13T05:26:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![spitfire](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@spitfire](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spitfire)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 5:26am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/translucent-window/85388/1 "2007-02-13T05:26:05Z")
I’m writing an application that sometimes notifies the user of certain events on the desktop by some pop up msgs. I would also like to have these pop ups made translucent at user’s choice and give user the control to adjust the transparency. Would such a feature plausible in Ruby? If so, what is the best way to try this in Ruby? ---
**Author:** ![spitfire](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@spitfire](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spitfire)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:16am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/translucent-window/85388/2 "2007-02-13T06:16:12Z")
On Feb 12, 9:23 pm, Spitfire [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > I’m writing an application that sometimes notifies the user of certain > events on the desktop by some pop up msgs. I would also like to have > these pop ups made translucent at user’s choice and give user the > control to adjust the transparency. Would such a feature plausible in > Ruby? If so, what is the best way to try this in Ruby? Will this be on a single operating system, or multiple? If it was just going to be on Mac OS, I’d advocate using something like Growl[1]. If multiple OSs, what you can do will depend on what graphical library you choose to use. It might surprise (and frustrate) you to know that there isn’t just one way to make a window or dialog using Ruby. [1] [http://growl.info/about.php](http://growl.info/about.php) ---
**Author:** ![spitfire](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@spitfire](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spitfire)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:20am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/translucent-window/85388/3 "2007-02-13T06:20:12Z")
Phrogz wrote: > like Growl[1]. > > If multiple OSs, what you can do will depend on what graphical library > you choose to use. It might surprise (and frustrate) you to know that > there isn’t just one way to make a window or dialog using Ruby. > > [1] [http://growl.info/about.php](http://growl.info/about.php) It is for a single OS. And most probably might be one of GNU/Linux. Now, please tell me what I can start with? ---
**Author:** ![spitfire](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@spitfire](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spitfire)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2007, 6:51am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/translucent-window/85388/4 "2007-02-13T06:51:15Z")
Spitfire wrote: > It is for a single OS. And most probably might be one of GNU/Linux. Now, > please tell me what I can start with? I don’t know much about the various GUI toolkits, but I know that they are discussed frequently on this list and the web. Here’s a few search results to get you started (I cannot vouch for the veracity or fairness of the contents of these pages): [http://www.trug.ca/Ruby\_GUI\_Toolkits](http://www.trug.ca/Ruby_GUI_Toolkits) [http://wiki.rubygarden.org/Ruby/page/show/ComparingGuiToolkits/TakeTwo](http://wiki.rubygarden.org/Ruby/page/show/ComparingGuiToolkits/TakeTwo) [http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/cgi-bin/vframe.rb?key=gui+toolkit&cginame=namazu.rb&submit=Search&dbname=ruby-talk&max=50&whence=0](http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/cgi-bin/vframe.rb?key=gui+toolkit&cginame=namazu.rb&submit=Search&dbname=ruby-talk&max=50&whence=0) ---
**Author:** ![spitfire](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@spitfire](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spitfire)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2007, 4:45am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/translucent-window/85388/5 "2007-02-15T04:45:17Z")
Thanks for the pointers.