Desktop Window Manager

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This article or section contains information about Development_stage#Beta>beta software currently in development. The content may change dramatically as the software development progresses.

Desktop Window Manager (DWM) is currently the name for the new windowing system that will be available in all versions of Windows Vista, except Starter Edition, to enable the new Aero user interface. Users will need to have a DirectX 9 capable video card to be able to use the Desktop Window Manager.

The Desktop Window Manager is similar to Quartz Compositor in Mac OS X in that applications do not draw directly to screen, but instead draw to off-screen buffers that are then composited by the window manager and displayed on-screen. This allows the window manager to easily create a number of on-screen effects such as the current one displayed in Vista betas, where the borders of application windows are translucent, showing parts of the windows lying beneath them, or the stacking effect displayed when users switch between applications.

See also

• Features new to Windows Vista
• xgl - a similar feature for Linux

 

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