When running SL in windowed mode, allow text boxes etc. to be detached

I run SL in a window that takes up a quarter of my screen space, because it runs well at that resolution and I can easily get to web browser, email etc. I would love to be able to "detach" script windows, the edit window, IM etc from the main SL window and have them as seperate windows using up the rest of my screen real estate, and not covering up my 3d graphical SL window.

This is how photoshop works - all the dialog/edit windows are in seperate windows so they aren't covering up what I'm working on.

If this could be implemented, in-world scripting would be more pleasant (huge text windows), ditto IM, and I would notice someone coming to say hi, as opposed to them being hidden under a screenful of code.

I HEARD this is an OpenGL limitation, and the same reason why IM windows and such can't be spanned onto dual monitors. I don't know what that means, exactly, tho... so more info is appreciated. ^_^

I gather it's a little easier to write a cross-platform OpenGL app that uses just one window...

Personally, I don't much want separate windows -- they always just end up all scattered and misplaced. But gosh, I'd sure love to be able to dock the little windows around the main view, and reduce the main view so that it's not "behind" my chat, inventory, &c windows!

This would be cool for people with multi-screen setups, so they could just drag IMs to the other screen.

Especially for people with vision limitations. I have problems with reading the text on scripts. Generally, I write scripts in Wordpad and copy them into SL. But I still have to make corrections and revision. And it is hard to tell a perios from a comma. TM

I agree:

let us "float" any window in the client, so that we can move it to the other desktop.

I know from experience that you can have multiple OpenGL surfaces in one program, and there's no reason that those surfaces can't be on a secondary monitor.

Also, that would mean that there's really no reason to re-draw the chat text, inventory window, map, find box, or mini-map unless the data has actually changed. That could actually increase the frame rate a little bit.

I don't know the technical limits, but I do wish us to be FREEEE!

SL has so many windows... it makes me rejoice at hitting Ctrl-Alt-1... but then the chat disappears too. And then I sigh and return.

well the sub windows being dragged out don't need to OGL. They just need to look like the client windows which is no biggy considering that people have been skinning windows now for 10 years.