The simplest step in integrating your application with the Desktop environment is to turn on the Indigo Magic “look,” which enhances the appearance of standard IRIS IM widgets and gadgets. “The Indigo Magic Look: Graphic Features and Schemes” in Chapter 3 of the Indigo Magic User Interface Guidelines describes the enhancements.

To turn on the Indigo Magic look for an application, simply set the application's sgiMode resource to “TRUE.” Typically, you should add this line to the /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults file for your application:

appName*sgiMode:    TRUE

where appName is the name of your application.

The standard IRIS IM library supports the Indigo Magic look. You don't need to link with a separate library or call a special function to enable the Indigo Magic look. If you don't turn on the Indigo Magic look, your application's widgets and gadgets have the standard IRIS IM appearance.

If your application uses the Indigo Magic look, it should also use schemes, which are described in Chapter 3, “Using Schemes.” Silicon Graphics designed its color and font schemes to work well with the Indigo Magic look.