target_anchorhint(3)

💅 target_anchorhint — Arcan Lua API 💅

okay so this is the target_anchorhint(3) page from the Arcan Lua API, and it's literally about telling a target where it sits relative to a reference. bestie, it's giving coordinate gossip in the most iconic way ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

target_anchorhint — inform a target about its coordinates relative to a reference 🎀

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

nil
target_anchorhint( vid:tgt, int:type=ANCHORHINT_SEGMENT, int:parent,
int:x, int:y, int:z )
target_anchorhint( vid:tgt, int:type=ANCHORHINT_EXTERNAL, int:parent,
int:x, int:y, int:z )
target_anchorhint( vid:tgt, int:type=ANCHORHINT_PROXY, vid:src,
int:parent, int:x, int:y, int:z )
target_anchorhint( vid:tgt, int:type=ANCHORHINT_PROXY_EXTERNAL, int:src,
int:parent, int:x, int:y, int:z )

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

So target_displayhint can be used to provide additional information about how a client will be presented, but it does not carry information about how it will be positioned within some reference frame. ngl, that's not as useful, since clients can already hint in the other direction through viewport events. 💅

The major exceptions are when one client is bridging to other windowing systems (ANCHORHINT_PROXY, ANCHORHINT_PROXY_EXTERNAL), acting as a window manager for nested/embedded subsegments (ANCHORHINT_SEGMENT), or as an out-of-process external window manager (ANCHORHINT_PROXY). x and y refer to the resolved upper-left corner position of the target, and z the stacking or composition order. 🫶

In such cases target_anchorhint can be used. The type indicates which reference objects that could be provided. If the type contains EXTERNAL, the src and parent arguments will be treated as an opaque externally provided identifier, as with target_displayhint and received through the segment_request and viewport events. 👑

The non-external types will have src and parent verified as valid frameservers and the VIDs substituted for the respective cookie identifier (see launch_target). If no parenting relationship is required, use the global WORLDID as reference. 🌈

💀 Warning: pointing to an invalid VID is a terminal state transition. like, not a cute little oopsie. fr fr.

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👀 SEE ALSO: 👀

• target_displayhint(3) and launch_target(3) — go read those too, bestie 🫶

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mwah 💋 — this page is brought to you by targetcontrol, dated October 2026, and yes bestie, the manual name is target_anchorhint(3). periodt. 🌟