glass_layout.cfg: ",noframe" per-line option strips a window's title bar

Append it to a window's line and that window becomes a bare WS_POPUP -- no
caption, no border, just the display and its buttons -- for a multi-monitor
wall where the chrome is only noise:

    Heat MFD=1920,0,657,539,noframe

Options are comma-separated after the four numbers and unknown ones are
ignored, so an older build reading a newer file loses the option but never the
line (the bindings.txt grammar rule, applied here).

TWO THINGS THAT WOULD HAVE MADE IT A TRAP, both handled:

 - A frameless window has NO TITLE BAR TO DRAG, which is the entire point of
   the sticky layout.  So a noframe window is dragged BY ITS SURFACE:
   WM_NCHITTEST returns HTCAPTION anywhere that is not a button, HTCLIENT over
   one.  Buttons stay clickable, and because Windows drives the move the drag
   still ends in WM_EXITSIZEMOVE -- so it still saves.
 - SaveLayout rewrites the WHOLE file, so it writes the flag back.  Without
   that, the first finished-drag after adding the option would have silently
   stripped it.

Ordering: the flag is read BEFORE frame sizing (a quiet LoadLayout pre-pass,
then the normal pass after ComputeLayout), because AdjustWindowRect -- and
therefore the ring placement -- depends on whether a window carries chrome.
The pre-pass is quiet so the restore still logs exactly once.

Verified live: two flagged windows came up with WS_CAPTION clear while the
other five kept it (read back with GetWindowLong(GWL_STYLE)); a click still
dispatched on the frameless radar (CLICK 'Secondary / Radar' addr=0x18); and a
WM_EXITSIZEMOVE save round-tripped both flags back into the rewritten file.
surround / exploded / layout=off / pod / dev all boot and simulate clean.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

context/glass-cockpit.md

@@ -139,6 +139,34 @@ at exactly 777,333 after the re-snap fired). Save fires on `WM_EXITSIZEMOVE` (su
 since it writes as soon as a drag finishes) with a teardown write as backstop. This is the native
 analogue of TeslaRel410 `emulator/pod-launch`'s per-rig `--bridge-pos`/`--layout` placement args.
 
+### `,noframe` — per-window chrome removal (2026-07-29) [T2 live]
+
+Append it to a window's line and that window loses its title bar and border (`WS_POPUP`) — for a
+multi-monitor wall where the chrome is just noise:
+
+```
+Heat MFD=1920,0,657,539,noframe
+```
+
+Hand-edited (the file is otherwise machine-written). Options are comma-separated after the
+numbers and **unknown ones are ignored**, so an older build reading a newer file loses the option
+but never the line — the `bindings.txt` grammar rule applied here.
+
+Two consequences it has to carry, or the option would be a trap:
+- **A frameless window has no title bar to drag** — which is the entire sticky-layout workflow.
+  So a `noframe` window is dragged **by its surface**: `WM_NCHITTEST` returns `HTCAPTION`
+  anywhere that is not a button and `HTCLIENT` over one, so buttons stay clickable and the drag
+  still ends in `WM_EXITSIZEMOVE` and still saves.
+- **`SaveLayout` rewrites the whole file**, so it writes the flag back — otherwise the first save
+  after a drag would silently strip it.
+
+The flag is read BEFORE frame sizing (a `LoadLayout(quiet)` pre-pass), because `AdjustWindowRect`
+and therefore `ComputeLayout`'s ring placement depend on whether a window carries chrome.
+
+Verified live: two flagged windows came up caption-less while the other five kept theirs, a click
+still dispatched on the frameless radar (`CLICK 'Secondary / Radar' addr=0x18`), and a
+finished-drag save round-tripped both flags back into the file.
+
 **Verified 2026-07-26 [T2]:** `BT_RIOBANK_LOG=1` dumps every bank's rects;
 `scratchpad/checkbank.py` reports the per-bank census and proves no address is SHADOWED (has a
 point no earlier button covers); `scratchpad/clickbank.py` then posts a real click at every

docs/GLASS_COCKPIT.md

@@ -764,3 +764,36 @@ per-rig `--bridge-pos`/`--layout` args.
 - round-trip: relaunched `load` against the game-written cfg → after 12 s (past the re-snap) the
   *Flight Controls* window was physically at (777,333), all 7 at their saved coords — the re-snap
   guard held.
+
+## 2026-07-29 — glass_layout.cfg gains a per-line ",noframe" option
+
+Requested: strip a window's title bar from the layout file.  Appending `,noframe` to a window's
+line makes that window a bare `WS_POPUP` -- no caption, no border, nothing but the display and its
+buttons -- for a multi-monitor wall where the chrome is only noise.
+
+    Heat MFD=1920,0,657,539,noframe
+
+Options are comma-separated after the four numbers and unknown ones are IGNORED, so an older build
+reading a newer file loses the option but never the line (the bindings.txt grammar rule applied
+here).  Hand-edited; the file is otherwise machine-written.
+
+### The two things that would have made it a trap
+1. **A frameless window has no title bar to drag** -- which is the entire point of the sticky
+   layout.  So a noframe window is dragged BY ITS SURFACE: `WM_NCHITTEST` returns `HTCAPTION`
+   anywhere that is not a button and `HTCLIENT` over one.  Buttons stay clickable, and because
+   Windows drives the move, the drag still ends in `WM_EXITSIZEMOVE` -- so it still SAVES.
+2. **SaveLayout rewrites the whole file**, so it writes the flag back.  Without that the first
+   finished-drag after adding the option would have silently stripped it.
+
+### Ordering
+The flag is read BEFORE frame sizing (`LoadLayout(quiet)` pre-pass, then the normal pass after
+`ComputeLayout`): `AdjustWindowRect` -- and therefore the ring placement -- depends on whether a
+window carries chrome.  The pre-pass is quiet so the restore still logs exactly once.
+
+### Verified live
+- Two flagged windows (`Heat MFD`, `Secondary / Radar`) came up with `WS_CAPTION` CLEAR while the
+  other five kept it -- read back out of the live windows with `GetWindowLong(GWL_STYLE)`.
+- A click still dispatched on the frameless radar: `[glasswin] CLICK 'Secondary / Radar' addr=0x18`.
+- A finished-drag save (`WM_EXITSIZEMOVE`) round-tripped BOTH flags back into the rewritten file,
+  header comment and all.
+- surround / exploded / layout=off / pod / dev: boot + simulate, zero faults.

engine/MUNGA_L4/L4GLASSWIN.cpp

@@ -114,6 +114,7 @@ struct GWin
 	int         frameW, frameH;
 	int         wantX, wantY;
 	int         restored;		// wantX/wantY came from glass_layout.cfg -> don't re-snap
+	int         noFrame;		// ",noframe" in the cfg -> WS_POPUP, drag by the surface
 };
 
 static GWin  gWins[8];
@@ -379,12 +380,38 @@ static void
 // a later geometry change can't distort an old save.  Windows carry WS_CAPTION
 // in every mode, so they are always draggable -- the gate only controls whether
 // a drag STICKS.
+//
+// PER-LINE OPTION ",noframe" (2026-07-29): append it to a window's line and
+// that window loses its title bar and border (WS_POPUP) -- for a clean
+// multi-monitor wall where the chrome is just noise.  Hand-edited; the file
+// is otherwise machine-written.
+//
+//     Heat MFD=1920,0,657,539,noframe
+//
+// Two consequences it has to carry, or the option would be a trap:
+//   - a frameless window has NO TITLE BAR TO DRAG, which is how the whole
+//     sticky-layout workflow works.  So a noframe window is draggable BY ITS
+//     SURFACE (WM_NCHITTEST -> HTCAPTION anywhere that is not a button); the
+//     buttons stay clickable, and the drag still ends in WM_EXITSIZEMOVE so it
+//     still saves.
+//   - SaveLayout rewrites the whole file, so it must WRITE THE FLAG BACK or the
+//     first save after a drag would silently strip it.
 //###########################################################################
 
 enum { LayoutOff = 0, LayoutLoad = 1, LayoutSave = 2 };
 
 static const char *layoutFileName = "glass_layout.cfg";
 
+// A framed window is a normal tool window; ",noframe" makes it a bare
+// WS_POPUP -- no caption, no border, nothing but the display and its buttons.
+static DWORD
+	GlassWindowStyle(const GWin &w)
+{
+	return w.noFrame
+		? (DWORD)WS_POPUP
+		: (DWORD)(WS_OVERLAPPED | WS_CAPTION | WS_SYSMENU | WS_MINIMIZEBOX);
+}
+
 static int
 	GlassLayoutMode()
 {
@@ -424,7 +451,7 @@ static GWin *
 // computed spot.  Restored windows are flagged so the WM_TIMER re-snap (which
 // re-runs ComputeLayout once the main window appears) leaves them alone.
 static void
-	LoadLayout()
+	LoadLayout(int quiet)
 {
 	if (GlassLayoutMode() == LayoutOff)
 		return;
@@ -432,8 +459,9 @@ static void
 	FILE *f = fopen(layoutFileName, "rt");
 	if (f == NULL)
 	{
-		DEBUG_STREAM << "[glasswin] no " << layoutFileName
-			<< " yet (using computed placement)\n" << std::flush;
+		if (!quiet)
+			DEBUG_STREAM << "[glasswin] no " << layoutFileName
+				<< " yet (using computed placement)\n" << std::flush;
 		return;
 	}
 
@@ -459,17 +487,34 @@ static void
 		if (sscanf(eq + 1, "%d,%d,%d,%d", &x, &y, &w, &h) < 2)
 			continue;
 
+		// Trailing options after the numbers, comma-separated.  Unknown ones
+		// are ignored (so an older build reading a newer file just loses the
+		// option, never the line) -- the bindings.txt grammar rule.
+		int noframe = 0;
+		for (const char *opt = strchr(eq + 1, ','); opt != NULL; opt = strchr(opt + 1, ','))
+		{
+			const char *t = opt + 1;
+			while (*t == ' ' || *t == '\t') ++t;
+			if (_strnicmp(t, "noframe", 7) == 0)
+			{
+				noframe = 1;
+				break;
+			}
+		}
+
 		GWin *gw = FindGWinByTitle(s);
 		if (gw == NULL)
 			continue;
 		gw->wantX = x;
 		gw->wantY = y;
+		gw->noFrame = noframe;
 		gw->restored = 1;
 		++restored;
 	}
 	fclose(f);
-	DEBUG_STREAM << "[glasswin] restored " << restored << " window position(s) from "
-		<< layoutFileName << "\n" << std::flush;
+	if (!quiet)
+		DEBUG_STREAM << "[glasswin] restored " << restored << " window position(s) from "
+			<< layoutFileName << "\n" << std::flush;
 }
 
 // Write every window's current on-screen frame rect.  Whole-file rewrite (it is
@@ -490,7 +535,10 @@ static void
 	}
 
 	fputs("# BT411 glass cockpit window layout (BT_GLASS_LAYOUT=save writes this\n"
-		  "# on finished-drag/exit; =load restores it).  <title>=<x>,<y>,<w>,<h>\n",
+		  "# on finished-drag/exit; =load restores it).  <title>=<x>,<y>,<w>,<h>\n"
+		  "# Append ,noframe to a line to drop that window's title bar and border;\n"
+		  "# a frameless window is dragged by its SURFACE instead (buttons still\n"
+		  "# click).  Hand-edit to add it -- saves preserve it.\n",
 		  f);
 	int wrote = 0;
 	for (int i = 0; i < gWinCount; ++i)
@@ -501,9 +549,10 @@ static void
 		RECT r;
 		if (!GetWindowRect(gw.hwnd, &r))
 			continue;
-		fprintf(f, "%s=%ld,%ld,%ld,%ld\n", gw.title,
+		fprintf(f, "%s=%ld,%ld,%ld,%ld%s\n", gw.title,
 			(long)r.left, (long)r.top,
-			(long)(r.right - r.left), (long)(r.bottom - r.top));
+			(long)(r.right - r.left), (long)(r.bottom - r.top),
+			gw.noFrame ? ",noframe" : "");	// keep the hand-added option
 		++wrote;
 	}
 	fclose(f);
@@ -793,6 +842,24 @@ static LRESULT CALLBACK
 	case WM_ERASEBKGND:
 		return 1;	// PaintGlass fills the frame (double-buffered)
 
+	//
+	// ",noframe" windows have no title bar, so the SURFACE is the drag handle:
+	// report HTCAPTION anywhere that is not a button and Windows moves the
+	// window for us -- including the WM_EXITSIZEMOVE at the end, so a drag
+	// still sticks in save mode.  Over a button we report HTCLIENT so the
+	// press reaches WM_LBUTTONDOWN as usual.
+	//
+	case WM_NCHITTEST:
+		if (w != NULL && w->noFrame)
+		{
+			POINT p;
+			p.x = (int)(short)LOWORD(lparam);
+			p.y = (int)(short)HIWORD(lparam);
+			ScreenToClient(window, &p);
+			return (HitTest(w, p.x, p.y) >= 0) ? HTCLIENT : HTCAPTION;
+		}
+		break;
+
 	case WM_TIMER:
 		if (wparam == RepaintTimerId)
 		{
@@ -926,18 +993,20 @@ void
 	wc.lpszClassName = L"BTGlassWin";
 	RegisterClassW(&wc);
 
-	DWORD style = WS_OVERLAPPED | WS_CAPTION | WS_SYSMENU | WS_MINIMIZEBOX;
+	// The ",noframe" flag is per WINDOW and arrives with the layout file, so
+	// read that FIRST -- the frame size (and therefore ComputeLayout's ring
+	// placement) depends on which windows carry chrome.
+	LoadLayout(1);		// quiet: this pass only needs the ",noframe" flags
 
-	// Frame sizes first (ComputeLayout positions by frame dims).
 	for (int i = 0; i < gWinCount; ++i)
 	{
 		RECT fr = { 0, 0, gWins[i].clientW, gWins[i].clientH };
-		AdjustWindowRect(&fr, style, FALSE);
+		AdjustWindowRect(&fr, GlassWindowStyle(gWins[i]), FALSE);
 		gWins[i].frameW = fr.right - fr.left;
 		gWins[i].frameH = fr.bottom - fr.top;
 	}
 	ComputeLayout();
-	LoadLayout();		// BT_GLASS_LAYOUT=load/save: restore saved positions over the ring
+	LoadLayout(0);		// re-apply saved positions over the computed ring
 
 	for (int i = 0; i < gWinCount; ++i)
 	{
@@ -951,7 +1020,7 @@ void
 		// of the game's D3D swap chain, ending GDI-vs-D3D presentation strobing.
 		w.hwnd = CreateWindowExW(
 			WS_EX_TOPMOST | WS_EX_LAYERED,
-			L"BTGlassWin", wtitle, style,
+			L"BTGlassWin", wtitle, GlassWindowStyle(w),
 			w.wantX, w.wantY, w.frameW, w.frameH,
 			NULL, NULL, GetModuleHandleW(NULL), NULL);
 		if (w.hwnd == NULL)

game/btl4main.cpp

@@ -297,6 +297,12 @@ static const char *kEnvironIniDefault =
 "#   load          restore the saved layout but never change it (read-only)\n"
 "# The positions live in glass_layout.cfg beside this file -- delete it to go\n"
 "# back to the pod ring.  Windows not in the file keep their computed spot.\n"
+"#\n"
+"# In that file you can also append ,noframe to a window's line to strip its\n"
+"# title bar and border -- handy on a multi-monitor wall where the chrome is\n"
+"# just noise.  A frameless window is dragged by its SURFACE instead (the\n"
+"# buttons still click), and saves keep the flag:\n"
+"#   Heat MFD=1920,0,657,539,noframe\n"
 "#BT_GLASS_LAYOUT=save\n"
 "\n"
 "# Size of the secondary displays in the cockpit surround, as a percentage of\n"