../Msgboard/General customization/standalone taskbar
methodik - 07 Sep. 2004 - 09:09:
standalone taskbar
i showed sort of a pic of this in another thread, but it's came a long way in the last day or so, and i wanted some opinions.
this is a standalone exe:
click
basically, i've gone through a ton of stuff here, the basics are all covered like OnTop, Transparent, many many tiling configurations, the ability to stretch tiles across the screen like the minTaskWidth explorer mod, skinnability ( obviously ), much more.
i guess i just need some feedback, and some input as to what sort of stuff i might have missed, graphically, and perhaps what sorts of functions i should make sure and emulate?
so, shout away.
standalone taskbar
i showed sort of a pic of this in another thread, but it's came a long way in the last day or so, and i wanted some opinions.
this is a standalone exe:
click
basically, i've gone through a ton of stuff here, the basics are all covered like OnTop, Transparent, many many tiling configurations, the ability to stretch tiles across the screen like the minTaskWidth explorer mod, skinnability ( obviously ), much more.
i guess i just need some feedback, and some input as to what sort of stuff i might have missed, graphically, and perhaps what sorts of functions i should make sure and emulate?
so, shout away.
now thats just insanely nuts cool
im wondering tho, will this float on top of the existing programs? or does it steal a area of the screen so that its allways visible but not covering anything?
personaly i would love to do the vertical stack thing with names on the left side of the screen as i can get more in there. maybe ill then hit the bar with xbar to hide the task buttons (slightly useless as im allready useing tclock2 but whatever)...
im wondering tho, will this float on top of the existing programs? or does it steal a area of the screen so that its allways visible but not covering anything?
personaly i would love to do the vertical stack thing with names on the left side of the screen as i can get more in there. maybe ill then hit the bar with xbar to hide the task buttons (slightly useless as im allready useing tclock2 but whatever)...
Neato!
Have you included drag 'n drop reordering? That would be very useful. Especially if it's persistent (eg it remembers I like my email program first, then browser windows, then all notepad documents, ...).
As a developer, I'd love an "advanced" option which displays window classes and such... like a scaled-down version of spy++ integrated.
I don't know if you usually have window animation effects on or off, but does your app support/override/cancel them? Personally I'd love customizable min/restore animations via plugins, to do something like on MacOS.
If you're feeling really adventurous, how about a semitransparent info screen which appears when you hover over a minimized window, giving you a thumbnail snapshot, full window title, application name and running time?
Of course, these are all "advanced" features which might take your app into areas you didn't intend to cover... if so, never mind, I always have wild ideas
Have you included drag 'n drop reordering? That would be very useful. Especially if it's persistent (eg it remembers I like my email program first, then browser windows, then all notepad documents, ...).
As a developer, I'd love an "advanced" option which displays window classes and such... like a scaled-down version of spy++ integrated.
I don't know if you usually have window animation effects on or off, but does your app support/override/cancel them? Personally I'd love customizable min/restore animations via plugins, to do something like on MacOS.
If you're feeling really adventurous, how about a semitransparent info screen which appears when you hover over a minimized window, giving you a thumbnail snapshot, full window title, application name and running time?
Of course, these are all "advanced" features which might take your app into areas you didn't intend to cover... if so, never mind, I always have wild ideas
man o' man - definately some worthwhile ideas, and just the sort of input i was looking for. keep 'em coming!
the spy++ type stuff is easy enough to do, heh, not sure about the thumbnail snapshot, but all the info would make a custom tooltip worthwhile.
i'd love to integrate some sort of drag an drop re-ordering, just have to figure out how.
as for the window animation effects, something i'd like to look into as well, but not sure where to start there...
hobgoblin: this does float anywhere you'd like, and can be combined with another app to be put in it's own space.
choo-chee: by a genie effect, i'm thinking that you are meaning the window animations. and i'll be sure and let you guys know when it is downloadable.
keep 'em coming!
the spy++ type stuff is easy enough to do, heh, not sure about the thumbnail snapshot, but all the info would make a custom tooltip worthwhile.
i'd love to integrate some sort of drag an drop re-ordering, just have to figure out how.
as for the window animation effects, something i'd like to look into as well, but not sure where to start there...
hobgoblin: this does float anywhere you'd like, and can be combined with another app to be put in it's own space.
choo-chee: by a genie effect, i'm thinking that you are meaning the window animations. and i'll be sure and let you guys know when it is downloadable.
hmm, could steal an idea from taskbar executive and allow for grouping of apps so that all app buttons in one group in under the same group button. if one could allso drag said button onto the ba proper if one feels like it that would be nice to. hey maybe jsut make it drag and drop grouping
and yes, poor methodik..
and that reminds me choo-chee, there is a taskbar plugin made for samurize. or maybe thats what your refering to?
and yes, poor methodik..
and that reminds me choo-chee, there is a taskbar plugin made for samurize. or maybe thats what your refering to?
100% skinnable. i made another that follows the windows color schemes, and will just be in a single bar format, it will probably be released at the same time as this....
i made another that follows the windows color schemes, and will just be in a single bar format, it will probably be released at the same time as this....a range of responses and questions. I really didn't think that this app would generate that much interest.
hobgoblin: the 'light' version will simply provide either a horizontal or vertical bar, with the main differences being that it will be color themed only - no skins, and that it is a solid bar, unlike the individual tiles. that happened to be the first version i coded, and due to it's simplicity, i'd like to offer it as a seperate app.
explicit: i've been playing with a few ideas on the skinning, and nothing is totally for sure yet. as of right now, a skin consists of 3 bitmaps - left, right, and center, and it stretches the center one to meet the desired taskbutton width. as well, it loads different bitmaps based on certain settings in the config file - i.e, for the 32x32 icon setting it uses a different set of bitmaps for left, center, and right.
however, you just brought up the idea of using one solid taskbutton bitmap and simply defining the edges you don't want stretched, and i think that may be worth looking into as well. i'll have to think about it.
as for the states upon which it shows a different skin, i was planning on normal | hover | pressed. i'd like to do flashing, but i haven't gotten that far yet..
hobgoblin: the 'light' version will simply provide either a horizontal or vertical bar, with the main differences being that it will be color themed only - no skins, and that it is a solid bar, unlike the individual tiles. that happened to be the first version i coded, and due to it's simplicity, i'd like to offer it as a seperate app.
explicit: i've been playing with a few ideas on the skinning, and nothing is totally for sure yet. as of right now, a skin consists of 3 bitmaps - left, right, and center, and it stretches the center one to meet the desired taskbutton width. as well, it loads different bitmaps based on certain settings in the config file - i.e, for the 32x32 icon setting it uses a different set of bitmaps for left, center, and right.
however, you just brought up the idea of using one solid taskbutton bitmap and simply defining the edges you don't want stretched, and i think that may be worth looking into as well. i'll have to think about it.
as for the states upon which it shows a different skin, i was planning on normal | hover | pressed. i'd like to do flashing, but i haven't gotten that far yet..
haha - the dreaded RAM question... i'm trying to keep this down to around 4 mb, currently i think it's just over.
and no, explorer does not need to be running to run this app. wouldn't be a very useful part of an alternate shell if it did, now would it?
and no, explorer does not need to be running to run this app.
wouldn't be a very useful part of an alternate shell if it did, now would it? well, after such an overwhelming amount of interest and responses, i've done some thinking about where i'd like to take this, and a thought that perhaps i should share some more of my thinking with those that seem this interested.
first of all, as i've kind of hinted at earlier, this already is part of a replacement shell project that i've been quietly working on for awhile now. my reasons and focus for it are pretty much my own, doing it to feed a hobby / obsession more then anything else.
what one of my main goals is, is to not provide users so much with a complete shell replacement, but rather with a toolbox of applications that they can use in any method they so wish. this can only be done by forgetting about the modular plug in design so many of the shell replacements offer, and focusing more on stand-alone .exe's that can run all by themselves.
so essentially, if you want a taskbar, you will be able to download and run just a taskbar. if you want a start menu replacement, you can do the same, basically just pulling apps from a toolbox and leaving full control in the users hands.
there are a few other things in development besides the taskbar that you see here, some of which i'm also very excited about, perhaps more so even, because they delve into areas that are a little lesser known. but it is the taskbar that i've asked for input on here, all of this talk of other shells was just to state a bit of my goals, and to keep people from worrying about a systray. so on to the taskbar...
in it's current state it supports skins, 'any size' icons, transparency, draggable tiles, and of course, task selection. It supports a tiling configuration system that lets you define an X Y location to start the first task and then the direction(s) in which you want the tasks to tile. the skin support at this time uses three bitmaps to make up a skin, and support for hover / click skin usage is in progress.
from the ideas given, i am planning on giving the option of a tooltip with relevant info about the app, as well as some more advanced placement options for the tiles maybe based off of the window class. as well, i'm going to be focusing on the flashing task button part, have no idea on how that needs to be implemented, but i sure think from what was mentioned that it is definately essential.
everything else, great ideas and they'll be marked down for me to look into, however at this time i think i better focus on getting at least a basic version finished before i get too bogged down in areas that i might not be able to get anywhere with.
so, excuse the very long post, but i just wanted to give everyone a roadmap so to speak of where this is going, and to thank everyone who has put ideas forward thus far. i'm grateful as always for the interest and the thoughts, and hopefully i'll soon be able to give all of you something in return.
first of all, as i've kind of hinted at earlier, this already is part of a replacement shell project that i've been quietly working on for awhile now. my reasons and focus for it are pretty much my own, doing it to feed a hobby / obsession more then anything else.
what one of my main goals is, is to not provide users so much with a complete shell replacement, but rather with a toolbox of applications that they can use in any method they so wish. this can only be done by forgetting about the modular plug in design so many of the shell replacements offer, and focusing more on stand-alone .exe's that can run all by themselves.
so essentially, if you want a taskbar, you will be able to download and run just a taskbar. if you want a start menu replacement, you can do the same, basically just pulling apps from a toolbox and leaving full control in the users hands.
there are a few other things in development besides the taskbar that you see here, some of which i'm also very excited about, perhaps more so even, because they delve into areas that are a little lesser known. but it is the taskbar that i've asked for input on here, all of this talk of other shells was just to state a bit of my goals, and to keep people from worrying about a systray.
so on to the taskbar...
in it's current state it supports skins, 'any size' icons, transparency, draggable tiles, and of course, task selection. It supports a tiling configuration system that lets you define an X Y location to start the first task and then the direction(s) in which you want the tasks to tile. the skin support at this time uses three bitmaps to make up a skin, and support for hover / click skin usage is in progress.
from the ideas given, i am planning on giving the option of a tooltip with relevant info about the app, as well as some more advanced placement options for the tiles maybe based off of the window class. as well, i'm going to be focusing on the flashing task button part, have no idea on how that needs to be implemented, but i sure think from what was mentioned that it is definately essential.
everything else, great ideas and they'll be marked down for me to look into, however at this time i think i better focus on getting at least a basic version finished before i get too bogged down in areas that i might not be able to get anywhere with.
so, excuse the very long post, but i just wanted to give everyone a roadmap so to speak of where this is going, and to thank everyone who has put ideas forward thus far. i'm grateful as always for the interest and the thoughts, and hopefully i'll soon be able to give all of you something in return.
well grouping is annoying when it happens outside of user control, but what if you can say to the taskbar "group similar apps except these buttons here" and so on? that way you control what buttos you have direct access and what is in a submenu while at the same time get a cleaner and more space
also, i swear that a vertical bar is more space effective then a horizontal one like explorer. atleast if your going to have text on the buttons.
i like the sound of your shell methodik, all it needs is a shell "launcher" that basicly is a bat file of sorts that launch the parts you want, with the options you want. alltho given that they are all freestanding binarys there isnt strictly needed
also, i swear that a vertical bar is more space effective then a horizontal one like explorer. atleast if your going to have text on the buttons.
i like the sound of your shell methodik, all it needs is a shell "launcher" that basicly is a bat file of sorts that launch the parts you want, with the options you want. alltho given that they are all freestanding binarys there isnt strictly needed
hobgoblin, i find the vertical spacing to be more useful as well. currently this is able to apply a rule that basically says 'stack tiles x number high and then begin a new stack' which i find works very well
but, you're right explict, it's what you are used to - the major drawback of vertical is that unless you are willing to float them over all other windows when required, i find it takes up more space.
grigri: it's current'y being coded in VB. care to join in? lol, there's certain portions that of course i could use the help of someone with more experience.
but, you're right explict, it's what you are used to - the major drawback of vertical is that unless you are willing to float them over all other windows when required, i find it takes up more space.
grigri: it's current'y being coded in VB. care to join in? lol, there's certain portions that of course i could use the help of someone with more experience.
Sure, I'd love to
Not sure how much free time I'll have (got a new job!) but happy to give it a go.... just mail me the source and I'll check it out.
>> i'd love to integrate some sort of drag an drop re-ordering,
>> just have to figure out how.
I can do that if you like
Erm, just a thought, when you say "VB" you do mean "VB6" [or VB5], and not VB.NET, don't you? /me doesn't do the .NET thing...
Not sure how much free time I'll have (got a new job!) but happy to give it a go.... just mail me the source and I'll check it out.
>> i'd love to integrate some sort of drag an drop re-ordering,
>> just have to figure out how.
I can do that if you like
Erm, just a thought, when you say "VB" you do mean "VB6" [or VB5], and not VB.NET, don't you? /me doesn't do the .NET thing...
it's VB6, all the way. i have .Net installed, but haven't really gotten a feel for it, nor do i really want to. would rather start spending more time in visual studio...
i'll clean up the code slightly today ( i had been messing with skin changes when hover / clicked, etc, and somethings need a little fixing before someone else can take a look ) and get it in the email to you. ( is your correct email in your profile? )
whatever you can come up with, any suggestions, things that should be changed, etc, would be immensely appreciated - perhaps this taskbar thingy could turn into a great app.
i have .Net installed, but haven't really gotten a feel for it, nor do i really want to. would rather start spending more time in visual studio...
i'll clean up the code slightly today ( i had been messing with skin changes when hover / clicked, etc, and somethings need a little fixing before someone else can take a look ) and get it in the email to you. ( is your correct email in your profile? )
whatever you can come up with, any suggestions, things that should be changed, etc, would be immensely appreciated - perhaps this taskbar thingy could turn into a great app.
Just keeping the thread alive Can't wait to see the software
Can't wait to see the software'ello all...
i just had a small opportunity to do a bit of browsing, and i noticed BruB's bump, so I wanted to update on the progress, or i guess, lack thereof.
lthings have gotten a bit busy for me as of late - was married on Saturday, and am off on a honeymoon to Hawaii for 10 days here very shortly.
so i guess i just wanted to thank everyone for the interest so far, and to reassure that i haven't gone missing and that this project didn't die - it's just shelved for a bit here, while the better side of life steps in!
i just had a small opportunity to do a bit of browsing, and i noticed BruB's bump, so I wanted to update on the progress, or i guess, lack thereof.
lthings have gotten a bit busy for me as of late - was married on Saturday, and am off on a honeymoon to Hawaii for 10 days here very shortly.
so i guess i just wanted to thank everyone for the interest so far, and to reassure that i haven't gone missing and that this project didn't die - it's just shelved for a bit here, while the better side of life steps in!
Congrats again man. Have a good time in Hawaii. Don't let Futsetta get you.
wow, congrats! 
Well well, congrats meth , have fun in Hawaii.
, have fun in Hawaii.Congratulations, methodik. Do some SCUBA diving/snorkeling for me
Congrats meth!!!!
All the best for you and your family
All the best for you and your family
good luck onwards to you and your better half methodik
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