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Topics - MilesAhead [ switch to compact view ]

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426
http://www.autoitscr...251&#entry683251

BlackDlg.jpg

RedDlg.jpg

I'm trying to figure out how to do Glass without getting the see-through color of the form background.  As you can see in the screen shots, if the background color is black, glass likes it.  Otherwise you get the see-through region instead of real shiny glass.

What I'm wondering, since I'm not adept at painting the form in AutoIt3, is if there's a way to paint the region that will be glass, black, and not let the system repaint extend the form background color into that region.  The link shows the Vista Glass autoit function by James Brooks that I'm using, with my comment asking if there's a way to modify it as described.

Edit:  got it to work.. nevermind :)

427
Noticed this on AutoIt3 example scripts

http://www.autoitscr....php?showtopic=94763

Let it sit in task tray and any time you open a cmd window, it sets it to semi-transparent blur background.  Requires Vista or W7.

It modifies any cmd.exe it sees.  If you have a script that pops up a command window it looks really cool if this is running. :)

For myself I added an exit function to unhook the window.  Don't know if windows does it automagically when a window is destroyed, but it can't hurt to manually unhook it.

428
Developer's Corner / useful snippets?
« on: May 10, 2009, 12:56 PM »
Is there anywhere to post useful snippets?  The Programming School forum is busted out into languages already but I don't know if snippet posting would be a distraction or disallowed?

I'm just thinking if somebody came up with a few lines of code, esp. something that harnesses a resource that might not be obvious, it might be useful.

As example of what I mean, I was trying to find a way to simulate associative arrays in AutoIt3 to make it easy to look up a text symbol using a more human readable key.  I ran into a discussion on AutoIt Forum making use of the Microsoft Scripting.Dictionary object that's already on Windows.  That simplified matching up key/item pairs instead of trying to mess with 2 dimensional arrays or some other more complex library.

Anyway, if snippet posting is allowed then I vote for an AutoIt3 language to be added to the compendium.  :up:

429
This shell extension works on every 32 bit version of Windows I've tried, including W7.
(Does not work on Vista64)

No frills, just save and restore from the Desktop Context Menu:

http://www.favessoft.com/iconset.html


430
General Software Discussion / ReOpen 4.9.6.0
« on: May 03, 2009, 09:17 PM »
ReOpen Folders and Programs

Available for download on my Hotkeys Page

ReOpen.jpg

431
All of a sudden today it seems like this site jitters wickedly when I scroll down in Minefield.  I don't notice it on any other page.  Is it just me? :)

(Seems to be on pages with lots of text in small font)

432
Developer's Corner / Open Folder Hack
« on: May 01, 2009, 01:12 AM »
I really really hate the SHBrowseForFolder() thing they give you in Windows. How about this for an OpenFolder Hack using the standard FileOpen Dialog?  Might seem different at first but any users who like hotkey gizmos might not mind Alt-RightClicking the Mouse as alternative to using that lame folder browser!!

ahk script that demonstrates folder selected by Alt Right Clicking the mouse


; use FiLeOpen Dialog instead of that stupid BrowseForFolder thing!

#NoEnv  ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
SendMode Input  ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir%  ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.
selectopen = 1
FileSelectFile,SelectedFolder,2,%A_MyDocuments%\*.*,Alt Right Mouse Click to select Folder,All Files(*.*)
selectopen = 0
If ErrorLevel
ExitApp

!RButton::
If %selectopen%
{
    Clipboard =
    Send ^c
    ClipWait,2
    SelectedFolder = %Clipboard%
    Send {Esc}
    MsgBox, 0, , Folder Selected is %Clipboard%
    ExitApp
}

433
Just a little doodad so you don't have to push the button on the DVD drive.

tray.jpg

http://www.favessoft.com/downloads.html

434
Developer's Corner / Hotkey nostalgia
« on: April 26, 2009, 05:48 PM »
I just realized one of the reasons I like these Hotkey utilities so much!!  They remind me of those TSR programs in Dos.  With Dos you could only run one program at a time. One way to have small utilities available without quiting your application was to code them as TSRs or Terminate and Stay Resident.  You hit a hotkey and the TSR screen would pop up in front of the app you were using.  You did whatever the utility did, then it popped back down and you resumed using the main application.

I wrote a couple of small ones myself in assembler just to learn how to do it. I think one was an ASCII chart.. that loaded and saved its data to a file instead of generating it. Just to learn how to do file i/o without trashing the system.  Back then PC Magazine had assembler TSR source code for a utility in just about every issue.  There was one esp. good one that monitored keyboard, video mode change, file i/o, timer interrupt, as well as the famous "InDos Flag."  Following the author's suggestion I stripped out the guts and used the monitoring framework as the template for my TSRs.

Oh well, there wasn't that much exotic programming you could do on an XT clone with 640K and a 12" amber monitor. It was kind of a challenge. :)

The other thing I missed were the old bootable Dos diskette utilities.  Now I find out it isn't difficult to make bootable USB key drives.. so the more stuff changes.... :)

I'm still waiting for my 8 GB USB key to arrive in the mail.  :)

435
General Software Discussion / FolderCache 6.3.8.1
« on: April 23, 2009, 06:04 PM »
I took the AutoIt3 engine I had for monitoring when Explorer opens a folder and just converted it to a complete application.  FolderCache.

This implementation is much simpler than others I've done. Leave it run in the system tray.  Hit Shift-PgUp to open the launch window.  The GUI is no great shakes but I made it wide to avoid the need for horizontal scrolling to see all of the folder name. It should be usable in screen res 800x600 or higher.

Right now there are no user configurable options. It's hard-wired for a max of 24 folders. There's no install needed.  To have it start with Windows just make a shortcut in the Startup folder.

(One note, the launch window is created dynamically when opened and destroyed with each close.  While it is open, the folder monitor function is paused.  No folders will be added to the cache while the launch window is open.  For this reason there is no minimize button on the window frame.  If you change your mind about opening a folder in the window, just click the close 'x' on the window frame or click the Open Selected Button with nothing selected, to close it.)


FolderCache.jpg

436
I went to install Delphi 5 for the umpteenth time today, and I just took it back off.  I'm trying to find a free Windows programming language, environment etc.. that easily creates GUIs with cool graphics, non-rectangular forms, etc..  I have VS 2008 Express but I'm looking for something, even if interpreted, can compile to a stand-alone exe wrapper or be natively compiled.

The dialog box lookin' app is just too old fashioned now.  Need something where I can do glass or skins without having to get a degree in GDI+ if you know what I mean.  Drag & drop IDE would be ideal.  Hopefully pretty conventional syntax would be good also.  I tried Perl and although I could do a lot with a few lines, 10 minutes later I almost lost my mind trying to remember how I did it!! :)

437
DcUpdater / Latest DcUpdater crashes in W7 7077
« on: April 20, 2009, 06:55 PM »
Tried latest FARR and DcUpdater in W7 7077 32 bit.  So FARR so good for FARR.  However, DcUpdater seems to crash every time it's run.  If I turn autocheck for updates off, FARR seems ok.

438
As floppy disks are a thing of the past, a simple utility to save and restore the MBR seems tougher to find.  It should be able to run in a Dos box so when you boot a WinPE based CD you can run the exe straight from a USB key or whatever.  I found one called HDHacker, but it's implemented in VB.  I can't figure out how to add my disk drivers to WinPE so I don't really want to add the hassle of adding VB run-time on top of it. (I can, however, load my RAID disk drivers manually once the WinPE is loaded using Drvload.)

If anyone knows of an already existing one that isn't stuck away in a Dos boot image I'd appreciate it.

Right now as a stop gap I'm using the trick of a single file in a "dummy partition" and backing that up with Macrium Reflect.  At the end of the restore I have the option to write the MBR from the backup to the HD.  It does the job, but it's kind of a silly way to do something so basic. :)

439
This is just a little freebie called UpdateEnv

All it does is refresh the Windows shell.  Sometimes you can use it to
avoid a log off/log back on cycle.  Comes in handy now and then.



440
Find And Run Robot / FARR quits without error msg in Windows7 7077
« on: April 10, 2009, 10:48 AM »
Sorry I can't provide more information. I'll use FARR, with no extra plugins, just DcUpdater. I don't notice any error. Then after awhile, I'll hit the break key and nothing.  Look in the tray and it's gone!!  No error msg.  This is in 32 bit W7 that recently came on the scene.

It's gonna' be tough to break(pun accidental) the habit of hitting that key when I want to open something.  I'll have the shakes soon I know!!!  :)

If I see anything that may provide any clues to what's going on I'll post.

(FARR v. 2.5302)



441
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/

The Paragon drive backup they are giving away is the same Personal Edition v. 9.0 that I have.  It has Folder Exclusion, so you can opt out of backing up large dispensable folders, like DVD images etc..

It's the same edition I paid $40 for with the exception that there's no support or free update.

Paragon tends to only have one update anyway, then they come out with a new major version number(at least that's been my experience with this product.. been using it since 8.5)

I've restored with it from USB external drives 4 or 5 times so I can say it does work, at least on HP desktops I've owned.

You need fast internet.  The download is 241 MB and includes both 32 bit and 64 bit versions.  Also the product has an .iso CD image for the boot CD.  You need to download and install before the deadline.  However, once it's on the system, if your HD should crash, you boot from CD and restore the image from USB external or whatever.. so you don't have to reuse the serial number.  It's already "installed" when restored just like all your other programs.


442
General Software Discussion / Favorite Firefox Theme(s)
« on: March 30, 2009, 05:28 PM »
I was using Blue Ice Lite
with Firefox 2.x but because of the "no vertical scrollbar" with some themes when I upgraded to FF 3 I investigated some others.  Right now Aeon 3.2 seems pretty good.

My bookmarks toolbar is all folders except for one bookmarklet, so I like themes that don't use the default large yellow folder.  I have 10 folders and I can't stand it when I get the '>>' on the rhs.  With smaller folder icons I can fit all the folders on one line without making the FF window too big(I tried several of the bookmark toolbar "wrap" customizations but every one I tried hosed the FF scrollbar)

I do Vistaglazz and Aeon seems to go pretty well with the Vista themes I use.



443
A utility with several hotkeys that function dependent on the active window.
There's a brief description here under Home Folder:

http://www.favessoft.com/hotkeys.html

I think the one I like the best is Control-NumberPadMinus which
opens a command prompt.  If the active window is a program's
window, such as notepad or UsenetExplorer or whatever, the
"current directory" of the command prompt will be the folder
where that app is installed.  Otherwise if it's an explorer folder
that is active, that folder will be the "current directory."

The usual disclaimers apply.  Free for your use at your own risk
and it's a compiled AutoHotKey exe so av alerts are false positives.

444
I've used these ActiveX Controls in a lot of my own programs and they are available for download with documentation.  They can be installed in IDEs that support ActiveX such as Visual Studio, Delphi etc..
They are "invisible at runtime" ActiveX Controls.  It amounts to a Delphi component that can be installed in any IDE that supports ActiveX, and dropped on a program form like a Delphi or VS control.

They are more designed to work with compiled code although there doesn't seem to be any problem with C# and event functioning.  With AutoIt3 and Python events don't fire as expected probably due to the line by line execution of script.

One is a pretty Windows Message Dialog type.
The other is a "single instance" type with command tail transfer.

I first coded them in 2001 so I think I have most of the bugs out by now. :)

They are free for use at your own risk.

http://www.favessoft.com/activex.html


445
General Software Discussion / XMon Explorer Folder Monitor
« on: March 18, 2009, 10:13 PM »
I've mentioned this utility before but it was kind of buried in an old Coding Snack idea post.  One of the most frustrating things about using Windows for me is closing a nested folder only to realize I have to go back and do something else in the same folder.  I've made some improvements in this MRU list of folders. This version only adds to the list if the folder is the active window for a time, avoiding flushing the list with folders all in the same chain as you click down into a nested folder.  The other improvement, instead of hard-wired to 10 folders max, the maximum is user adjustable in the range 4 to 64 folders. As the maximum number is reduced below the number of folders already listed, the oldest are removed.

You can see a screen shot using the link.  The installer also has another program available that's a launcher but it can work in tandem in that you can "send" folders from it to the XMon application to fill up the list with often used folders to start. This launcher saves lists of folders, shortcuts and exe paths to files like an editor.

One other wrinkle for Vista64 (and it should also work with W7 64 bit) is a "Half Shell" Button that's enabled on 64 bit OS.  Selected folders will be opened using the 32 bit shell.  This allows you to use many Shell Extensions of 32 bit apps that would otherwise not work on 64 bit.

http://www.favessoft.com/XMonShot.jpg

The download link is near the bottom of this page:
http://www.favessoft.com/downloads.html

Hope somebody enjoys using it. :)

446
Developer's Corner / Inno Setup custom Icon for {group} folder?
« on: March 15, 2009, 03:16 PM »
I haven't had any luck figuring out how to set a custom icon for the {group} in Inno Setup.  Using IconFileName with {group} doesn't work since it demands group have a filename after it.  I'd like to use my logo icon for the start menu folder instead of the default yellow folder.

447
If you have MediaInfo installed and hover the mouse you can get a tooltip with the play time of the video clip and some other info.  But I've yet to see a shell extension where you can select multiple media files, right click to select a command, and get the total play time.  Even if you drag & drop a bunch of videos onto MediaInfo I don't think there's any option for total play time of all the clips.  Would be very convenient for those of us who like to burn discs full of .avi files or whatnot.

448
I like to organize my shortcuts(I don't use start menu if I can avoid it) into categories.  One thing I notice is it's kind of a pain to go into the Start Menu and either drag a shortcut to my shortcuts folder(say a folder named Utils or whatever) and go get the next one etc.. (Plus for some weird reason I never figured out, if you "explore" the start menu to make it easier to drag & drop stuff you never seem to get all the folders.)

I thought it might be a useful idea to have a "push" in the context menu so that as I go through the start menu I can "push" them onto the stack... then when I'm done, I go to Utils and right click the mouse or do some hotkey and they all "pop"(perhaps an additional choice to just pop top of stack?) as shortcuts in the folder.

I'm still struggling with AutoHotKey syntax(have to spend maybe 20 minutes in the help for each line typed) so I thought I'd toss it out there and see if it's been done or is a bad idea or whatnot.

449
I wanted to have a convenient way to add comments to files I downloaded.  Since 2001 I've messed around with various schemes revolving around a Property Page shell extension where you can type or paste in a comment for the file.  After only 8 years I think I have it the way I want it!!

TipOff

To make it easier to use the shell extension in Vista64 get Half Shell also.

(They are both fully functional donation-ware.  No nag screens.)


450
I don't know about you guys but I really hate those "browse for folder" dialogs in Windows.  I know they jinxed the standard FileOpen and FileSave Windows dialogs to make it tough to subclass/inherit the behavior but I'm wondering if there's a way to mod them right through the controls using AutoIt or some other mechanism?

That clicking on the plus signs until you get down to the folder at the bottom of the tree has to go!!
Plus if you could mod the FileOpen and FileSave then you could use the PlacesBar features for often selected folders(or the folder just above, where you keep a lot of working folders etc..)

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