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Any new ideas for small utilities?

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nudone:
If anyone has an idea for a small little utility (the smaller the better!) that hasn't been done well yet, please post your ideas - i'm always looking for small little projects that can be written in a week or so.
-mouser (March 14, 2005, 10:35 PM)
--- End quote ---

hello mouser,

not sure if this is just something that really annoys me or it's a common thing. the scenario is this...

kind of large monitor, say, 19" or above. you do something common like deleting a file, maybe dragging it into the recycle bin and then a confirmation box pops up in the middle of the screen which has to be acknowledged with a click (or by hitting a key).

the annoyance is that my mouse is nowhere near the box that needs confirmation - it would be better if the box in question opened up under where my mouse cursor is positioned (wherever that may be) then i can just click and carry on.

i know there is the option with some utils to have the mouse cursor jump to the button that is in focus but i find that sort of thing really interrupts the flow of using the interface.

maybe i'm just lazy and can't stand moving my hand around just a few centimeters.

in short, how about a little util that made dialogue boxes or confirmation windows or whatever open up under where the mouse cursor is situated - or as near as it can without straying of the edges of the screen. maybe there could be a user defined border to prevent windows reaching anywhere near the edge.

had to mention it as this is something that really bugs me >:(.

hope you can help.

mouser:
now that is an interesting idea..
as you say, i've heard of programs that jump the mouse cursor to the box, but not ones that do what you say, which does seem like it might be kinda cool and less disorienting.

i do already have code to efficiently enumerate windows written in process tamer,
maybe i will do some more investigating into possible window operations that might be useful, in addition to moving certain dialogs to the position under the mouse.  i'm not sure it would be worth the effort just for that, but maybe if there were a bunch of things, like auto pushing certain buttons, that altogether it would be worth doing..
the only reservation i have is that it seems like the best solution would be to have one of these existing programs that already do much of this to add this one feature, rather than me writing a whole new thing.  but it is intriguing..
i will def. give some thoughts to this since process tamer is already a good skeleton for such things.

nudone:
to be honest i thought it might be too trivial an idea - for the amount of time it would take to develop compared with the effort it takes me to move my mouse cursor.

if you could incorporate it into a more useful app though - how about something that allowed more features with open/close dialog boxes as well as the auto click feature you speak of.

i've used dialogxrsizer - now using dialogmate instead (which is free) - so i know dialog box mods are a common thing. the quick folder favorites being the main feature for these utils. maybe if you could incorporate something similar - but better.  :D

must admit i can't think of anything 'better' at the moment - will post back as soon as i do.

mouser:
well now you are talking about something near and dear to my heart.

i *LURVE* the dialog box modifiers, and i could not live without them.

we plan to do a review comparing them soon - there are quite a few now, all of which work slightly differently.

i have seriously considered making my own dialog box modifier, and you are right, that would be the situation where adding such functionality like moving dialogs under cursor could be added.

there are enough cheap dialog box modifiers now that i'm still not sure it pays to make one of my own.. i havent found a free one yet so i guess i have to go investigate dialogmate now :)

if you have ideas for new features it would be intersting to hear.

i have been using recently filebox extender, which i purchases a license for several years ago, switched away from when it started having trouble with ms office dialogs, and just recently switched back to now that it seems to be working well again.

psHotFolders is also very good.

i like the subtle way filebox extender and pshotfolders add just one tiny icon to upper right with list of favorites.

i use mine not just for the quick favotites but also to expand open/save dialog box sizes and switch always into details mode.

truly i could not live without a dialog box modifier,
and this is one of these things people don't know even exist.

ripe for a donationcoder.com review.. will have to plan one soon :)

nudone:
i'll have another look at those you suggested.

dialogmate does exactly the same though - with the one button in the corner approach - so you might like to give it a serious test drive.

it does have some extra features, one i've never seen implemented elsewhere. right clicking the 'maximise' button in a window will shrink the window down to a floating (transparent) icon on your desktop - like the window blind things you see elsewhere. this method seems more efficient though i forget to use it.

it will also allow you to minimise your window to the system tray - another common trick you see with other utils.

one criticism is that it's a bit fiddly to set up the paths you want in the favorites button but what can you expect for free.

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