DonationCoder.com Software > Finished Programs

DONE: Dim rest of desktop/windows, except for focused window

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BlindWanderer:
There is an application GhostIt that makes windows possible to click through. Now if you made a window that hung just below the top most window, that was black and semi trans it would have the effect of dimming all others. No idea how hard it would be to code.

mouser:
very interesting app.

http://home.rochester.rr.com/artcfox/GhostIt/

can someone try this with DesktopCoral and see if it allows you to put icons in the corral and click through to them?

geektechnu:
Another program (discontinued) does a similar thing.
Puts a semi-transparent image above everything. Windows behind the image can still be active.

http://vazagi.homepage.dk/DP.html

If only the active window could be brought to the front...

Dragonrider:
I believe this can be relatively easily done in a scripting language called AutoIt.  The program will have the following capabilities:

* It will dim the desktop to 1/3 of it's normal brightness.
* It will only dim windows once the user clicks on a window and makes it active.
* It then makes all visible / non-minimized windows dim to 1/2 brightness except for the active window.
* It runs from the system tray without a GUI  & options are accessed via the system tray menu.
* All visible windows are still accessible even though dimmed including the desktop & its icons.
* The amount of dimming for the desktop & nonactive windows can be set in the options dialog box invoked via
    the system tray menu.
* By default it checks every 1/4 of a second (250 milliseconds) for changes in the active window.  This interval can
     be changed in the options dialog box.

Is this about what you are looking for?

Regards
Brian Keene

Dragonrider:
Hi Everyone:
I've attached a zip file (~150K) for those people who would like to try a proof of concept of the program I described in my last message.  It has a MAJOR bug in it, but it does show that what has been asked for in this thread can be done.  I will be revamping how I check for the active window in the next version.

Just to let you know what the bug is that I found.  If you have a few windows up & you run this program everything works fine.  But if you start another program while WinFocus is running it may or may not work correctly.  It may just stop changing the focused window if the title of the new program can't be read.  I'm planning on using window handles instead of window titles to recognize unique windows, but this means doing a major redesign of the program.  But this program does give you a sense of how it will work.

I am hoping people are monitoring this tread & will let me know what they think of it, how it ran on their Win2K/XP/2003 systems, what OTHER bugs there might be, etc.

Regards
Brian Keene

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