History

· The long-waited Ellipse Dock Shape has been added. To enable this shape, change the Shape setting (Properties dialog, Dock Shape) to "Ellipse". This is explained here.

· Text and graphics rendering quality has been improved. However, rendering may be noticeably slower on older PCs - or on a PC without a decent graphics processor. You can modify this behaviour on the General Settings Other tab.

· If Fast Draw was enabled (which shows Dock items as they are created), Dock Items were not always shown in their correct sequence. Now they are.

· Added an option on the General Location tab to control where the first Dock Item will be placed when the Dock is shown.

· Added an option on the General Other tab to enable silently deleting Dock Items whose target file no longer exists.

· Replaced the Class Identifiers (CLSIDs) with Net Framework known locations for some of the Special Folders (Microsoft changes some CLSIDs on a version by version basis).

· Fixed the bug that created an empty Dock Item if no target was chosen for Add File, Folder or Special Item.

· Completely changed the mouse handling DLL. All mouse handling is now handled within one library (before it required two) and the file "Orbit.Hook.dll" is no longer required. This also means that Circle Dock can now, at last, correctly differentiate between XButton1 and XButton2 found on mice with 4 or more buttons.

· Added new Download button to the Help System: this allows you to download the most recent (full) release of Circle Dock.

· Added an option to save the current Dock level when the program exits and to display that level when the program is restarted.

· Changed the format of the configurations file to XML. In addition, the new configuration files are encrypted - this is necessary to ensure that Kiosk Mode is secure. If an existing XML file is not found, it will be created from an existing INI file (the previous format), or, if the INI file is not present, then a (XML) file with default settings is created.

· Main Properties Dialog now has an Inspector tab which allows you to save a backup copy, view (and print) both the program's properties and those for all the Dock Items.

· Circle Dock has an Issue Tracker where you can get more detailed information about the current status of the program as well as technical issues with it. This too is kindly provided by DonationCoder.com and you'll find it on the 3rd Tab of this help browser.

· Circle Dock's configuration data files are no longer necessarily stored in a sub-folder (which was "Program Files\Circle Dock\System\Settings" because this can cause User Access Control Problems, especially if the user is not logged-in to an administrator class account on his computer. If Circle Dock is installed to and run from a Folder on the same disk drive as the operating system, it will store its configuration data files in the Application Data Path - under Vista and Windows 7, this is normally "C:\Users\{UserName}\AppData\Roaming\CircleDock". This folder, although it is on the System Drive, is not User Access Control-protected and therefore has full and unrestricted access. On the other hand, if Circle Dock is installed to a non-system drive, its configuration data files will continue to be stored in its System\Settings sub-folder (this ensures it continues to work as a Portable Application).

· In view of the foregoing change, it will be more difficult for users to create Portable Application versions on removable media. Circle Dock has a new option to create a Zip file (containing the portable version) or a ready-to-run copy in the chosen folder.

· The "AutoHide" property was not being saved and was therefore not persistent between runs. of the program. It now is. You can also now specify the length of time the mouse is outside the dock boundary (delimited by the background) before the dock hides itself.

· Circle Dock now supports over50 languages, many have alternative translations. These are "natural language" translations provided by Google Translate and Microsoft Live Translator (Bing).

· Circle Dock recognises languages that are written right to left (eg Arabic, Farsi and Hebrew) and adjusts itself accordingly.

· Language file format changed to XML due to a bug in INI file handling (inability to support Unicode (UTF8) properly).

· Help System pages have online translation service available (powered by Google).

· When "Keyboard Emulation" Mode is active, the Dock Item's pop-up menu (F5) would appear at the current mouse cursor position. It now appears immediately to the right of the current Dock Item and its first item will be selected - simply use the Up and Down Arrow keys to change the menu selection.

· A new Dock Item pop-up menu option has been added: "Explore Item's Folder". Note that this menu option will be disabled for all Dock items that do not represent physical files stored on your hard disk.

· Fixed a serious bug which caused Circle Dock to crash if it is configured to show itself when the mouse cursor lingers at one or more screen edges.

· The internal help system was consuming too much memory and resources; furthermore it was somewhat less than user-friendly as the window was not sizeable. Help is now provided by a much more powerful mini-web browser and can be accessed in several ways:

· Added new control mode: "Keyboard Emulation" Mode. Now most of Circle Dock's functionality can be called-up from the keyboard. This mouse-less mode is specifically designed for Media Centre PCs which are normally controlled by an infra-red remote control. See "How do I control Circle Dock without a mouse?" for specific information.

· When Circle Dock executes a program, it now forces that program to use that program's folder as the program's working directory; whilst previously Windows used the default value for the working directory which was Circle Dock's. Most of the time this didn't matter but some users reported problems if the working directory wasn't explicitly set.

· Removed the "Topmost" flag for the "Reorder Dock Items" dialog - it hid the Task Dialog that would appear if the user changes the sort order and then clicks on Cancel.

· A new setting for Dock Items enables highlighting of the current Dock Item - the Item under the mouse cursor - in a fashion similar to that found in other similar programs, i.e. "Rocket Dock".

· Circle Dock is now compressed (together with its .Net Assembly DLLs) thereby reducing its size by approximately 50%. This reduces load time, saves disk space and ensures the correct (ie matching) versions of the various DLLs are used.

· Modified the startup code to use mutexes to check for and enforce single instances. Now, if a second instance is started, it will immediately detect the primary instance and switch to it - and if that primary instance is hidden at the time, it will become visible.

· In 0.9.1.7, Circle Dock automatically deletes Dock Items for which there is no target file. Unfortunately this also meant that empty Folders could not be added to the Dock (an empty Folder does not have a Target). This has been fixed.

· Replaced the Configuration Settings with a new Tabbed Notebook style interface. This is cleaner and allows for easy addition of new feature settings. The Notebook contains a built-in browser to enable users to view this help as well as go online and get assistance from the support site.

· If a Dock Item was moved to the Centre Button and the user decides against deleting it, the item would continue to have a "Garbage Can" cursor whenever the mouse moves over it. The cursor is now updated correctly.

· Cleared a bug in the Configuration affecting the showing of the dock when mouse cursor at a screen edge: the new setting was not immediately applied.

· Some users have reported that the Start Menu is not shown when the Centre Button is clicked. A new configuration item has been introduced that, if enabled, forces the Start Menu to open by sending Windows KeyDown and KeyUp commands using an undocumented key value. The only drawback to this method is that the Start Menu will be shown in its normal position (ie bottom left of the screen).

· Some of the Special Folders used Class IDs that were specific to Windows XP and earlier versions of Windows. These IDs are not correct for Windows Vista or Windows 7. The correct Class IDs are now used.

· If you brought-up the Dock Item Settings dialog to add a new Dock Item but you didn't complete the "Target" file field, Circle Dock would create the Dock Item but it would do nothing if left-clicked - and probably you would have deleted that item anyway. I've changed Circle Dock's behaviour such that you will be warned that an empty Target field on a new Dock Item will result in Circle Dock not adding that item and you are now be given the opportunity of specifying the Target file.

· For the sake of completeness, if you edit the settings for an existing Dock Item and remove the Target file (and not replace it), the originally specified Target file will continue to be used.

· A widely-reported problem concerns Circle Dock's handling of shortcuts (ie LNK files). Eric had written perfectly valid code to handle shortcuts correctly and his code should, by rights, work. But as many of you reported, it often doesn't work and the problem is not Eric's, it's Microsoft's buggy code - a bug, incidentally, that has been present in all 32-bit versions of Windows since Windows '95. Others have solved it and I managed to track-down a solution which I've implemented: and it works perfectly.

· When a file is added to the Dock, its Description (which is used for the label) defaults to the file name with its file type extension, eg: "Word.exe". This has been changed such that the file type extension is no longer included - so "Word.exe" becomes simply "Word".

· There is a new button on the 'Dock Item Properties" dialog: 'Special'. This allows you to add certain Explorer folders (eg: My Computer, My Documents) and the most commonly used Control Panel items.

· Drag and drop of items (including shortcuts - but not Windows folders) from the desktop (or Explorer) onto Circle Dock. If the item is dropped onto a Circle Dock dock folder it places it in that dock folder instead of at the current CD level.

· Drag and drop of existing items (or dock folders) up one level (if not at the top level). To do this, drag and drop onto the Center button. Previously, this was how one would delete items. Now to delete items just drag them off the CD outside of the bounds of the CD. At the top level, an item can still be deleted by dropping it onto the Centre button but the user will be prompted to make sure they want to delete the item.

· I have also incorporated "DrWicked"'s code to create an on-screen button which can optionally appear whenever Circle Dock is hidden. This is most useful in touch-screen environments but could also be useful generally.

· A new set of settings determines the image to be used, its size and opacity on the new "Toggle Button" section of the Configuration dialog.

· In Version 0.9.2.5 (the first of my unofficial releases), if the Dock was set to be invisible when loaded, it would sometimes briefly flash when it started-up. This has now been fixed.

· The number of "Special Items" has been increased to 20 and now include "Log-Off User", "Restart PC" and "Shutdown PC". All "Special Items" have default images attached to them but you can change the display image for one of your choice.

· A new setting has been added to the "General" section which will add (or remove) Circle Dock from the list of programs that Windows automatically starts. No more copying shortcuts to your Startup Folder!

· If "Fast Draw" was enabled and you mouse-click on its background whilst it is building the current layer, there was a chance that additional, duplicate, items would be added to the Dock. This has been fixed.

· Folder Stacks: It is now very easy to add a Folder Stack to your Dock - see Add -> Folder stack. This command a blank folder icon on your Dock and opens the Settings Dialog to allow you to change the icon used to represent the Folder Stack and give it a unique name. Do not make any other changes! After closing the Settings Dialog, left-click on your new folder and select the path that should be opened; ignore the icon field here. Important Note: This ability relies on StackDocklet.exe (version 1) being in your Systems\Miscellaneous folder and its associated DLL in System\Miscellaneous\StackDoclet. Copies of both these items are included in the Zip file.

· Circle Dock can remain hidden after loading - useful if you include this program in your Windows Startup folder. In fact, in common with other Dock programs, it will briefly show itself on loading but will then hide itself. See "General" in the Configuration Dialog.

· Circle Dock will optionally always display the top level Dialog each time it is displayed. See "General" in the Configuration Dialog.

· Circle Dock can auto-hide itself if you move the mouse pointer outside its background's boundary, but not necessarily immediately: it uses a value based on the "dwell time" used for toggling its visibility if the cursor is at the top/left/right/bottom edges of the screen. See "Toggling" in the Configuration Dialog.

· Added a new menu item: "AutoHide" to allow you to toggle AutoHide on and off. It will be necessary for you to disable AutoHide when dragging-and-dropping new items onto the Dock. Note this toggle is NOT persistent and the setting for AutoHide (from Configuration Dialog) will be used the next time you start Circle Dock.

· You can force Circle Dock's background to be completely on-screen by disabling both "Centre around cursor when shown" and "Lock Dock to current position". See "Location" in the Configuration Dialog.

· The maximum size for the background is now the visible screen height (less a few pixels). This change was necessary to allow for completely showing the Dock (#5 above).

· Enabled "Show Labels on Mouse-over" option so that labels can either be permanently shown or only shown when the mouse pointer is over the item. (Eric had this in the UI but had not added code to make it functional.) See "Labels" in Configuration Dialog.

· Added an option - "Fast Draw" - which displays each item as it is created. If unchecked, the previous behaviour (show all items after last item is created) is used. Enabling this item may be visually better on slow PCs. (Eric had written the code for this but not added an enabling option in the UI.) See "General" in the Configuration Dialog.

· The settings for Dock Rotation (Configuration Dialog -> General) were confusing. Circle Dock actually uses the value for 'Key Presses / Mouse wheel scrolls' whilst 'Set Rotation' displayed the number of Radians of the last rotation performed - this would be negative if the last rotation was counter-clockwise. The two controls are now linked, modifying one is reflected in the other. I've also added the necessary conversion code so that 'Set Rotation' displays Degrees rather than Radians.

· Added a button to make it easier to set the optimum rotation values based on the number of items to be placed - set by the values in 'Dock Shape'.