DonationCoder.com Forum
DonationCoder.com Software => Mouser's Zone => DesktopCoral => Topic started by: Ozzy1 on April 16, 2005, 05:01 AM
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Why is this software usefull?
Let me show you a scenario, tell you why and maybe give you some hints of usefull software allong the way.
Why?
Ever had a program the you whould like to monitor, it didnt take up much space one the desktop, but everytime you used the "Maximize"-button in another program it got hidden? Well, this is a program that can help.
I use a program called Samurize (www.samurize.com), but it could just a easily be coolmon (www.coolmon.org). It could even be mIRC (the part where you see if people says hi), or Gaim (http://gaim.sourceforge.net , a multi-protocol instant messaging including msn).
They use a part of the desktop to show you usefull information. My Samurize-setup shows things like tasks, what my winamp hits towards my ears, time and such. I wanna se it, even if I use Firefox (www.getfirefox.com , a good and free browser) and hit the maximize button.
This is what DesktopCoral do. It makes a "hidden" window along one of the sides of your desktop and keeps maximized windows away. Here is a screenshot of my setup (look on the right side of the screen)
(http://www.acino.org/images/desktop.gif)
So, if I start a program that maximize itself i don't loose contact with my information (Now, why would this information be so important? Well.. I like to see how much memory programs use, and samurize shows it to me, what tasks are started? Samurize show that too... ;)
Thank you Mouser, this program is making my days a little easier and more userfriendy :)
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thanks ozzy!!!
i was hoping you'd make a post like this :)
samurize looks pretty slick.
i'm going to link to this post from the program page now :)
it might make it a bit easier if we photoshopped your screenshot and moved the samurize region to the left, so it wouldnt require scrolling of the screen to see it - i was confused at first till i realized there was more to scroll and see.
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Done ;)
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I may be able to use DesktopCoral for my desktop shortcuts... I have a 25" monitor, and I have over 90 shortcuts on the left side, taking up only about 1/5 of the width.
My only question at this point is why the name is "DesktopCoral (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?coral)". Did you mean "DesktopCorral (http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?corral)"?
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DAMN IT!!!!
i knew there was a reason i couldn't find it in the dictionary...
yes it should be Corral.
>:(
:trout: :stars: :lol:
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make sure you set your opacity to 0 if you want to hide shortcuts in that area.
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I can't use DesktopCoral due to the DPI issue. Don't sweat it if I'm the only pain-in-the-ass running these specs. :) (Seriously)
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i assume you are talking about the options form not working right.
ill fix and upload tonight.
and ill try to fix the rest of my apps also.
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The options and the main form. It can probably be made to work, but it's tough figuring out how... I'm really sorry.
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whats wrong with the main form?
perhaps you think something is supposed to be displayed on it :)
its totally blank, you just dock it.
i can fix the options form in a couple minutes; i'll upload it soon.
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I actually did mean the options form, not the main form (TMainForm class).
And for some reason, I was thinking I could put the corral coral over the shortcuts... Duh... It just pushes the shortcuts aside, which is not a shock now that I'm partially awake.
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you actually can put shortcuts on top of the coral/corral.
but you have to set the opacity to 0 for it to not push them aside.
so basically you are gonna end up pushing them aside when you first dock it
but then you should be able to set opacity to 0 and then move the short cuts on top of it ever after.
at least thats the idea.
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DAMN IT!!!!
i knew there was a reason i couldn't find it in the dictionary...
yes it should be Corral.
-mouser
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I thought you'd named it Coral because it formed a barrier like a coral reef. Who knew?
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oh yeah!!! thats what i meant all along !!!!!
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going to up a new version soon which should adress 120dpi and use a new checkbox to toggle transparency -
but i did notice that even with opacity at 0, shortcuts jump out of the barrier when it first starts up.. so i have to figure out a way to fix that..
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Oh, isnt bugfixing fun... :hanged:
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hmmm,... this sounds sort of like my idea.
When I surf I drop a lot of links to my desktop.
And my desktop become chaos really quick, what my idea was (which I have drawn a graphic for-not quite done yet) I small window that stays open on my desktop.
I cut and paste (the Links, Program~shortcuts TxT doc's ,images what ever) drop them into the window, until I decide what I am going to do with them.
I will work more on the image and animation so you can gain a better idea of what I mean.
Thunder
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I just want to say that this program rocks. Best I have installed 2007 :) I hope this app works with Vista.
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Doesn't seem to work with dual-monitors :-( (My Samurize strip is on the right side of my right-hand monitor.)
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I think i really need to try to add multimonitor support for this and for my Launchbar Commander (https://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Mouser/LaunchBarCommander/index.html) program.
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Yes, please on the multimonitor supplort ;)
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Mouser any news on shortcut support :)
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martin -- are you asking to be able to put shortcuts in the coral/corral, is that right?
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I really like this program (Desktop cor(r)al).
I use it to protect http://rocketdock.com/ on the right side of the screen and still be able to scroll without affecting on "Rocket dock".
I do have one small problem. I made sure that desktop coral would start on boot. It does but with default settings for width and transparency and not with readjusted settings as set for my application. Am I doing something wrong?
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I do have one small problem. I made sure that desktop coral would start on boot. It does but with default settings for width and transparency and not with readjusted settings as set for my application. Am I doing something wrong?
Known issue.. i *will* release an update in next couple of weeks that fixes this.
Workaround (not sure if this works if you are using vista): manually exit the program after you have set your settings the way you want, then restart. Settings should be remembered from then on.
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Mouser, I too thank you for this nifty app. I look forward to the persistent setting fix.
I am definitely not complaining, really, it's not a big deal... I just thought you may want to know I discovered a conflict with Power DVD. It would not display the video until I closed DC. I do not use it that much, and now that I know I can simply trade off apps.
Thanks again.... OldLincoln
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Hello from France !
Is there any way to save settings ?
Every time windows starts, I had to reenter my desktop coral settings.
My settings are : Bottom, 1280, 50, no background, transparent.
Thanks for your help.
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bonjour ghenarys!
your problem is quite a common one for which mouser (the author) has promised to fix in the next version but in the meantime, you can do the following:
• start the program
• make the changes/configuration settings
• exit the program manually and start again.
Source: https://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=12707.msg106154#msg106154
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DesktopCoral is awesome. i'm using it so i can have miranda + cd art display on the right side of my screen.
desktop: http://forthehuynh.com/matt/desktop/20080809.jpg
thanks for the program!
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DesktopCoral is awesome. i'm using it so i can have miranda + cd art display on the right side of my screen.
desktop: http://forthehuynh.com/matt/desktop/20080809.jpg
thanks for the program!-maxxwizard
wow! nice wallpaper, fine usage example. :)
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@maxxwizard
You should really block access to "Index of /matt" (google for disable directory browsing).
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Good on you, Mouser. You're very sharp. Thank you for so much effort.
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Am I the only one who have this problem:
From time to time good part of my desktop will just... well be taken. I don't know how to explain, so look at the pic:
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
You see? Left part of the screen is missing, when I maximize window they go only as far as Total Commander is now.
This will go back to normal if I log off and log in again.
Also I can exit Corral Desktop and start it again, and it will not fix anythin, as you can see, it is even active now on the right side of the first monitor.
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that's strange.
can you try this -- the next time that happens, undock and then re-dock Desktop Coral, and see if that fixes it.
if so, then at least it's a clue to me about what's going on, and i could at the minimum offer a quick workaround command in the Desktop Coral menu that would fixup the situation.
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I tried that but nothing. Nothing will work except full win restart or loging off and than logging in. I even tried restarting explorer but no avail.
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ive seen this happen before but it's always fixed by toggling desktop coral between docking and floating mode..
the space is the size of your normal dock right?
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I take it that, based on the picture you posted, you are using a dual-monitor setup?
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desktop coral only works in the left side of the screen , strange.....
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Can I make the humble suggestion that this project be called simply "Coral" instead of "Desktop Coral?" Every time I see it, the grammarian in me wants to march down to your home with a ruler and smack you on the knuckles. At this point, I realize that the software will not adopt "corral" as part of its name, so why not stick with Coral, and drop the "Desktop"?
Derp
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...
i knew there was a reason i couldn't find it in the dictionary...
yes it should be Corral.
_________
I thought you'd named it Coral because it formed a barrier like a coral reef. Who knew?-longrun
Coral is also a beautiful and stable entity which lives under the surface. :D
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Hello!
I would also like to leave a big "Thank you" for this tool! I'll use it for a while and if it works fine for my use cases, I'll donate!
In my case, I have a 2-row task bar (grouped launcher Icons on the top bar, running applications on the bottom bar). Also, I am using the great VirtualDimension tool for multiple desktops in Windows (as a UNIX user, you'll want this badly), because it runs on Windows XP and all the others up to Win10, and its super fast and low on RAM usage. Now I wanted to put VDim over my task bar, but both are "always on top". When I click an icon or application on the bar, VDim would get hidden, because the task bar overrides its "always on top" with its own.
But removing its always-on-top feature sucks, because then, fullscreen windows would cover the task bar as well! Damn!
And this is where Desktop Coral comes in! Docked to the bottom of the screen at 0 pixels height, it can protect my task bar from full screen windows when I remove its always-on-top flag.
Now VirtualDimension is embedded into the taskbar in a stable fashion, always showing, and windows maximize as if the taskbar was still always-on-top, exactly the way I want!
This is what it looks like, protecting my task bar to have VDim stay on top:
[ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
Awesome!! :)
Thanks!
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I am using the great VirtualDimension tool for multiple desktops in Windows (as a UNIX user, you'll want this badly), because it runs on Windows XP and all the others up to Win10, and its super fast and low on RAM usage.
-GrandAdmiralThrawn
Thanks for the Virtual Dimension tip! :up: I've tried a number of virtual desktop software for Win7, none of them clicked with me, but this is looking good so far!
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I've tried like 6 or 7 before finding Virtual Dimension. It's not perfect, but the best I found so far. Unfortunately, the project is no longer maintained and the last official release is from 2005, last Alpha from 2006. :( It's free software, but nobody seems to care for picking it up, and I'm not good enough to do it. There are a few minor things that could be improved, but yeah. :)
Oh, just one word of advice: If you're playing online games on Windows, you may wish to disable Virtual Dimensions' "Shell Integration" feature on the Advanced tab of its configuration. I guess this hooks the program into other processes to manipulate their windows. It triggered what I think was a cheat detection in one game (Mechwarrior Online) for me.. The game complained that my client version was wrong and refused to log me in.
I guess it's memory was modified by VDims shell integration?!? Disabling it fixed that. I'll leave it off just in case, don't want to get banned or something because of it. :)
But, together with Desktop Coral I've probably found the best possible solution for myself now! :)
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Thanks for the tip. I don't play games, but I'll keep my eyes peeled to see if it interferes with anything and then disable it. So far everything works fine (Win 7 Pro 64-bit).
I can't believe it's only 399 KB and can do all this!
If you like Desktop Coral, you might also like Progress Bars of Life (https://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Mouser/pbol/), there are some similarities.
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I use RocketDock on both my PC and Laptop. I guess i got used to windows going behind the dock. On a whim i found this program on the rocketdock website, it was an older version and crashed constantly in win 10. Did a search and wound up here. Newest version works like a charm. Love the site, so many usefull programs. Keep up the good work guys.
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Awesome.
Thanks for posting and for your donation Gypsy :Thmbsup:
Please make yourself at home here, we are a friendly bunch.
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This program is excellent for laptops where the top/bottom portion of the screen has failed. Google and you will see that this is a COMMON problem, usually about an inch. Because the rest of the screen is fine, the laptop is still good, but for the fact that a portion of a full size window is in the failed area. With DesktopCoral, problem solved!!! A full size window does not extend into the failed area.
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This program is excellent for laptops where the top/bottom portion of the screen has failed.-Johnny Cakes
Quite an interesting use for it. Thanks for sharing the idea. :Thmbsup: