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Recent Posts

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26
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCover (was WinCovers)
« Last post by Uncle John on September 16, 2006, 06:30 AM »
Attached is the latest version.

Now there are three problems remaining to be solved.....
1. How do I ensure the Calculator starts Scientific mode?
2. How do I ensure that the "Trigonometry Calculator" (TC) is always directly above the Calculator and when the TC is moved the Calculator is also moved and stays directly below?
3. How do I prevent users turning off the Calculator (ie. by right clicking it's icon on the task bar)?
27
Post New Requests Here / IDEA: WinCover
« Last post by Uncle John on September 15, 2006, 01:54 AM »
Are you refering to ShoWin? http://www.foundstone.com/index.htm?subnav=resources/navigation.htm&subcontent=/resources/proddesc/showin.htm

Haven't tried it but the description seems to indicate that in uncovers stuff rather than covering it.

Anyway I've had a bash at programing a solution. See attachments...

My solution uses the the TransColor command. Silver pixels in the "Trigonometry Calculator" window are transparant and reveal only the desired features in the Calculator below.

But there are a few problems.....
1. How do I ensure the Calculator starts Scientific mode?
2. How do ensure that the "Trigonometry Calculator" (TC) is always directly above the Calculator and when the TC is moved the Calculator is also moved and stays directly below.
3. How do I prevent users turning off the Calculator (ie. by right clicking it's icon on the task bar)?
4. How do I close the TC and the Calculator Simulataneously?

I'll have a go at tackling these issues over the next few days but I wouldn't mind some suggestions.
28
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on August 25, 2006, 05:01 PM »
Yikes. It just occurred to me that I might be infringing copyright by implementing this WinCovers idea.

Anyone thought about this issue b4?
29
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on June 12, 2006, 06:52 AM »
:Thmbsup: Wow, "CutAway" seems to have the potential to achieve the desired results if it can be made to work reliably.
30
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on June 06, 2006, 04:02 PM »
It's more like, "OK, lets add a 10 Ohm resistor to the string and see how that effects things". Meanwhile half your class of 12 students are distracted with all sorts of other things such as personalizing their desktop background, screensavers, email etc, etc.

I can use the XP shared computer toolkit ( http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/sharedaccess/default.mspx , http://www.tweakxp.com/Article37921.aspx ) to address a lot of these distractions but it doesn't address the operation of controls at the application level.  ;)
31
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on June 04, 2006, 06:31 PM »
If I remember correctly, programmers I've talked to in the past suggest that the Windows API won't allow for this sort functionality.

I don't know that much about the Windows API but I can't see why each rectangular "WinCover" couldn't be a blank "Window" object. This would prevent the button underneath being clicked.

Is there a flaw in my logic? :tellme:
32
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on June 03, 2006, 11:29 PM »
BTW The reason I chose the calculator as an example is that it is available to everyone.

The sort of application I really had in mind was Multisim.

Multisim without covers:

multisim.JPG

Multisim with covers:

multisim plus wincovers.JPG
33
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on June 03, 2006, 11:21 PM »
 :Thmbsup: That's pretty impressive.

Can you extend the functionality to cover buttons too?

Example:

calculator minus logic.JPG
34
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on June 02, 2006, 05:06 PM »
FYI. I've talked about this idea with a lot of programmers in the past and they all say it can't be done.
35
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on June 02, 2006, 04:48 PM »
That's even more ambitious.
I suspect this utility will be very popular so the extra programming involved would be worthwhile. :Thmbsup:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own"--Johathan Swift
36
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on June 02, 2006, 04:08 AM »
Covers would be better since users would not be tempted to ask "What does this button do?"
I'm thinking of a situation where you are training a user to use an application. First you take them through the basic features. Then the intermediate features. And then the advanced features. It would help for them to not have distractions as they progress through each stage.   
37
Post New Requests Here / Re: IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on June 02, 2006, 03:06 AM »
Sorry.....Should be able to see the pictures now.
38
Post New Requests Here / IDEA: WinCovers
« Last post by Uncle John on June 01, 2006, 05:10 PM »
The idea is to prevent users of a PC making changes to the settings of an application.
 
For example, the following picture shows the Windows Calculator in the default Scientific view:

calculator.JPG

This picture shows Windows Calculator with some WinCovers added:

calculator with WinCovers.JPG

The "covers" prevent users altering selected calculator settings.
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