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Finished Programs / Release: On Screen Button That Sends Keyboard Commands: WinButtons 3.6.1.0
« Last post by Ath on March 04, 2011, 06:43 AM »| Application Name | WinButtons |
| Version | 3.6.1.0 |
| Short Description | Display a window with large buttons to allow applications to be started, commands sent to applications, submenu's to be shown, useful for a touch-screen equipped computer Now Application-focus sensitive, supports Drag&Drop of files on buttons |
| Supported OSes | Windows |
| Web Page | This thread and a DcMembers page |
| Download Link | From my DCmembers site |
| System Requirements |
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| Version History |
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| Author | Ath |
Description
Solving a Coding Snack request for a tool to display large buttons to be used on a touch-screen, that ended up in the Unfinished section because it never really got honored.
Then the March 2011 Fundraiser event came around, so I tried to get this request eventually realized, and, combined with the rather large feature-set, compared to the Coding Snack 'requirement' of being small and quickly created, I decided to aim for a release during the Fundraiser event.
Features
Display a set of large buttons, with descriptive captions, that can open a sub-menu, start an application, send keystrokes to another application (using WinSendKeys), or whatever can be done using a windows command-line.
The window can have enabled/disabled a border, close button, taskbar button, different colors and sizes per button, display a bitmap or icon instead of a text-caption, hide itself (and optionally a preceding chain of WinButtons instances) during execution of a command, wait for completion of the command, or exit after starting a command.
Version 2.0 adds the feature of focussed-application sensitive button-context switching, and arrangeble button-configurations, with different size buttons, based on arrangement-types. Buttons can be extended to double size (1 direction only), 1/2, 1/3rd, 1/4th, 1/6th or 1/9th default size, and combined into 1 'button-area', see the screenshots for a chaos example
The 3.0 version adds an optional condition per button to Enable/Disable a button on a file/directory availability, exe loaded in memory or an AutoIt3 function evaluation. The result can be a totally not available button (the window is re-drawn), visible/invisible or enabled/disabled button, a (long) tooltip per button instead of the default caption tooltip, with support for AutoIt3 macro's like @CRLF@ to have newlines in the tip.
Version 3.1 adds a configuration editor called, surprisingly, WinButtonEdit. It's a GUI to change all features available in WinButtons. Additional information is available in WinButtonEdit.readme.txt. (Currently without sourcecode, mainly because of RC1 status)
Another new feature is the option to set a global and per group button surface and text color.
The Group context switching feature has been enhanced to allow switching on specific controls and application windows. This gives a feature to present a set of buttons that link to relevant information, depending on the control currently having focus.
Version 3.2 Adds support for Drop Files on a button if it has a dropcommand defined for that button (requested by ewemoa)
A full description of all features is included in the zip-file in WinButtons.readme.txt
Version 3.3 Changed the preferred file extension from .ini to .wbuc (WinButtons Configuration). Open associatin can be set from WinButtonEdit (0.9 and up)
Version 3.3.1 Adds the feature of displaying an (indexed) icon from .exe, .dll, .ocx, .icl and .ico files.
Version 3.3.2 Adds optional scaling for .bmp images on buttons to the size of that button.
Version 3.4.0 Adds optional CursorRestore option, to restore the cursor to teh last known position outside of the WInButtons windows, when using an (external) touch-screen (should be real-world tested though...)
Version 3.4.1 Improves handling of the CursorRestore by a configurable buffersize, and better handling of the buffer if the mouse position is not changed
Version 3.4.2 Adds optional FlipKeyColor option to better indicate a button was pressed. WBE now offers a Check for updates... menu-item, to update both WinButtons and WinButtonEdit. Uses dcuhelper.exe and .dcupdate files.
Version 3.4.2.3 A lot of small fixes to WinButtonEdit and a minor one for WinButtons come with this update, as well as extra samples & screen shots and the missing .dcupdate files of the previous release
Version 3.5.0 Adds support for Borderless buttons, (enables the Metro UI design of WPhone 7 and Win8), combining Image and Caption on a Borderless button and PNG file support for smoother graphics display.
Version 3.5.1 Adds Borderless buttons with 'split' captions using @LF@ macro.
Version 3.6.0 Adds the optional display of parameter edits/comboboxes/checkboxes as variables in command-lines configured for a button.
The tooltip of each button shows the effective command-line, instead of any configured tooltip.
Added a common confirmation per button, besides the -asc/-ask command option.
WinButtonEdit is updated to support all these features and options.
Version 3.6.1 Adds default feature of opening a .ini or .wbuc files that is dropped on WinButtons.
What's new
- Version 3.6.1: Drop a .wbuc or .ini file with a non-empty Buttons section and the file will be loaded if no On Drop command is defined for the button it is dropped on.
- Version 3.6.0.2: Removes some bugs found during testing, allows a button-Condition to automatically check the condition, even if no button is pressed (-ref option), as demoed in ConstanceJill.wbuc configuration.
- Version 3.6.0: Optional display of parameters to be entered and applied to configured command-lines per button. The already available :varVarName: replacement feature is used for this.
- Per button common confirmation message before running the command configured for that button.
- WinButtonEdit asks for confirmation before starting DCUHelper, and asks to save the current file if it wasn't saved
- WinButtonEdit now has an Image parameters window for easier config, with sliders and up/down controls
- Borderless buttons can have a split caption by using @LF@ at the position where it should split (multiple if needed) see updated metro.wbuc
- Borderless buttons, .png image support, combining image and caption on 1 button (borderless button only)
- Added some screenshots to this post
- Several improvements after testing with a real touch-screen, generously donated by nudone
- FlipKeyColor option
- Update fetching using DCHelper/DCUpdater
- Enhanced CursorRestore option
- Added CursorRestore option, and WBE also offers to copy the current preview window position to Top and Left after dragging the preview in the desired position
- Released WinButtonEdit 1.0.0.0, since no questions where posted for several weeks. No changes since RC10
- Added option scaling for.bmp images
- Updated WinButtonEdit 0.9.3.0 (RC10, should be the last RC...) with scaling supported in the preview
- Display a (indexed) icon from .exe, .dll, .ocx, .icl and .ico files on buttons.
- Updated WinButtonEdit 0.9.2.3 (RC9) configuration editor (select icon from supported files, some bugfixes/improvements)
- Updated WinButtonEdit 0.9.1.1 (RC8) configuration editor (drag&drop for WBE, set file-associations, Move button to Group)
- Bugfixes: Close button won't work on XP when movable is enabled, and :dropItem<n>: gave upto (count - 1) dropped items (nothing with 1 item dropped)
- Added Drop files per button (dropcommand) to WinButtons
- Default button surface and text color
- Group context switch based on control/window instead of just active exe
- A condition per button to determine if that button should be available. Much more fine-grained then the Groups feature
- Tooltip per button, that supports AutoIt3 macro's
- Multiple commands executed from 1 button, with a configurable separator
- Variables can be defined and re-used in a lot of parameters of the configuration. They can even use parameters! A full description is in the readme file.
- Commands and captions (button, window, messages, questions) support environment variable expansion (the familiar %varname% syntax)
- Button caption is now also set as the tooltip for each button. (Thanks cranioscopical for the tip!)
- Alternate Hide method to resolve possible compatibility/repaint issues.
- Transparency issues on Win XP (pre-Win 7?) resolved.
Planned Features
- Quick create/edit of a button configuration, as WinButtonEdit can be a bit daunting for new users
- Feature requests welcome
Screenshots
I created a few dummy menu's. (included in the zip-file)
This is a vertical, no-border, 2 buttonrows menu with 10 buttons, 'Submenu 5 extra words' is opened, and it's button 'Run & Wait' pressed, giving another vertical menu. (A bit crowded):
The same menu, but now a border without close button is shown, and button 'Submenu 4' was pressed, showing the same vertical menu with 2 buttons:
Most buttons are the default size of 128x128 pixels, except 'Button 10', that's 100x100 pixels.
This menu was the model for the application-icon, buttonsize down to 78x78, so the entire window is about 256x256:
A menu showing a chaos of different sized (buttonarrangement) buttons:
A screenshot of WinButtonEdit:
A small part of a configuration ini file: (4 buttons)
Code: Text [Select]
- [Buttons]
- button1=&Back <--
- command1=-exit
- button2=&Run && Exit
- command2=-hideWinButtons -?
- button3=Run && &Wait
- command3=-sub :debug: -t :top:-(:height:/2) -l :left: -w :width:*2 -h :height:*2 :hndlist: submenu4.ini
- color3=0xFFD147
- button4=Send S&cite something (in new document)
- command4=-hide-send scite ^n "A single sentence"
Some screenshots of the numkeypad samples included since v3.4.2.3:
(Based on nudone's touch-screen panel)
Large numpad (NumPad On):
Right-hand large numpad (NumPad R):
Small numpad covering 5 rows (NumPad s5):
Small numpad covering 4 rows (NumPad s4):
Right-hand small numpad covering 3 rows (NumPad sr):
Right-hand small numpad covering 3 rows (NumPad sr3) (not hiding any other keys):
Since v3.5.1: Borderless buttons with split caption (metro.wbuc example):
WinButtonEdit 1.0.5: Image parameters window:
WinButtons 3.6, showing some odd input controls (Textbox, Combo, Editable combo and a checkbox)
Usage
Installation
- Unpack the zipfile in it's own directory. You are required to edit some ini/wbuc files, so it better not be a subdirectory of Program Files, to avoid UAC issues.
- Edit WinButtons.ini/WinButtons.wbuc to change the captions and commands to the desired settings, using WinButtonEdit
- Optionally: Give colors to the buttons, or select images or icons to display on the buttons
- Optionally: Create extra ini/wbuc files, containing more commands, to be used as submenu's
- Optionally: Create button-groups to enable context-switching buttons dependent on the currently active application
- (A full description of all options and features is available in WinButtons.readme.txt)
Uninstallation
If an association was set using WinButtonEdit, then run WBE and de-select any checked option under menu Options/'Set file association for .wbuc'
Delete all WinButtons related files from the computer, (no settings are stored in the registry, except file association), remove any shortcuts created.
Known Issues
- On Windows XP the settings closebutton and movable can't be combined, a solution is to be found (for now, movable is disabled in this case)
Images and caption texts or colors can't be combined (yet)They can using Borderless buttons (v3.5.0 and later)After a -hide, the restore afterwards displays the entire chain of windows...(Explained in the readme)
Download
Available are the AutoIt3 source for WinButtons, WinButtons.readme.txt, sample configuration files, all resources and compiled exe's:
This download links to v.3.6.1.0 on the DCmembers server. Older downloads removed from this message... (available on special request but should not be needed)
Source for WinButtonEdit is not (yet) included because
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