DonationCoder.com Software > Circle Dock
Windows 7's Taskbar....Err.....Circle Dock for the DC Programming Contest
VideoInPicture:
I like the new options dialog, but the lag to open it (I had a total computer freeze for about 3 seconds) and the modal form is kind of a takeaway. Have yet to tinker with any of the actual options, but it looks like a tweakers dream.
When I open the Settings Panel, it doesn't take very long to open and I don't get any computer freeze. However, the settings panel does have to adjust all the controls to display what is in your settings files and it uses the language from the languages file so maybe it is lagging a bit there but I think it's still pretty speedy. As for the modal thing, I can always just make it a regular form.
One other problem: I can not drag the Internet off the start menu onto the dock. It just won't take it. The drag/shortcut cursor appears, but nothing happens when I release it (on the circle, or the Orb).
The problem is that some files/folders/links on the computer don't actually physically exist. They are virtual files/folders/links and they are called up by the CSLID's. I can't seem to extract the CSLID from a drag and drop operation even though Circle Dock can execute CSLID's. I have searched but I haven't seen a way to extract CSLID's from drag and drop. Can someone help here? I know it can be done since Object Dock does it.
EDIT 2: Another thought: Combine the Show and Hide options in the tray menu (or hide one when it is not relevant).
Some people don't keep the dock always on top. Instead, the make it a normal z-level window and don't hide it. The show and hide options are convenient in these situations.
J-Mac:
Very nice update! Just a few comments:
* The hotkey toggle settings screen wasn't fully working here last version; it did not tell me if it was a valid hotkey combo. Now it does, but it isn't picking up all existing hotkeys. E.g., for some combos I tried to setup it said Invalid. For others it said Valid but then when I used it another app opened instead! I found a valid one through trial and error. Finding unused hotkeys programmatically is impossible, IMO!
* The hidden Dock is pre-configured for Left Edge and Right Edge. When I tried to close another program using the "X" at the top right corner I couldn't. Circle Dock appeared instead preventing a click on the X. I reset it to Left Edge only.
* When I move my mouse to the left edge to activate CD, half the dock appears with the other half off-screen. That's OK as I just drag it elsewhere. But the dock stays open without clicking on it. If I scroll over it again it disappears. Yet the dock suddenly appears elsewhere unexpectedly about 10 to 15 seconds later. Not sure what caused this but I find myself having to close the dock a lot when it opens uninvited.
Looks and works great. Very nice design, Eric! CD should compete well against all other visual launchers out there!
Thanks!
Jim
VideoInPicture:
* The hotkey toggle settings screen wasn't fully working here last version; it did not tell me if it was a valid hotkey combo. Now it does, but it isn't picking up all existing hotkeys. E.g., for some combos I tried to setup it said Invalid. For others it said Valid but then when I used it another app opened instead! I found a valid one through trial and error. Finding unused hotkeys programmatically is impossible, IMO!
That is weird, I've just tried changing the hotkey combinations on my computer to other ones and they all seem to work and the Invalid/Valid message seems pretty accurate. What hotkey combinations did you try to use? Maybe there is another program on your computer that is hooking the keyboard? Circle Dock registers the hotkey with Windows itself and Windows tells it if it is valid or not.
* The hidden Dock is pre-configured for Left Edge and Right Edge. When I tried to close another program using the "X" at the top right corner I couldn't. Circle Dock appeared instead preventing a click on the X. I reset it to Left Edge only.
I'm planning to add in an option to specify that only the middle of the screen edge toggles the visibility and you can define the height and width of this edge.
* When I move my mouse to the left edge to activate CD, half the dock appears with the other half off-screen. That's OK as I just drag it elsewhere. But the dock stays open without clicking on it. If I scroll over it again it disappears. Yet the dock suddenly appears elsewhere unexpectedly about 10 to 15 seconds later. Not sure what caused this but I find myself having to close the dock a lot when it opens uninvited.
You can always turn off the follow the mouse option in Settings -> Location and the dock won't follow your mouse around anymore. With the dock off screen, I was expecting people would use their scroll wheel or arrow keys to rotate the dock. In a future Alpha, I'll put in an option to always keep the dock on screen even when following the mouse.
If you move over to the screen edge when the dock is visible and the settings are turned on, it will become invisible.
I'm not sure what is causing your dock to appear unexpectedly, but maybe your mouse is just hitting the screen edge every so often or maybe you clicked the middle mouse button that is set by default to open the dock? I think you should try to turn off all the screen edge visibility toggling and see if that is the true cause. I have my dock to appear/disappear when I move the mouse to the top of the screen and it works quite well for me.
* Looks and works great. Very nice design, Eric! CD should compete well against all other visual launchers out there!
I'll need to perfect the animation techniques for the architecture of Circle Dock first so that I can compete with their visual effects. :D
J-Mac:
Eric,
Yes the conflicting hotkeys are for other applications. I understand that it is impossible to programmatically discover what other hotkeys are assigned - that is why I said that in my post above. However Windows assigned hotkeys or not, when you say that a hotkey is valid, many users will assume that CD has confirmed that it now owns that hotkey, when in fact it cannot do so. Other programs already having that key hooked appearing when a user thinks that it was definitely grabbed by CD will probably cause confusion.
I personally have tried to find a way to map out all hotkeys assigned, hooked, or otherwise "taken" by either Windows or other applications. It simply is not possible to do that except by opening every application on your computer and looking in their respective settings/options dialogs, and then listing them all one by one. I would think that if it were possible at all to gather this information any other way - like through the registry or something like that - that someone would have a utility for sale that does it. But there is no such utility available, so I would say that it cannot be done.
Thanks!
Jim
VideoInPicture:
Eric,
Yes the conflicting hotkeys are for other applications. I understand that it is impossible to programmatically discover what other hotkeys are assigned - that is why I said that in my post above. However Windows assigned hotkeys or not, when you say that a hotkey is valid, many users will assume that CD has confirmed that it now owns that hotkey, when in fact it cannot do so. Other programs already having that key hooked appearing when a user thinks that it was definitely grabbed by CD will probably cause confusion.
I personally have tried to find a way to map out all hotkeys assigned, hooked, or otherwise "taken" by either Windows or other applications. It simply is not possible to do that except by opening every application on your computer and looking in their respective settings/options dialogs, and then listing them all one by one. I would think that if it were possible at all to gather this information any other way - like through the registry or something like that - that someone would have a utility for sale that does it. But there is no such utility available, so I would say that it cannot be done.
Thanks!
Jim
-J-Mac (August 26, 2008, 02:05 AM)
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I think for hotkeys, there should be a very good reason a program has to resort to hooks to implement them when Windows will do it for you and can help to avoid conflicting hotkeys. What types of programs are you using that need to hook the keyboard?
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