DONE: Blank full-screen background, solid movable circle replacing cursor

[nkormanik]

I'm trying to create an exercise to help with learning to read.  Presently all I need is what's in the subject:

Blank full-screen background, solid movable circle replacing cursor.

Ideally allow user to:

-- adjust color of background
-- adjust color of solid circle
-- adjust size of solid circle

To clarify, solid circle replaces cursor, and moves around on the background just as a cursor would.

Hopefully parameters can be saved (an .ini file) so that when user double-clicks a shortcut the program opens with those parameters as default.

Quit program with, say, esc key.  Or standard windows x in upper right-hand corner.

As always, if someone knows of such a program already in existence, please let me know.

Thanks much.

Nicholas Kormanik

[nkormanik]

I'm not a programmer, but if I were do any of you have a suggestion as to which programming language I might use to accomplish what I've set out above?

Thanks!

[dr_andus]

Not exactly what you're asking, but Clearly (with Firefox and Chrome add-ons) helps you manipulate the background and text size of web pages, and Line Reader provides a line by the cursor to lead the eye.

[nkormanik]

Thanks dr_andus.  Looking for eye exercise in the present case.  I'll use a macro program to move the solid circle around on the screen, at various speeds.

One would think it would be easy to program what I've asked for above.  But maybe not.

[TaoPhoenix]

One would think it would be easy to program what I've asked for above.  But maybe not.

I think it is easy to program ... depending on the language!

I lost track if you are a programmer or not ... if not and if you didn't feel like you wanted to make it a project, give any college kid in a Comp Sci class a pizza and he'd be done with the program with slices to spare. Then since it's real code and not a painfully brittle macro, who knows, you could repurpose it to something else later!

Just for discussion value, I was doing stuff like that in 1986! (Heh but nothing ever since!) The breakthrough: while game coding was notoriously tough at the time for children on the Apple IIE and the Mac, the Commodore 128 specially added some twenty "easy-game" commands!

So I bet one of the hotshots here can whip it up in under 50 lines of code in something.

Friendly joke:
"Blank full-screen background, solid movable circle replacing cursor."

Why not just play lots of Pacman?

[nkormanik]

There may not be a positive correlation between "eye exercises" and "rapid reading."

However, I want to give it a go, just to see for myself.

[nkormanik]

For anyone following this thread and curious.

Found a program that comes close to what I was asking for:

From Microsoft's Sysinternals.  ZoomIt.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897434

Execute ZoomIt.  In system tray..., right-click icon, Draw.  Then press the 'w' key.

Result is a red dot that can be moved around on a white background.

I then used a separate macro program to move the red dot around as wanted.

Still not exactly what I was asking for.  But close.

[c.gingerich]

Let me see if I understand right. Do you want ALL windows hidden, a solid color background with a solid color dot cursor that you can move around?

[c.gingerich]

Here is a quick app I threw together. Let me know if this is what you wanted.... The colors cannot be changed yet, this is just a quick test.

https://googledrive.com/host/0B8PfRDn6GacXc0RrWUl1clRCRmc/EyeSnack.exe

[nkormanik]

Chris, you've come through again.  Thank you very much.

Your program is preferable to the above mentioned Sysinternals program.  Sysinternals is a bit more bother exiting from (getting it out of system tray), whereas yours simply is the esc key.

If you feel like it at some point..., you could use, say, a light grey background.  But your black works as well.

Great job.  What a champ!

[c.gingerich]

Thanks. I'll update it to allow changing the color of the background as well as the dot. Also allow you to change the size of the dot. It might take me a little to get back to it but I should have an update by the end of the week.

[c.gingerich]

Update: Now you can change the colors... when you launch EyeSnack, press Alt+S to get the settings window.

https://googledrive.com/host/0B8PfRDn6GacXc0RrWUl1clRCRmc/EyeSnack.exe

[skwire]

@Chris: Really nicely done. 

@Nick: Let me know if this is done and I'll move it to the Finished section.

[nkormanik]

Fully-faceted gem here, Skwire.  Chris has definitely come through.

I hope others might use EyeSnack.  Not as I'm using it, perhaps.  But maybe something for a toddler to play with.  Who knows.

Thanks again, Chris!

[c.gingerich]

Sure and thank you! I'm glad you like it. 

[TaoPhoenix]

Sure and thank you! I'm glad you like it.  

See? I knew one of the "Snacker Hotshots" could do it!

Heh how many lines of code did it take Chris? : )

[c.gingerich]

about 93

[DeVamp]

The URL (https://googledrive.com/host/0B8PfRDn6GacXc0RrWUl1clRCRmc/EyeSnack.exe) is broken.

Care for a fix please.

It looks an interesting tool.

[c.gingerich]

Sorry about that. You can download it from this page http://eyesnack.pen.io/

[lanux128]

hi, if i press 'Cancel' on the settings dialog, the app shows an error message and exit.

[c.gingerich]

Thanks.   I have fixed that error and there is a new version. You can run update.exe or download from http://eyesnack.pen.io

[lanux128]

Thanks.   I have fixed that error and there is a new version. You can run update.exe or download from http://eyesnack.pen.io

wow, that was fast! thanks Chris!

[DeVamp]

When I now start it, I get this error.

Windows 7, 32 bit.

[c.gingerich]

Thanks. I have updated it. Please download update and try it again. http://eyesnack.pen.io