taskbar at top annoyance - autohotkey to the rescue?

[nudone]

i've got my taskbar at the top of the screen - always on show and set to prevent application windows appearing on top of it.

the problem is that i have a few programs that misbehave by opening up with their titlebar exactly under the taskbar - so i can't click on their titlebar because the taskbar is directly above it. resizing the window of one of the naughty apps will push its titlebar down a few pixels but it's way to fiddly to be fun.

i'd like a quick autohotkey script that would either automatically move these badly positioned titlebars away from the taskbar when the corresponding app first opens, or a shortcut key that i can hit that will then move the window down enough.

maybe an automatic method would cause more problems - i sometimes use programs in full screen - like web browsers and photoshop that i do actually want to cover the taskbar, so a hotkey combo would be more than enough for me.

credits waiting for the right coding candidate...

[lanux128]

i can understand your problem because i have launchbar commander docked at the top and the same thing happens to me.. but there is already a cure for that - Skrommel's WinWarden.


• http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Skrommel/#WinWarden
• http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=757.0

[lanux128]

on 2nd thought, i think Desktop Coral is a better choice..

DesktopCoral is an unusual program designed to "reserve" some portion of your desktop which is shielded from maximized applications..

Essentially, it acts like an invisible resizeable docking bar, which can be docked to any side of your desktop. This invisible dock acts as a barrier to maximized applications and essentially shields this area of your desktop from other applications.

• http://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Mouser/desktopcoral/index.html

[nudone]

thanks, lanux.

how strange this is. i had used both of the little utils you suggested when they were first released but i had completely forgotten about them (i can't fully remember but i may have been the person that asked for desktop coral to be made).

i shall try each one again as they probably will be the solution. thanks.

[lanux128]

you're welcome, nudone.. i was about to suggest another program called Hawkeye but then i remembered that Mouser had done the same.. at least, now i know who's behind it..

[nudone]

unfortunately desktopcoral won't rest underneath the taskbar (which is sensible) so that won't help.

winwarden provides the hotkey functions to move the window around but i've now decided that i'd like a mouse controlled way of moving the window - as i'll be using the mouse and not the keyboard when opening the troublesome programs.

i know i've used something in the past that let me move windows around without clicking on the titlebar - using a middle or right click and drag kind of thing - i just can't remember what it was called and can't find anything in google.

maybe skrommel made something so i'll check there...

[TucknDar]

There are some nice AHK scripts for that. Check these links out:
http://www.autohotkey.com/docs/scripts/EasyWindowDrag.htm
http://www.autohotkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2062&highlight=easy+drag

[nudone]

thanks, TucknDar, EasyWindowDrag is near perfect.

i had just modified skrommel's MoveInactiveWin to use the middle mouse button but it still required a key hit to activate it.

EasyWindowDrag's combined left and middle mouse button click method works better for, i.e. no keyboard required and a crucial point is that it won't conflict with things like photoshop that use keyboard and mouse combos to draw on the screen.

(i've even got my middle mouse button set at the right of my mouse under my thumb so the EasyWindowDrag method feels like i'm actually grabbing hold of the window with my thumb and index finger - really makes me think that this is how mouse interaction should work all the time. very intuitive.)

[nudone]

NiftyWindows may be even better as it offers even more functions just using the mouse AND keyboard control too http://www.enovatic.org/products/niftywindows/introduction/

[PhilB66]

Recommending xBar utility by methodik should earn me the credits . With xBar you can create a margin on your screen that maximized windows will not cover... and there are other great little programs listed on that page. You will find info on methodik's programs at Virtualplastic.

[app103]

Couldn't GridMove be used for something like this, to resize and position windows to fit without being under the taskbar?

[nudone]

Recommending xBar utility by methodik should earn me the credits . With xBar you can create a margin on your screen that maximized windows will not cover... and there are other great little programs listed on that page. You will find info on methodik's programs at Virtualplastic.

sounds great but i can't get it to work.

i've got xbar in a folder also called xbar on the root my C drive and then i've got a shortcut that runs

C:\xBar\xBar.exe - desk "0 30 1920 1200"

which i think is correct, i.e. move windows down from the top of the screen. i've tried a few other numbers but i can't get any indication that xbar is running or actually doing anything. running the same command from the start > run command doesn't do anything either. 

[nudone]

Couldn't GridMove be used for something like this, to resize and position windows to fit without being under the taskbar?

a tweaked version of gridmove or something that uses part of the script would work i'm sure. for the moment i'm happy with the EasyWindowDrag method.

[lanux128]

another program that does the same: Shove-it.

Shove-it fixes this bug by monitoring your application windows and correcting any that stray out of the desktop bounds. The way it does this is user configurable, and it can even re-size a window to fit on the desktop if necessary.

Shove-it normally runs as a background program performing its magic diligently without any user intervention. To change the Shove-it program Properties, right-click the Shove-it icon that appears in the taskbar tray (next to the clock) and select Properties from the menu. Or, if you have the tray icon turned off, just run Shove-it a 2nd time and the Properties dialog will appear.

• http://www.phord.com/shoveit.html

[nudone]

thanks, lanux. shoveit looks like it will do it but i'm still content to use the method that's currently working - it doesn't cost $15 either.

[lanux128]

it's okay, nudone.. i'm just adding more options. even though with AHK around Windows' quirks are more quickly averted..

[neel]

If it's any help, I use 'Sizer' from http://www.Brianapps.net and just have it move the window 'top left' which takes account of the taskbar. Very useful app if you're ever doing web stuff too for quick browser resizing...

Actually, just a plain useful app.

[MilesAhead]

See TicClick on this page:
http://www.favessoft.com/hotkeys.html

it has both keyboard and mouse hotkeys.
If as you say your taskbar doesn't autohide, it should work, at least on single monitor systems. I don't have dual monitors for test.  I'm limited to single monitor utilities for the present.