Help with Object Bar
Wednesday, November 21, 2001 by starone | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk
I don't have WinXP, but I seem to be able to create the XP Bar, however I am having a problem with the Menu. I get the bottom, right, left and top okay, but the menu comes up as the windows menu and can't seem to get the WinXP bottom, right, left and top menu to come up instead. What am I doing wrong? Thanks for your help.
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feline
Reply #22 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 11:52 AM
Reply #22 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 11:52 AM
cross-posting strikes again 
it has taken me about 4 hours to put my last post together. this is what comes of trying to interleave things between crisies
starone - You sure lost me on the dual taskbar.
if you have a lot of programs open at any one time, it is very useful. i will produce some more detailed instructions at some point if you are interested
starone - For someone who has so much knowledge, maybe you should give skinning a try. Bet you would come up with something really great.
flatterer
feline *blush*
i do have gimp installed at home, i just havent got around to working out how to use it yet. i already have my first plan, to improve a skin i am using on advanced system agent. just have to get there *sigh*
starone - I'm not much on technical stuff. I just put it in and hope it works. If not, have to keep playing with it until it gets figured out.
i take it you have never seen how i program
this is basically the tactic i take to things. my only real advantage is i have a better idea of how programmers and computers think, so my educated guesses (read wild shots in the dark) may be going in the right general direction now and then 
starone - Still trying to iron out the menu thing and have incorporated Winamp into the skin, but am still having some problems in that area. However, I finally managed to get it to work (Winamp that is), but then not being satisfied I moved the buttons around and now it doesn't come up at all. So, guess I have to reset the buttons and try again.
on the question of these "menu buttons", if you see my previous post we should be able to work something out.
as for the winamp plugin, i know a little bit about it, mainly from educated guessing. you need the apropriate dll somewhere, it is normally placed in the skin dir. from the "blue toast" skin, "WBAmp.dll" should do quite nicely.
i am using the skin button with coolplayer. the thing to note is that coolplayer responds to the same keys 'Z', 'X', 'C', 'V' and 'B' as winamp, so i am guessing that the buttons basically pass on the matching key press to the music program.
from my experiences with coolplayer, you need the player actually running (loaded into memory), even if not playing, for the buttons to have any effect.
if it would help, i can load up the relivent uis file, and have another guess at how the winamp buttons work
starone - It sure would be a lot easier if I knew what I was doing. That's what you call learning the hard way.
yes, but where is the sense of accoplishment if you already know how to do it all when you start?
of course, you do get to miss out on the temper tantrums, sulking under the desk, and covering the white board in rude words when everything goes horribly wrong for the 34th time in a row
starone - And, every now and then I have a generous soul giving help.
ooh, where?
feline wonders if they might be prepared to give anything away to cute little puddle cats
it has taken me about 4 hours to put my last post together. this is what comes of trying to interleave things between crisies
starone - You sure lost me on the dual taskbar.
if you have a lot of programs open at any one time, it is very useful. i will produce some more detailed instructions at some point if you are interested
starone - For someone who has so much knowledge, maybe you should give skinning a try. Bet you would come up with something really great.
flatterer
feline *blush*
i do have gimp installed at home, i just havent got around to working out how to use it yet. i already have my first plan, to improve a skin i am using on advanced system agent. just have to get there *sigh*
starone - I'm not much on technical stuff. I just put it in and hope it works. If not, have to keep playing with it until it gets figured out.
i take it you have never seen how i program
this is basically the tactic i take to things. my only real advantage is i have a better idea of how programmers and computers think, so my educated guesses (read wild shots in the dark
) may be going in the right general direction now and then 
starone - Still trying to iron out the menu thing and have incorporated Winamp into the skin, but am still having some problems in that area. However, I finally managed to get it to work (Winamp that is), but then not being satisfied I moved the buttons around and now it doesn't come up at all. So, guess I have to reset the buttons and try again.
on the question of these "menu buttons", if you see my previous post we should be able to work something out.
as for the winamp plugin, i know a little bit about it, mainly from educated guessing. you need the apropriate dll somewhere, it is normally placed in the skin dir. from the "blue toast" skin, "WBAmp.dll" should do quite nicely.
i am using the skin button with coolplayer. the thing to note is that coolplayer responds to the same keys 'Z', 'X', 'C', 'V' and 'B' as winamp, so i am guessing that the buttons basically pass on the matching key press to the music program.
from my experiences with coolplayer, you need the player actually running (loaded into memory), even if not playing, for the buttons to have any effect.
if it would help, i can load up the relivent uis file, and have another guess at how the winamp buttons work
starone - It sure would be a lot easier if I knew what I was doing. That's what you call learning the hard way.
yes, but where is the sense of accoplishment if you already know how to do it all when you start?
of course, you do get to miss out on the temper tantrums, sulking under the desk, and covering the white board in rude words when everything goes horribly wrong for the 34th time in a row
starone - And, every now and then I have a generous soul giving help.
ooh, where?
feline wonders if they might be prepared to give anything away to cute little puddle cats
starone
Reply #23 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 12:27 PM
Reply #23 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 12:27 PM
You covered so much, I think I may be wandering in la la land somewhere between here and first base. At any rate, trying to piece things together (guess I'm not too good in detailing), (1) on the menu bit it has to do with the menu programed in for the smart button (used to be called the smart bar, but noted they changed it to smart button). No to right clicking and bringing up properties. Had already tried that bit. And, when I go into configure in Windowblinds configuration it says the plugin does not have any parameters to configure the Quick Launch Menu (darn! That would be to simple). I figured it has something to do with configuring the plugin, but at this point am at a loss as to how to get it configured (or maybe it is way above my head).
(2) - Winamp - Would love to have a uis file (if not a bother). I do have the dll included and also included in the skin uis file. Everything worked fine until I moved the buttons (guess that was really dumb). I haven't gone back to look at the uis material yet (at the moment I'm drowning in more bytes - see comment below).
I know what you mean about tantrums, sulking, etc. Instead of really getting back to the skin, I have sort of put in on hold so I can sit back, take a deep breath, re-think and download more stuff I don't really need from the Internet. Some people drown in chocolate, I guess I drown in more bytes. Right now I just seem to come up empty on solutions. (It's probably something so obvious that I'm just not seeing it at this point.) Anyway, off to more bytes.
(2) - Winamp - Would love to have a uis file (if not a bother). I do have the dll included and also included in the skin uis file. Everything worked fine until I moved the buttons (guess that was really dumb). I haven't gone back to look at the uis material yet (at the moment I'm drowning in more bytes - see comment below).
I know what you mean about tantrums, sulking, etc. Instead of really getting back to the skin, I have sort of put in on hold so I can sit back, take a deep breath, re-think and download more stuff I don't really need from the Internet. Some people drown in chocolate, I guess I drown in more bytes. Right now I just seem to come up empty on solutions. (It's probably something so obvious that I'm just not seeing it at this point.) Anyway, off to more bytes.
feline
Reply #24 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 12:54 PM
Reply #24 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 12:54 PM
i think this is begining to make sense
starting with the skin, if you look at:
https://www.wincustomize.com/skins.asp?searchtext=blue+toast&library=1&sort=updatedate&order=Descending&image1.x=20&image1.y=1
which is simply the result of a search for "blue toast" in windowblinds here, you will get a skin with the winamp buttons on the title bar.
from the look of the UIS file, the crutial bits are:
[Button7]
Action=-4
ButtonImage=Blue Toast\bluetoastwbampnext.bmp
DllName=Blue Toast\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=6
i have stripped a lot, so if i am guessing wrong this will be really confusing
Action=-4
this looks like it is saying send a command to the dll
DllName=Blue Toast\WBAmp.dll
simply the dll that is being called
WBAmp=6
this seems to be the instruction that is being passed to the dll, which is then being passed onto winamp, in some form it will understand.
starone - (1) on the menu bit it has to do with the menu programed in for the smart button (used to be called the smart bar, but noted they changed it to smart button). No to right clicking and bringing up properties. Had already tried that bit. And, when I go into configure in Windowblinds configuration it says the plugin does not have any parameters to configure the Quick Launch Menu (darn! That would be to simple). I figured it has something to do with configuring the plugin, but at this point am at a loss as to how to get it configured (or maybe it is way above my head).
feline thinks we really do need a common vocabulary here
i have seen skins that have buttons on them that launch a specific program when clicked. it is often say 6 buttons along the bottom of the window. as i understand it, you simply set the path of the program to run in the UIS file for each button, and when the button is pressed, that program is simply called directly.
is this the sort of thing you are refering to, or it is something more complex?
if you are trying to reference a plugin dll, then you are probably going to need some documentation on how to use it, which would explain your confusion.
i have just set skinstudio to downloading, so if you can try and explain what you are doing in skinstudio, i will try and replicate it here tommorow (getting late now, local time), and perhaps then i can shed some more light on what is going on here.
starone - Some people drown in chocolate, I guess I drown in more bytes.
i tend to do both
probably why i keep on running out of hard disk space
starting with the skin, if you look at:
https://www.wincustomize.com/skins.asp?searchtext=blue+toast&library=1&sort=updatedate&order=Descending&image1.x=20&image1.y=1
which is simply the result of a search for "blue toast" in windowblinds here, you will get a skin with the winamp buttons on the title bar.
from the look of the UIS file, the crutial bits are:
[Button7]
Action=-4
ButtonImage=Blue Toast\bluetoastwbampnext.bmp
DllName=Blue Toast\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=6
i have stripped a lot, so if i am guessing wrong this will be really confusing
Action=-4
this looks like it is saying send a command to the dll
DllName=Blue Toast\WBAmp.dll
simply the dll that is being called
WBAmp=6
this seems to be the instruction that is being passed to the dll, which is then being passed onto winamp, in some form it will understand.
starone - (1) on the menu bit it has to do with the menu programed in for the smart button (used to be called the smart bar, but noted they changed it to smart button). No to right clicking and bringing up properties. Had already tried that bit. And, when I go into configure in Windowblinds configuration it says the plugin does not have any parameters to configure the Quick Launch Menu (darn! That would be to simple). I figured it has something to do with configuring the plugin, but at this point am at a loss as to how to get it configured (or maybe it is way above my head).
feline thinks we really do need a common vocabulary here
i have seen skins that have buttons on them that launch a specific program when clicked. it is often say 6 buttons along the bottom of the window. as i understand it, you simply set the path of the program to run in the UIS file for each button, and when the button is pressed, that program is simply called directly.
is this the sort of thing you are refering to, or it is something more complex?
if you are trying to reference a plugin dll, then you are probably going to need some documentation on how to use it, which would explain your confusion.
i have just set skinstudio to downloading, so if you can try and explain what you are doing in skinstudio, i will try and replicate it here tommorow (getting late now, local time), and perhaps then i can shed some more light on what is going on here.
starone - Some people drown in chocolate, I guess I drown in more bytes.
i tend to do both
probably why i keep on running out of hard disk space
feline
Reply #25 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 1:04 PM
Reply #25 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 1:04 PM
feline wonders why we are the only people here
feline wonders if we have scared everyone else away
feline wonders if we have scared everyone else away
dendillon
Reply #26 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 3:19 PM
Reply #26 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 3:19 PM
I think everyone stood back and waited to see if this would become another Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?"
starone
Reply #27 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 4:38 PM
Reply #27 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 4:38 PM
No to buttons launching a specific program (did that in my last two skins - no problem there.) Decided this may be more specific so I have included what I have in my uis file for the smartBar (which of course is now called Smartbutton in the Windowblinds configuration - not to add to confusion, of course):
The Launch Menu is what I can't seem to get configured:
SmartBar0]
Name=SmartBar Zone 1
NAME0=Quick Launch Menu
DLL0=quickl.wbp
WIDTH0=24
Enabled=1
Author0=Neil Banfield
[SmartBar1]
Name=SmartBar Zone 2
NAME0=url Button
DLL0=url.wbp
WIDTH0=24
Enabled=1
Author0=Neil Banfield
[Button8]
Align=1
XCoord=28
YCoord=25
ALpha=254
Width=24
Height=24
Action=-3
ShiftAction=0
CtrlAction=0
Visibility=0
DllName=smart.dll
SmartBarNumber=0
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp
AlphaOp=0
MouseOverLayout=0
[Button9]
Align=1
XCoord=27
YCoord=50
ALpha=254
Width=24
Height=24
Action=-3
ShiftAction=0
CtrlAction=0
Visibility=0
DllName=smart.dll
SmartBarNumber=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp
AlphaOp=0
MouseOverLayout=0
[Smartbar.quicklaunch]
Image=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp
[Smartbar.url]
Image=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp
[SmartBar1.url.wbp]
URL=https://www.wincustomize.com
This is what I have for Winamp (maybe you can tell if I need to add something, delete something, or just plain give up:
[WBAmp]
DialogMode=1
TimerInterval=1000
TitleMode=1
[Button10]
XCoord=311
YCoord=140
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_prev.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=5
WBAmpShift=5
WBAmpCtrl=7
Width=19
Height=19
[Button11]
XCoord=311
YCoord=192
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_play.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=1
WBAmpShift=1
WBAmpCtrl=1
Width=10
Height=19
[Button12]
XCoord=311
YCoord=176
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_pause.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=2
WBAmpShift=1
WBAmpCtrl=1
Width=12
Height=19
[Button13]
XCoord=311
YCoord=159
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_stop.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=3
WBAmpShift=3
WBAmpCtrl=3
Width=11
Height=19
[Button14]
XCoord=311
YCoord=120
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_next.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
LinkedTo=17
Align=2
Action=-4
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
WBAmp=6
WBAmpShift=8
WBAmpCtrl=8
Width=13
Height=19
[Button15]
XCoord=311
YCoord=102
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_down.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=13
WBAmpShift=13
WBAmpCtrl=11
Width=11
Height=19
[Button16]
XCoord=311
YCoord=83
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_up.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=14
WBAmpShift=14
WBAmpCtrl=12
Width=16
Height=19
[Button17]
XCoord=310
YCoord=212
Align=2
Action=40
Visibility=1
Visibility1=19
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_toggle.bmp
Width=14
Height=13
[Button18]
XCoord=306
YCoord=235
Align=2
Action=-1
Visibility=2
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_inactwin.bmp
#@!$$UNIQUE$STRING$$!@#=0
I think skin studio put in the unique string when I moved the buttons. (I must have done something really different huh?) I just arranged them to what I thought was a better order - okay go ahead and laugh.
You know, Dendillon may be right about the Abbot and Costello bit. I'm beginning to laugh hysterically because I don't know what I'm doing. Better than crying I guess.
Am downloading Blue Toast - need my fix of more bytes.
Hope the uis info helps. Think if everything gets to working I'll frame it for eternity.
The Launch Menu is what I can't seem to get configured:
SmartBar0]
Name=SmartBar Zone 1
NAME0=Quick Launch Menu
DLL0=quickl.wbp
WIDTH0=24
Enabled=1
Author0=Neil Banfield
[SmartBar1]
Name=SmartBar Zone 2
NAME0=url Button
DLL0=url.wbp
WIDTH0=24
Enabled=1
Author0=Neil Banfield
[Button8]
Align=1
XCoord=28
YCoord=25
ALpha=254
Width=24
Height=24
Action=-3
ShiftAction=0
CtrlAction=0
Visibility=0
DllName=smart.dll
SmartBarNumber=0
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp
AlphaOp=0
MouseOverLayout=0
[Button9]
Align=1
XCoord=27
YCoord=50
ALpha=254
Width=24
Height=24
Action=-3
ShiftAction=0
CtrlAction=0
Visibility=0
DllName=smart.dll
SmartBarNumber=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp
AlphaOp=0
MouseOverLayout=0
[Smartbar.quicklaunch]
Image=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp
[Smartbar.url]
Image=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp
[SmartBar1.url.wbp]
URL=https://www.wincustomize.com
This is what I have for Winamp (maybe you can tell if I need to add something, delete something, or just plain give up:
[WBAmp]
DialogMode=1
TimerInterval=1000
TitleMode=1
[Button10]
XCoord=311
YCoord=140
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_prev.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=5
WBAmpShift=5
WBAmpCtrl=7
Width=19
Height=19
[Button11]
XCoord=311
YCoord=192
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_play.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=1
WBAmpShift=1
WBAmpCtrl=1
Width=10
Height=19
[Button12]
XCoord=311
YCoord=176
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_pause.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=2
WBAmpShift=1
WBAmpCtrl=1
Width=12
Height=19
[Button13]
XCoord=311
YCoord=159
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_stop.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=3
WBAmpShift=3
WBAmpCtrl=3
Width=11
Height=19
[Button14]
XCoord=311
YCoord=120
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_next.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
LinkedTo=17
Align=2
Action=-4
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
WBAmp=6
WBAmpShift=8
WBAmpCtrl=8
Width=13
Height=19
[Button15]
XCoord=311
YCoord=102
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_down.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=13
WBAmpShift=13
WBAmpCtrl=11
Width=11
Height=19
[Button16]
XCoord=311
YCoord=83
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_up.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=14
WBAmpShift=14
WBAmpCtrl=12
Width=16
Height=19
[Button17]
XCoord=310
YCoord=212
Align=2
Action=40
Visibility=1
Visibility1=19
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_toggle.bmp
Width=14
Height=13
[Button18]
XCoord=306
YCoord=235
Align=2
Action=-1
Visibility=2
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_inactwin.bmp
#@!$$UNIQUE$STRING$$!@#=0
I think skin studio put in the unique string when I moved the buttons. (I must have done something really different huh?) I just arranged them to what I thought was a better order - okay go ahead and laugh.
You know, Dendillon may be right about the Abbot and Costello bit. I'm beginning to laugh hysterically because I don't know what I'm doing. Better than crying I guess.
Am downloading Blue Toast - need my fix of more bytes.
Hope the uis info helps. Think if everything gets to working I'll frame it for eternity.
starone
Reply #28 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 9:52 PM
Reply #28 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 9:52 PM
Well, good news and bad news. The good news is after looking at Blue Toast, I got Winamp to work great. The bad news, I think I have the links wrong. When I press the button the Tray and the controls come up, but the controls are not on the tray. Oh well, making progress anyway. May as well ignore the info on Winamp. Needlesstosay, it has now changed.
feline
Reply #29 Thursday, November 29, 2001 7:46 AM
Reply #29 Thursday, November 29, 2001 7:46 AM
dendillon - I think everyone stood back and waited to see if this would become another Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?"
feline can no longer stand the strain of staying on topic
feline feels confused all over
feline hasent a clue what dendillon is talking about
feline wonders if confused is upset at being felt all over, cos there is a certain "expression" developing
feline can no longer stand the strain of staying on topic
feline feels confused all over
feline hasent a clue what dendillon is talking about
feline wonders if confused is upset at being felt all over, cos there is a certain "expression" developing
feline
Reply #30 Thursday, November 29, 2001 8:16 AM
Reply #30 Thursday, November 29, 2001 8:16 AM
starone - Decided this may be more specific so I have included what I have in my uis file for the smartBar (which of course is now called Smartbutton in the Windowblinds configuration - not to add to confusion, of course):
we are going to have to do this the hard way
i have downloaded both of the current versions of skin studio currently listed on object desktop, and both of them are "going nuclear" (lots and lots of illegal operations, and eating ALL of my remaining resorces) on my win98 machine.
feline leaps up and down on until machine works again
combine this with the fact that this machine is only running WB 2.21b.
at an educated guess these "smartBar" things are specific to WB3. is this correct?
if so, i am not going to be able to do any experiments here, so i am going to be entirely "in your hands" as to what is going on.
i can run experiments on my home machine under win2k with WB 3.00, but that wont really be until saturday at the earliest.
starone, how do you want to try this? i am quite prepared to have some more goes via this board in the mean time, or we can try and combine our ignorance over the weekend, or perhaps both?
remember, never underestimate the power of large numbers of "stupid" people in one place
so long as i dont understand that i cannot fix this, we should be fine
so, lets start with some basic questions to try and formulate a common vocab:
a) are these bars a new WB3 feature?
are you creating them with skin studio, and if so, which version?
c) if, are you inserting standard "controls" onto these bars?
d) what are you trying to achieve, in general terms?
e) is this designed to show up on a window skin (it will show on notepad), a taskbar skin, or a windows XP start bar skin?
we are going to have to do this the hard way
i have downloaded both of the current versions of skin studio currently listed on object desktop, and both of them are "going nuclear" (lots and lots of illegal operations, and eating ALL of my remaining resorces) on my win98 machine.
feline leaps up and down on until machine works again
combine this with the fact that this machine is only running WB 2.21b.
at an educated guess these "smartBar" things are specific to WB3. is this correct?
if so, i am not going to be able to do any experiments here, so i am going to be entirely "in your hands" as to what is going on.
i can run experiments on my home machine under win2k with WB 3.00, but that wont really be until saturday at the earliest.
starone, how do you want to try this? i am quite prepared to have some more goes via this board in the mean time, or we can try and combine our ignorance over the weekend, or perhaps both?
remember, never underestimate the power of large numbers of "stupid" people in one place
so long as i dont understand that i cannot fix this, we should be fine
so, lets start with some basic questions to try and formulate a common vocab:
a) are these bars a new WB3 feature?
are you creating them with skin studio, and if so, which version?c) if
, are you inserting standard "controls" onto these bars?d) what are you trying to achieve, in general terms?
e) is this designed to show up on a window skin (it will show on notepad), a taskbar skin, or a windows XP start bar skin?
feline
Reply #31 Thursday, November 29, 2001 8:23 AM
Reply #31 Thursday, November 29, 2001 8:23 AM
starone - Well, good news and bad news. The good news is after looking at Blue Toast, I got Winamp to work great. The bad news, I think I have the links wrong. When I press the button the Tray and the controls come up, but the controls are not on the tray. Oh well, making progress anyway. May as well ignore the info on Winamp. Needlesstosay, it has now changed.
this should be solvable
from my vague and random guesswork in the blue toast UIS file, i think i see how the control toggle button works.
however, what do you mean by the tray vs controls?
from the blue toast skin there is an area that shows the current track info, and there is another area that holds the control buttons, but they dont overlap. if they did overlap, then you could only have on on the go at any one time.
this should be solvable
from my vague and random guesswork in the blue toast UIS file, i think i see how the control toggle button works.
however, what do you mean by the tray vs controls?
from the blue toast skin there is an area that shows the current track info, and there is another area that holds the control buttons, but they dont overlap. if they did overlap, then you could only have on on the go at any one time.
feline
Reply #32 Thursday, November 29, 2001 8:30 AM
Reply #32 Thursday, November 29, 2001 8:30 AM
starone - Think if everything gets to working I'll frame it for eternity.
look at it this way, if we keep this up we may be eligable for the longest average posting thread award!
feline is having one of those days, in case you hadent guessed
look at it this way, if we keep this up we may be eligable for the longest average posting thread award!
feline is having one of those days, in case you hadent guessed
starone
Reply #33 Thursday, November 29, 2001 9:13 AM
Reply #33 Thursday, November 29, 2001 9:13 AM
Don't take this too hard! It has to get better (I keep telling myself.) Had to write all your questions down (couldn't see them from here). Don't know how to interact inbetween like you do.
Well here goes:
(a) Yes, it is a new WB3 feature.
( It is going into the latest Skin Studio.
(c) I am inserting the Quick Launch Menu that is supplied with WB3. The Quick Launch Menu is in the WindowBlinds configuration under SmartButton (right click on the Windowblind icon in the system tray, go into configure Windowblinds, then the SmartButtons. You will see "Defined Smartbuttons" on the right. I inserted their QuickLaunch Menu).
(d) Trying to get the features that are in the Quick Launch Menu to do what they are suppose to do, i.e. launch Outlook Express, Explorer and Winamp.
(e) It will show up on a Windowblind skin.
Now, Winamp - The tray and controls come up at the same time, but the controls are not on the tray that is suppose to hold the controls.
You got it on the longest thread. At this rate, it may take an hour to come up, huh? However, anyway you want to handle it is fine with me. (No hurry on this skin - won't do anything else to it until I get things to work, then I can go from there with the perfecting.) In other words, don't feel pressured.
I'm sorry that it has caused you problems. Hope everything turns out okay and thanks for the help.
Well here goes:
(a) Yes, it is a new WB3 feature.
(
It is going into the latest Skin Studio.(c) I am inserting the Quick Launch Menu that is supplied with WB3. The Quick Launch Menu is in the WindowBlinds configuration under SmartButton (right click on the Windowblind icon in the system tray, go into configure Windowblinds, then the SmartButtons. You will see "Defined Smartbuttons" on the right. I inserted their QuickLaunch Menu).
(d) Trying to get the features that are in the Quick Launch Menu to do what they are suppose to do, i.e. launch Outlook Express, Explorer and Winamp.
(e) It will show up on a Windowblind skin.
Now, Winamp - The tray and controls come up at the same time, but the controls are not on the tray that is suppose to hold the controls.
You got it on the longest thread. At this rate, it may take an hour to come up, huh? However, anyway you want to handle it is fine with me. (No hurry on this skin - won't do anything else to it until I get things to work, then I can go from there with the perfecting.) In other words, don't feel pressured.
I'm sorry that it has caused you problems. Hope everything turns out okay and thanks for the help.
dendillon
Reply #34 Thursday, November 29, 2001 11:51 AM
Reply #34 Thursday, November 29, 2001 11:51 AM
Feline - here is a link to the Abbott and Costello's comedic routine "Who's on First?"
http://www.city-net.com/abbottandcostellofc/whoscrip.htm
http://www.city-net.com/abbottandcostellofc/whoscrip.htm
feline
Reply #35 Thursday, November 29, 2001 11:58 AM
Reply #35 Thursday, November 29, 2001 11:58 AM
starone - Don't take this too hard!
feline is doing this for light releaf!
i have aproximately 2000 pages of technical specifications writen by several commities all over my desk. needles to say, they tend to contradict themselves a lot.
and all i have to do is to produce software to conform to all of the specs at once.
even the other programmers at work run screaming at the sigt of these specs, they really are that bad!
puts this in perspective
starone - It has to get better (I keep telling myself.)
just remember that there IS light at the tunnel. it is a great big cuddly teady bear with a torch, which is why skipping up the tunnel to cuddle it is considered suitable behaviour
starone - Had to write all your questions down (couldn't see them from here). Don't know how to interact inbetween like you do.
i have had special zen like training in multi-tasking
(a) Yes, it is a new WB3 feature.
ahha! i was right!
feline awards lots of points to feline
( It is going into the latest Skin Studio.
ah well, who needs a prity front end, i have vim
(c) I am inserting the Quick Launch Menu that is supplied with WB3. The Quick Launch Menu is in the WindowBlinds configuration under SmartButton (right click on the Windowblind icon in the system tray, go into configure Windowblinds, then the SmartButtons. You will see "Defined Smartbuttons" on the right. I inserted their QuickLaunch Menu).
did you receive the latest stardock news letter email? it contained a link to a document about the future of desktopX. in there it pointed out that when WB3 was released, it didnt actually come with any skins that contain smartBars. this goes some way towards explaining why i have never actually seen this. i have tried now and then, but i always simply get a message box saying that the skin doesnt contain any smartbars.
(d) Trying to get the features that are in the Quick Launch Menu to do what they are suppose to do, i.e. launch Outlook Express, Explorer and Winamp.
interesting.
have you tried running this skin, and then using any of the other items that are available to go into the smartbars? i am assuming that there are other items available to choose from.
the idea hear is to find out if the smartbars are actually working as expected with some controls. if so, then this is probably a control specific problem. otherwise this is probably a skin problem with the smartbar its self.
is there say an "always on top" item for the smartbar? that should be a fairly simple control to test.
back to the question of your menu control, if it wants to run a given program (say outlook express), then either the program is going to have to be in the windows search path, or the control is going to have to know the location of the program.
can you open the run dialog box (windows_key + r) and run "msimn.exe". this is the executable that is run by the outlook express shortcut. if this program name on its own works, then this progam is findable by windows, and should be easily run by the control. however, if it isnt found, then the control is going to need some way of being configured, which will be the next and interesting stage to tackle.
(e) It will show up on a Windowblind skin.
oooh oooh oooh
starone - Now, Winamp - The tray and controls come up at the same time, but the controls are not on the tray that is suppose to hold the controls.
from what you are saying, it sounds like you are producing a "pop out" window extension to hold the controls. is that correct, or are they just supposed to appear in a pre-defined place on the current window border?
starone - You got it on the longest thread. At this rate, it may take an hour to come up, huh?
i take it you never saw the "romance" thread? that reached over 300 repies, a fair portion of which were mine now that thread took a while to load!
starone - However, anyway you want to handle it is fine with me.
at some point it may be useful for you to email me a version of this to try on my win2k box (with WB3), but no imidiate rush, since i wont get there till the weekend now.
starone - I'm sorry that it has caused you problems. Hope everything turns out okay and thanks for the help.
well, it provides some variety. it gets boaring watching WB3 crash my machine all the time
feline is doing this for light releaf!
i have aproximately 2000 pages of technical specifications writen by several commities all over my desk. needles to say, they tend to contradict themselves a lot.
and all i have to do is to produce software to conform to all of the specs at once.
even the other programmers at work run screaming at the sigt of these specs, they really are that bad!
puts this in perspective
starone - It has to get better (I keep telling myself.)
just remember that there IS light at the tunnel. it is a great big cuddly teady bear with a torch, which is why skipping up the tunnel to cuddle it is considered suitable behaviour
starone - Had to write all your questions down (couldn't see them from here). Don't know how to interact inbetween like you do.
i have had special zen like training in multi-tasking
(a) Yes, it is a new WB3 feature.
ahha! i was right!
feline awards lots of points to feline
(
It is going into the latest Skin Studio.ah well, who needs a prity front end, i have vim
(c) I am inserting the Quick Launch Menu that is supplied with WB3. The Quick Launch Menu is in the WindowBlinds configuration under SmartButton (right click on the Windowblind icon in the system tray, go into configure Windowblinds, then the SmartButtons. You will see "Defined Smartbuttons" on the right. I inserted their QuickLaunch Menu).
did you receive the latest stardock news letter email? it contained a link to a document about the future of desktopX. in there it pointed out that when WB3 was released, it didnt actually come with any skins that contain smartBars. this goes some way towards explaining why i have never actually seen this. i have tried now and then, but i always simply get a message box saying that the skin doesnt contain any smartbars.
(d) Trying to get the features that are in the Quick Launch Menu to do what they are suppose to do, i.e. launch Outlook Express, Explorer and Winamp.
interesting.
have you tried running this skin, and then using any of the other items that are available to go into the smartbars? i am assuming that there are other items available to choose from.
the idea hear is to find out if the smartbars are actually working as expected with some controls. if so, then this is probably a control specific problem. otherwise this is probably a skin problem with the smartbar its self.
is there say an "always on top" item for the smartbar? that should be a fairly simple control to test.
back to the question of your menu control, if it wants to run a given program (say outlook express), then either the program is going to have to be in the windows search path, or the control is going to have to know the location of the program.
can you open the run dialog box (windows_key + r) and run "msimn.exe". this is the executable that is run by the outlook express shortcut. if this program name on its own works, then this progam is findable by windows, and should be easily run by the control. however, if it isnt found, then the control is going to need some way of being configured, which will be the next and interesting stage to tackle.
(e) It will show up on a Windowblind skin.
oooh oooh oooh
starone - Now, Winamp - The tray and controls come up at the same time, but the controls are not on the tray that is suppose to hold the controls.
from what you are saying, it sounds like you are producing a "pop out" window extension to hold the controls. is that correct, or are they just supposed to appear in a pre-defined place on the current window border?
starone - You got it on the longest thread. At this rate, it may take an hour to come up, huh?
i take it you never saw the "romance" thread? that reached over 300 repies, a fair portion of which were mine
now that thread took a while to load!starone - However, anyway you want to handle it is fine with me.
at some point it may be useful for you to email me a version of this to try on my win2k box (with WB3), but no imidiate rush, since i wont get there till the weekend now.
starone - I'm sorry that it has caused you problems. Hope everything turns out okay and thanks for the help.
well, it provides some variety. it gets boaring watching WB3 crash my machine all the time
feline
Reply #36 Thursday, November 29, 2001 12:24 PM
Reply #36 Thursday, November 29, 2001 12:24 PM
dendillon - here is a link to the Abbott and Costello's comedic routine "Who's on First?"
sounds like the sort of conversations that we have where i work. probably what scared everyone off
sounds like the sort of conversations that we have where i work. probably what scared everyone off
starone
Reply #37 Thursday, November 29, 2001 4:03 PM
Reply #37 Thursday, November 29, 2001 4:03 PM
Too many specs for me - right now I'm satisfied with the one I'm wearing.
No smartbars? Now you tell me! Anyway, seriously, this one does include the smartbar - honestly. Even includes the url bit and the menu. It's just that only two of the five work for me. Tried the msimn.exe bit and it works fine. - and - Re the menu, yes I have inserted other controls and they work fine.
On Winamp, yes to trying to get the popout window extension. Unfortunately, when I push the button they pop out with the tray and controls being on a predifined area of the border, with the controls lining up next to the tray - not on the tray - ugh!
Re sending you the blind - okay, but bear in mind it is in the rough and not a finished product. (Really cringe on that one, at this point don't know if I would even want my cat to lick it.) Almost feel I need to get it descent before anyone sees it. Sorta of like hiring someone to come in and clean your house. You clean it before she gets there so she doesn't think you are a dirty housekeeper.
Hoorah! Sounds like we are starting to make ends meet. Bet we have it up and running soon.
Read the Abbott and Cosetllo bit - had heard it a long time ago and it was fun being refreshed.
No smartbars? Now you tell me! Anyway, seriously, this one does include the smartbar - honestly. Even includes the url bit and the menu. It's just that only two of the five work for me. Tried the msimn.exe bit and it works fine. - and - Re the menu, yes I have inserted other controls and they work fine.
On Winamp, yes to trying to get the popout window extension. Unfortunately, when I push the button they pop out with the tray and controls being on a predifined area of the border, with the controls lining up next to the tray - not on the tray - ugh!
Re sending you the blind - okay, but bear in mind it is in the rough and not a finished product. (Really cringe on that one, at this point don't know if I would even want my cat to lick it.) Almost feel I need to get it descent before anyone sees it. Sorta of like hiring someone to come in and clean your house. You clean it before she gets there so she doesn't think you are a dirty housekeeper.
Hoorah! Sounds like we are starting to make ends meet. Bet we have it up and running soon.
Read the Abbott and Cosetllo bit - had heard it a long time ago and it was fun being refreshed.
feline
Reply #38 Friday, November 30, 2001 8:33 AM
Reply #38 Friday, November 30, 2001 8:33 AM
starone - Too many specs for me - right now I'm satisfied with the one I'm wearing.
thats the trouble with the youth of today, no sence of adventure
feline seens no conflict with the fact you may be older than me, you are still younger
starone - No smartbars? Now you tell me!
i have been trying to point out that we are naving comunication problems here for a while now
starone - Anyway, seriously, this one does include the smartbar - honestly. Even includes the url bit and the menu. It's just that only two of the five work for me. Tried the msimn.exe bit and it works fine. - and - Re the menu, yes I have inserted other controls and they work fine.
so, to look further into this i am probably going to need to experiment with a smartbar, since i havent actually seen one yet, let alone the items you can put into one. and this is probably going to want skinstudio, WB3 and a skin with smartbar support
feline goes hunting down back of monitor for a better machine
so far, not making much progress here, i think we are going to need to go for plan B
starone - On Winamp, yes to trying to get the popout window extension. Unfortunately, when I push the button they pop out with the tray and controls being on a predifined area of the border, with the controls lining up next to the tray - not on the tray - ugh!
i have the definet suspision that the mental image your words are generating in my minds doesnt match what you are trying to discribe.
feline feels the need for pictures
i am going to attempt a character art pic of what i think you are describing, but since the message board doesnt use a fixed size font, it is probably going to look strange.
for the sake of the picture, * is a button, and the popout is going to appear above the window border. so, before you press the winamp button we have:
#-----------------------------------#
| notepad * * * * |
so, we have 4 buttons at the top of a notepad window, winamp, min, max and close.
pressing the winamp button should make the window look like:
#-------------#
| * * * * * * |
#-----------------#-------------#---#
| notepad * * * * |
so, all of the winamp buttons are showing up on an extension to the windows border, so that now notpad has a differently shaped border.
now, the question is, how different is this mental image to the effect you are trying to produce?
starone - Re sending you the blind - okay, but bear in mind it is in the rough and not a finished product. (Really cringe on that one, at this point don't know if I would even want my cat to lick it.) Almost feel I need to get it descent before anyone sees it. Sorta of like hiring someone to come in and clean your house. You clean it before she gets there so she doesn't think you are a dirty housekeeper.
feline will consider licking all sorts of things, expecially if they are chocolate or sweeties
at this point, for plan B, i think i am going to need to play with a skin that supports smartBars on my win2k box, since that is running WB3, and hopefully skinstudio wont go nuclear as soon as i try and load it.
unless you know of any other skins that support smartbars, then i think you are going to have to email your current "development" version to me to investigate.
dont worry, i will be gentle with it. after all, it isnt as if i have a massive history of releasing quality skins to base my comparisons on
i am just sending an email to your account email address, with an email address that points at my win2k box.
then, if you are around here tommorow, hopefully we can start to make some real progress on this smartbar question.
starone - Hoorah! Sounds like we are starting to make ends meet. Bet we have it up and running soon.
this is the plan
thats the trouble with the youth of today, no sence of adventure
feline seens no conflict with the fact you may be older than me, you are still younger
starone - No smartbars? Now you tell me!
i have been trying to point out that we are naving comunication problems here for a while now
starone - Anyway, seriously, this one does include the smartbar - honestly. Even includes the url bit and the menu. It's just that only two of the five work for me. Tried the msimn.exe bit and it works fine. - and - Re the menu, yes I have inserted other controls and they work fine.
so, to look further into this i am probably going to need to experiment with a smartbar, since i havent actually seen one yet, let alone the items you can put into one. and this is probably going to want skinstudio, WB3 and a skin with smartbar support
feline goes hunting down back of monitor for a better machine
so far, not making much progress here, i think we are going to need to go for plan B
starone - On Winamp, yes to trying to get the popout window extension. Unfortunately, when I push the button they pop out with the tray and controls being on a predifined area of the border, with the controls lining up next to the tray - not on the tray - ugh!
i have the definet suspision that the mental image your words are generating in my minds doesnt match what you are trying to discribe.
feline feels the need for pictures
i am going to attempt a character art pic of what i think you are describing, but since the message board doesnt use a fixed size font, it is probably going to look strange.
for the sake of the picture, * is a button, and the popout is going to appear above the window border. so, before you press the winamp button we have:
#-----------------------------------#
| notepad * * * * |
so, we have 4 buttons at the top of a notepad window, winamp, min, max and close.
pressing the winamp button should make the window look like:
#-------------#
| * * * * * * |
#-----------------#-------------#---#
| notepad * * * * |
so, all of the winamp buttons are showing up on an extension to the windows border, so that now notpad has a differently shaped border.
now, the question is, how different is this mental image to the effect you are trying to produce?
starone - Re sending you the blind - okay, but bear in mind it is in the rough and not a finished product. (Really cringe on that one, at this point don't know if I would even want my cat to lick it.) Almost feel I need to get it descent before anyone sees it. Sorta of like hiring someone to come in and clean your house. You clean it before she gets there so she doesn't think you are a dirty housekeeper.
feline will consider licking all sorts of things, expecially if they are chocolate or sweeties
at this point, for plan B, i think i am going to need to play with a skin that supports smartBars on my win2k box, since that is running WB3, and hopefully skinstudio wont go nuclear as soon as i try and load it.
unless you know of any other skins that support smartbars, then i think you are going to have to email your current "development" version to me to investigate.
dont worry, i will be gentle with it. after all, it isnt as if i have a massive history of releasing quality skins to base my comparisons on
i am just sending an email to your account email address, with an email address that points at my win2k box.
then, if you are around here tommorow, hopefully we can start to make some real progress on this smartbar question.
starone - Hoorah! Sounds like we are starting to make ends meet. Bet we have it up and running soon.
this is the plan
feline
Reply #39 Friday, November 30, 2001 8:46 AM
Reply #39 Friday, November 30, 2001 8:46 AM
DOH
the message board has eaten all of the extra spaces in my pictures.
the # marks are "corners", and the edges of the windows are supposed to line up with the corners.
for the second picture, the bit on top is supposed to line up with the # marks as well.
feline wonders if this means that crayons will work
so, do crayons work
the message board has eaten all of the extra spaces in my pictures.
the # marks are "corners", and the edges of the windows are supposed to line up with the corners.
for the second picture, the bit on top is supposed to line up with the # marks as well.
feline wonders if this means that crayons will work
so, do crayons work
feline
Reply #40 Friday, November 30, 2001 8:49 AM
Reply #40 Friday, November 30, 2001 8:49 AM
feline concludes not
probably for the best, since i would only end up with rainbow posts if they did
probably for the best, since i would only end up with rainbow posts if they did
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Reply #21 Wednesday, November 28, 2001 11:26 AM
i am still feeling confused about this URL and menu bit.
i suspect that we may be talking at cross-purposes here. are these items related to skinning the XP start menu using WB, or are they related to skinning windows using WB, or to skinning OB?
i recall you saying that you dont have winXP, so any skin definitions for the XP start menu should be ignored in WB3 on any earlier windows versions.
as for the items on your start menu opening object edit, it sounds like the links are upset. what program are they in? can you right click on one of these items, and get to properties? if so, this should tell you where the short-cut is pointing, which should provide some clues as to what is going on here.
feline jumps up and down shouting "Feed Me"
well, feed me facts or chocolate at any rate
and for a bonus point, do you recognise the quote?