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 #62 Monday, December 3, 2001 10:30 AM
Reply #62 Monday, December 3, 2001 10:30 AM
that is strange
if you open the "thumbs.db" item via the notepad quick menu bar, and it opens in object edit, do you actually get anything, or is it just an empty OE window?
then try opening the "thumbs.db" file in a second OE window. are the two windows showing the same content?
the idea hear is to try and work out if this file really has been opened.
what program extensions is OE associated with? i still dont know why this is happening, but it could be opening items is OE if the items it has found are associated with it.
if you open the "thumbs.db" item via the notepad quick menu bar, and it opens in object edit, do you actually get anything, or is it just an empty OE window?
then try opening the "thumbs.db" file in a second OE window. are the two windows showing the same content?
the idea hear is to try and work out if this file really has been opened.
what program extensions is OE associated with? i still dont know why this is happening, but it could be opening items is OE if the items it has found are associated with it.
starone
Reply #63 Monday, December 3, 2001 12:00 PM
Reply #63 Monday, December 3, 2001 12:00 PM
Just a lot of stuff you can't read in English. Get the same thing in the second window.
I can't find how to view the file extensions for OE. When you first install it it comes up with associate file extensions, but other than that I can't find it. I never added any, just went with the ones they had checkmarked. In the file folder itself, it has asp.syn, bas.syn, c.syn, etc. (I guess they are syntax files).
I can't find how to view the file extensions for OE. When you first install it it comes up with associate file extensions, but other than that I can't find it. I never added any, just went with the ones they had checkmarked. In the file folder itself, it has asp.syn, bas.syn, c.syn, etc. (I guess they are syntax files).
feline
Reply #64 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 5:20 AM
Reply #64 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 5:20 AM
basically that is what i would expect if you have opened a non text file in a text editor.
there are various things that could be done to find out if these are the same, but at this point i am not sure if we care. i may come back to this later if i get desperate
do you have a system tweaker installed? there is probably a copy of tweakui on your winME cd. if so, then this program should allow you to see (and edit) the location of your quick launch folder, along with several others. this is a long shot, but i am wondering if this is pointing to a second quick launch folder.
other than that, have you tried unloading all the other running programs? the idea hear is that one (or more) of them may be conflicting somehow.
what i am going to attempt shortly is to attach this quick menu item to an existing skin via a standard button. never done this before, so this could have some interesting results
if i can get this to work in wb2, then this helps to eliminate a LOT of the variables, since you are using smart bars, ect.
there are various things that could be done to find out if these are the same, but at this point i am not sure if we care. i may come back to this later if i get desperate
do you have a system tweaker installed? there is probably a copy of tweakui on your winME cd. if so, then this program should allow you to see (and edit) the location of your quick launch folder, along with several others. this is a long shot, but i am wondering if this is pointing to a second quick launch folder.
other than that, have you tried unloading all the other running programs? the idea hear is that one (or more) of them may be conflicting somehow.
what i am going to attempt shortly is to attach this quick menu item to an existing skin via a standard button. never done this before, so this could have some interesting results
if i can get this to work in wb2, then this helps to eliminate a LOT of the variables, since you are using smart bars, ect.
feline
Reply #65 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 7:02 AM
Reply #65 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 7:02 AM
feline grabs megaphone:
ANYONE ELSE HERE?
anyway, on to the plot, i have now done some experiments on the athenda skin, which you probably aready have installed.
since your golden eagle skin includes the WBWinMenu.dll file, i concluded that this was the one being used to generate the smartbar quick launch menu item.
so, i have added the following block to by athenda.uis file, just after [Button3]
[Button4]
; button to test quick launch menu plugin
Align=1
XCoord=100
YCoord=5
Action=-3
ButtonImage=athenda\min.bmp
Visibility=0
DllName=athenda\WBWinMenu.dll
; Alpha=200
; Mask=athenda\mask_rollup2.bmp
; InSound = athenda\click.wav
i have tried action -3 and -4, which both seem to produce the same result.
when i click on this extra button, i get a configerable menu, which doesnt look anything like the quick launch menu.
this was done using WB 2.21b, skinning notepad.
if there is anyone out there, any ideas on where i can find some instructions on using this plugin? please note that i cannot run skinstudio on this machine, since it keeps exploding.
so, either the smartbar plugin (smart.dll) is calling this WBWinMenu.dll and passing it configuration information, or it is using some other method of getting the menu on the screen.
starone, can you:
a) try my modifications to the athenda skin, to see if you get the same results. note i placed a copy of the WBWinMenu.dll from your email zips into the relivent directory
what happens if you remove the WBWinMenu.dll file from your skin directory? i would suggest switching to a different skin, removing the file (move it somewhere else, instead of just deleting it ) and then returning to this skin. what effect, if any, does this have on the quick launch menu?
i *think* we are making progress, although quite what we are discovering is a little beyond me at the moment 
ANYONE ELSE HERE?
anyway, on to the plot, i have now done some experiments on the athenda skin, which you probably aready have installed.
since your golden eagle skin includes the WBWinMenu.dll file, i concluded that this was the one being used to generate the smartbar quick launch menu item.
so, i have added the following block to by athenda.uis file, just after [Button3]
[Button4]
; button to test quick launch menu plugin
Align=1
XCoord=100
YCoord=5
Action=-3
ButtonImage=athenda\min.bmp
Visibility=0
DllName=athenda\WBWinMenu.dll
; Alpha=200
; Mask=athenda\mask_rollup2.bmp
; InSound = athenda\click.wav
i have tried action -3 and -4, which both seem to produce the same result.
when i click on this extra button, i get a configerable menu, which doesnt look anything like the quick launch menu.
this was done using WB 2.21b, skinning notepad.
if there is anyone out there, any ideas on where i can find some instructions on using this plugin? please note that i cannot run skinstudio on this machine, since it keeps exploding.
so, either the smartbar plugin (smart.dll) is calling this WBWinMenu.dll and passing it configuration information, or it is using some other method of getting the menu on the screen.
starone, can you:
a) try my modifications to the athenda skin, to see if you get the same results. note i placed a copy of the WBWinMenu.dll from your email zips into the relivent directory
what happens if you remove the WBWinMenu.dll file from your skin directory? i would suggest switching to a different skin, removing the file (move it somewhere else, instead of just deleting it ) and then returning to this skin. what effect, if any, does this have on the quick launch menu?i *think* we are making progress, although quite what we are discovering is a little beyond me at the moment
starone
Reply #66 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 8:59 AM
Reply #66 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 8:59 AM
Tried removing the WBWinMenu.dll. Nothing new happened, just the same old story - launched the programs in Object Edit. I will try the extra button bit and get back to you on it. It would help if we knew if someone else had the same problem with the Menu bit. At least then we would know if it is the plugin.
starone
Reply #67 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 9:41 AM
Reply #67 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 9:41 AM
Did the extra button using the same specs you gave. It didn't even bring up the menu.
Think we should start a new thread on the menu item?
Think we should start a new thread on the menu item?
feline
Reply #68 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 10:05 AM
Reply #68 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 10:05 AM
when you clicked on this new button, did it do anything at all???
starone
Reply #69 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 10:59 AM
Reply #69 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 10:59 AM
No.
Found this address for the WinMenu - www.stardock.net/people/wbstuff/plugin/winmenu.html. It gives an example of configuration.
I tried adding the extra button for the winmenu plugin, etc., but it still opens up in Object Edit.
You have the areas, i.e. c:\program files\(etc) in my uis. Maybe you can configure it and I will try your configuration. I've certainly haven't had any success with it. I'm sure you can better understand what their example is doing.
Found this address for the WinMenu - www.stardock.net/people/wbstuff/plugin/winmenu.html. It gives an example of configuration.
I tried adding the extra button for the winmenu plugin, etc., but it still opens up in Object Edit.
You have the areas, i.e. c:\program files\(etc) in my uis. Maybe you can configure it and I will try your configuration. I've certainly haven't had any success with it. I'm sure you can better understand what their example is doing.
feline
Reply #70 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 11:23 AM
Reply #70 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 11:23 AM
i will look at the example in a moment
in the mean time, when you tried calling winmenu from the athenda skin, what results do you get when you click on it?
also, do you get a matching icon for this button with action = -3? here, with both action = -3 and action = -4, i am getting a different icon for the menu item.
remember, i have tried this under wb2, so i could be seeing different things.
in the mean time, when you tried calling winmenu from the athenda skin, what results do you get when you click on it?
also, do you get a matching icon for this button with action = -3? here, with both action = -3 and action = -4, i am getting a different icon for the menu item.
remember, i have tried this under wb2, so i could be seeing different things.
feline
Reply #71 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 11:26 AM
Reply #71 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 11:26 AM
feline re-reads your post
starone - I tried adding the extra button for the winmenu plugin, etc., but it still opens up in Object Edit.
PLEASE tell me i am reading this wrong!
starone - You have the areas, i.e. c:\program files\(etc) in my uis.
feline jumps up and down going DOH!
i didnt even realise there were area's like that in your uis file!
starone - I tried adding the extra button for the winmenu plugin, etc., but it still opens up in Object Edit.
PLEASE tell me i am reading this wrong!
starone - You have the areas, i.e. c:\program files\(etc) in my uis.
feline jumps up and down going DOH!
i didnt even realise there were area's like that in your uis file!
feline
Reply #72 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 11:44 AM
Reply #72 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 11:44 AM
feline returns from reading this totaly unknown part of the UIS file
i *think* i now have a solution, but i am going to need to read up on configuring these plugin's anyway.
from this machine (win98, running IE6) the path to IE is:
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Iexplore.exe
however, in your UIS file, you have:
Quickl=c:\program files\Internet Explorer\iexplorer.exe
if you compare these, you will notice that the case of the letters is different, although this shouldnt make any difference under windows.
however, you will also notice that the name of the executables are different! there is a good chance that there is no such executable on your machine, so that when you try and run it, something goes wrong, leading to OE getting opened.
however, this cannot be the whole story, since on my win2k machine, the programs to run are often installed to d:\Program Files, and i dont even have winamp on my home machine.
and it looked like it was producing a list of the items installed in my quick launch dir on my win2k machine, which involves ignoring that section of the UIS file
still, one point at a time.
where did these path's come from? i didnt do anything like that on the athenda skin, and the button did things.
i *think* i now have a solution, but i am going to need to read up on configuring these plugin's anyway.
from this machine (win98, running IE6) the path to IE is:
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Iexplore.exe
however, in your UIS file, you have:
Quickl=c:\program files\Internet Explorer\iexplorer.exe
if you compare these, you will notice that the case of the letters is different, although this shouldnt make any difference under windows.
however, you will also notice that the name of the executables are different! there is a good chance that there is no such executable on your machine, so that when you try and run it, something goes wrong, leading to OE getting opened.
however, this cannot be the whole story, since on my win2k machine, the programs to run are often installed to d:\Program Files, and i dont even have winamp on my home machine.
and it looked like it was producing a list of the items installed in my quick launch dir on my win2k machine, which involves ignoring that section of the UIS file
still, one point at a time.
where did these path's come from? i didnt do anything like that on the athenda skin, and the button did things.
feline
Reply #73 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 11:50 AM
Reply #73 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 11:50 AM
starone - Found this address for the WinMenu - www.stardock.net/people/wbstuff/plugin/winmenu.html. It gives an example of configuration.
thanks for that
i started at google, didnt find anything, and then got side tracked by yet another crisis
i would have posted all this in a more coherent order, but it is the end of a LONG day, and i am thinking in circles and spirals at the moment
thanks for that
i started at google, didnt find anything, and then got side tracked by yet another crisis
i would have posted all this in a more coherent order, but it is the end of a LONG day, and i am thinking in circles and spirals at the moment
starone
Reply #74 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 2:48 PM
Reply #74 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 2:48 PM
I just threw the c:\program files, etc. in the uis to see if it made a difference, but of course, it didn't. In other words, it is now just a laundry list of where my executables are on my c: drive, which after you read the winmenu example, will probably help in resolving this matter. Have been toying with this thing most of the morning and am still going nowhere. All I have accomplished is becoming glued to the chair.
Found two more skins with the winmenu thing in them and am going to take a look at them to see if I can get an idea of what is going on.
Found two more skins with the winmenu thing in them and am going to take a look at them to see if I can get an idea of what is going on.
starone
Reply #75 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 7:22 PM
Reply #75 Tuesday, December 4, 2001 7:22 PM
Good news! Got it figured out. Looked at two blinds that had the WinMenu. Did an extra graphic piece. Placed the name in the UIS. Then I read the WinMenu info on the site I gave you. It mentioned going into the registry. I did a search on my hard drive for the registry. Something in the Windowblinds file came up too (an info txt). Read it and it mentioned that you had to replace the new dll in skin(s) that had the old one. Anyway, my button worked and it brought up one item. The text file said to right click on the item and you would get a list where you could add additional items to the menu list. So it turn out that you did not have to do it within the uis or the windowblinds confliguration for Smartbars - you just had to designate it.
Thank goodness that's behind us. Bet your glad too! Thanks for all your trouble on this. You have been very helpful.
If you have any additional ideas on the skin, I'm all ears.
Thank goodness that's behind us. Bet your glad too! Thanks for all your trouble on this. You have been very helpful.
If you have any additional ideas on the skin, I'm all ears.
feline
Reply #76 Wednesday, December 5, 2001 6:15 AM
Reply #76 Wednesday, December 5, 2001 6:15 AM
feline starts felling confused again
it is *very* good news that this has now been fixed, but what i dont understand is that it works fine on my win2k box.
i simply click on the button to get a list of all the items in my quick launch folder. i suppose if it is down to the version of the plugin, then in part it was probably a machine specific problem.
overall, i think it is a case of
all round
it is *very* good news that this has now been fixed, but what i dont understand is that it works fine on my win2k box.
i simply click on the button to get a list of all the items in my quick launch folder. i suppose if it is down to the version of the plugin, then in part it was probably a machine specific problem.
overall, i think it is a case of
all round
starone
Reply #77 Wednesday, December 5, 2001 9:28 AM
Reply #77 Wednesday, December 5, 2001 9:28 AM
I know what you mean about the confusion. It doesn't make sense to me either that the items on the menu don't work for me. I'm glad to know that it works for you though. It works great now the way it was done above though, so it is just as good that way I guess. If you have any more ideas though, we can still try to lick it the other way too (if you still want to mess with it that is).
feline
Reply #78 Wednesday, December 5, 2001 11:19 AM
Reply #78 Wednesday, December 5, 2001 11:19 AM
feline wonders about the morality of licking starone's skin in public
feline realises that since on one else visits here, this is hardly public
feline *blush*
i suppose the question is, does this button now do what you wanted?
from your origional description's, i thought that you wanted a button to produce a menu that had all the items in the quick launch menu.
however, it doesnt sound like your current configuration of the button is doing that.
it might be interesting to investigate this further, although since i havent yet read the documentation i am not sure how we would do this
feline realises that since on one else visits here, this is hardly public
feline *blush*
i suppose the question is, does this button now do what you wanted?
from your origional description's, i thought that you wanted a button to produce a menu that had all the items in the quick launch menu.
however, it doesnt sound like your current configuration of the button is doing that.
it might be interesting to investigate this further, although since i havent yet read the documentation i am not sure how we would do this
starone
Reply #79 Wednesday, December 5, 2001 12:28 PM
Reply #79 Wednesday, December 5, 2001 12:28 PM
It all boils down to the original matter. When I use the smartbar button, that menu brings up the programs in Object Edit. When I use the new menu button I have added, everything works as it should. Thought about emailing Stardock and have them explain the Smartbar bit since apparently that is where I am having the problem. But, on the other hand, if it worked for you then I just don't know.
feline
Reply #80 Wednesday, December 5, 2001 12:53 PM
Reply #80 Wednesday, December 5, 2001 12:53 PM
have you seen the "WindowBlinds 3.1 preview!" news article?
perhaps it is worth waiting a few days, to see what the beta brings.
yours is the only skin i have encountered with smartbars, and this sould provide some basis for comparison, so long as we can find another skin using smartbars for comparison.
in the mean time, what other mysterious problems are there still outstanding?
perhaps it is worth waiting a few days, to see what the beta brings.
yours is the only skin i have encountered with smartbars, and this sould provide some basis for comparison, so long as we can find another skin using smartbars for comparison.
in the mean time, what other mysterious problems are there still outstanding?
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Reply #61 Monday, December 3, 2001 8:50 AM
Still no, to a dual startup (actually this is the first time I've heard that you can have two different startups - interesting). Makes sense though.
Hopefully this has shed some more light on the subject. If you figure this one out, you deserve the Golden Chamption award.