What would you like to see in DesktopX 3.x?
Next-Gen in dev
Wednesday, February 2, 2005 by Frogboy | Discussion: DesktopX Wishlist
The next generation version of DesktopX is in development. What sorts of features would you like to see in the 3.x series?
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Frogboy
Reply #22 Monday, February 7, 2005 8:41 PM
Reply #22 Monday, February 7, 2005 8:41 PM
| Step-through script editors/wizards, .NET framework 2.0 beta support. Longhorn OS emulation possibilities. . . Most of all, 3-dimensionality support |
I don't think you'd like the .NET framework support as much as you might think. We seriously considered this because the long term plan is to have XAML be the underlying mark up language and see most widgets written in C# or VB.net. But that woudl require every user to download around 25 megs of libraries first (the .net libraries) which we don't think most people would put up with.
The scripting features are already pretty mature. I mean, it includes a built in editor with intellisense.
I'm not sure what Longhorn emulation woudl entail.
As for 3D capabilities, I'm not sure what you mean there either. Down the line, we do want to support .x (Direct3D's native model format) but that will have to wait until Avalon is available in the OS.
Frogboy
Reply #23 Monday, February 7, 2005 8:43 PM
Reply #23 Monday, February 7, 2005 8:43 PM
| Most of all: Give developers a possibility to change all the properties of an object by script, i.e. the URL in an url-object. |
This is what we're working for.
The goal in DesktopX 3.x is to allow people to do it all via script if they choose. Even object creation:
myObject = DesktopX.CreateObject("ObjectIDHere");
myObject.Class = "URL";
myObject.ShortCut = https://www.stardock.com;
Things of that nature is what we're hoping to do. How much will be in 3.0 we're not sure. Certainly for the most common types of uses we plan to make that all doable in script (object creation/deletion).
XX
Reply #24 Tuesday, February 8, 2005 2:23 AM
How about those? I belive that iit would be great thing to have sometimes. It could incude cross-group assigning. For example, you could assign a script to a previously unscripted object at run time.
That and editing just one script for many objects would be handy sometimes. Applinearcalcendar was a nightmare when I found a major oopie twice. Both times I had to edit 31 objects. Not fun, trust me, expecially since whole group resets each time I click that OK button.
And how about vector support?
Reply #24 Tuesday, February 8, 2005 2:23 AM
| be separation of objects and scripts. Basically, you make scripts and objects, then "assign" scripts to objects. |
How about those? I belive that iit would be great thing to have sometimes. It could incude cross-group assigning. For example, you could assign a script to a previously unscripted object at run time.
That and editing just one script for many objects would be handy sometimes. Applinearcalcendar was a nightmare when I found a major oopie twice. Both times I had to edit 31 objects. Not fun, trust me, expecially since whole group resets each time I click that OK button.
And how about vector support?
Alberto
Reply #25 Tuesday, February 8, 2005 3:48 AM
Actually we went the other way around. With DesktopX 3 you only need ONE script to manage the whole widget or application.
How do you do that? You have new callbacks like:
sub Object_OnLButtonUpEx(name, x, y,
So you can do a "select case name" for instance, to get what object has been clicked.
We are developing new widgets with this new system, and let me say that, it is so much easier to code one script rather than 10 or 20 of them, have variables centralized and initialized in one place, etc.
Reply #25 Tuesday, February 8, 2005 3:48 AM
| Another idea would be separation of objects and scripts. Basically, you make scripts and objects, then "assign" scripts to objects. That way. if you have 10 or even 100 objects using same script, good examples would be my apptlinearcalendear and Node Master. If the script has a bug and you just added it to 10 object, it's a long day of fixing all object's scripts. If you has just one script and assign it to all objects, you has only one script to fix. |
Actually we went the other way around. With DesktopX 3 you only need ONE script to manage the whole widget or application.
How do you do that? You have new callbacks like:
sub Object_OnLButtonUpEx(name, x, y,
So you can do a "select case name" for instance, to get what object has been clicked.
We are developing new widgets with this new system, and let me say that, it is so much easier to code one script rather than 10 or 20 of them, have variables centralized and initialized in one place, etc.
ExodusCrow
Reply #26 Tuesday, February 8, 2005 9:35 AM
Would we also be able to change the label name via scripting? How about the alignment of the label? align=left valign=bottom?
objectName.label="My Computer - 23gigs (12344 files)"
objectName.label.align="right"
objectName.label.valign="bottom"
if align=center and valign=middle then
msgbox ("you can't do that!")
end if
Reply #26 Tuesday, February 8, 2005 9:35 AM
| myObject.ShortCut = Link |
Would we also be able to change the label name via scripting? How about the alignment of the label? align=left valign=bottom?
objectName.label="My Computer - 23gigs (12344 files)"
objectName.label.align="right"
objectName.label.valign="bottom"
if align=center and valign=middle then
msgbox ("you can't do that!")
end if
Tiggz
Reply #27 Tuesday, February 8, 2005 11:11 AM
that sounds like a great way of going about things, looking forward to trying out the new callbacks and centralized scripts
Reply #27 Tuesday, February 8, 2005 11:11 AM
| Actually we went the other way around. With DesktopX 3 you only need ONE script to manage the whole widget or application. |
that sounds like a great way of going about things, looking forward to trying out the new callbacks and centralized scripts
XX
Reply #28 Tuesday, February 8, 2005 11:44 AM
Wow indeed that is much better.
Hmm based on that, how about script section grouping?
for example, indead of "sub Object_OnLButtonUpEx(name, x, y,"
You get this:
ObjectGroup Name
sub Object_OnLButtonUpEx(x, y,
msgbox "Hello"
end sub
End ObjectGroup
It would add support for multi-object support:
ObjectGroup First,Second,Third,Fourth,Fifth
sub Object_OnLButtonUpEx(x, y,
msgbox "Hello"
end sub
End ObjectGroup
Of course, we would need a name variable to get which object initied the script. Something like ObjectInitName.
ObjectGroup First,Second,Third,Fourth,Fifth
sub Object_OnLButtonUpEx(x, y,
msgbox ObjectInitName & "initited this messagebox!"
end sub
End ObjectGroup
Sorry about long post.
Reply #28 Tuesday, February 8, 2005 11:44 AM
| We are developing new widgets with this new system, and let me say that, it is so much easier to code one script rather than 10 or 20 of them, have variables centralized and initialized in one place, etc. |
Wow indeed that is much better.
Hmm based on that, how about script section grouping?
for example, indead of "sub Object_OnLButtonUpEx(name, x, y,
"You get this:
ObjectGroup Name
sub Object_OnLButtonUpEx(x, y,
msgbox "Hello"
end sub
End ObjectGroup
It would add support for multi-object support:
ObjectGroup First,Second,Third,Fourth,Fifth
sub Object_OnLButtonUpEx(x, y,
msgbox "Hello"
end sub
End ObjectGroup
Of course, we would need a name variable to get which object initied the script. Something like ObjectInitName.
ObjectGroup First,Second,Third,Fourth,Fifth
sub Object_OnLButtonUpEx(x, y,
msgbox ObjectInitName & "initited this messagebox!"
end sub
End ObjectGroup
Sorry about long post.
c242
Reply #29 Wednesday, February 9, 2005 3:47 AM
This would be near to label offsets I am demanding for months now, as they have been there in older versions.
Also I know I sound like a broken record, but DesktopX 3 could come with a more comfortable mail-plugin (functions like Sysmetrix) and some more informations for the trash-plugin. Wouldn't it be great to have some nice mail-monitoring widgets also ?
Reply #29 Wednesday, February 9, 2005 3:47 AM
| objectName.label.align="right" objectName.label.valign="bottom" |
This would be near to label offsets I am demanding for months now, as they have been there in older versions.
Also I know I sound like a broken record, but DesktopX 3 could come with a more comfortable mail-plugin (functions like Sysmetrix) and some more informations for the trash-plugin. Wouldn't it be great to have some nice mail-monitoring widgets also ?
filube
Reply #30 Saturday, February 12, 2005 12:22 PM
Reply #30 Saturday, February 12, 2005 12:22 PM
Is DesktopX 3 downward compatible? Will "old" DesktopX-Widgets and objects still work, especially consideriing that the scripting will be centralized?
Frogboy
Reply #31 Saturday, February 12, 2005 1:06 PM
Reply #31 Saturday, February 12, 2005 1:06 PM
Scripting can be centralized, it doesn't require it to be centralized. You can still make objects the old way too.
Superboy007
Reply #32 Monday, February 14, 2005 5:32 AM
Reply #32 Monday, February 14, 2005 5:32 AM
I would like to see a text box plugin that would let you use custom images for the text box and the scrollbars and let you read from a txt file so we don't have to use an activeX control. And be able to control which file to use from a script.
Leszek Karcz
Reply #33 Monday, February 14, 2005 6:29 PM
Reply #33 Monday, February 14, 2005 6:29 PM
I would like to have a line object, so I could give (X,Y) position of start and (X,Y) position of end, line size and color and it will generate a line. Its a lot of work to create a picture of line and it takes too much CPU to rotate it every time it need to be changed, resized etc.
Thomas Thomassen
Reply #34 Monday, February 14, 2005 7:48 PM
Reply #34 Monday, February 14, 2005 7:48 PM
Improved script editor. For instance it'd be nice if it could generate the events and functions availible.
Ability to set prefered scripting language. I want to use JS instead of VB but allways have to remove the default VB script and change the language everytime I make a new script.
Have objects be an instance of another. (You change one, and it affects the rest. All though you want the option to have some parts of it remain unchanged. Example scenario, you make a shortcut object, you want them to have different label and execute different programs, but have the script and basic graphics remain the same.)
Text objects that can wrap text. (Really really want this.)
Email plugin that let you set the port it uses.
Be able to place controls that looks like part of the standard windows GUI. (That uses the WB skinning if applied of course.)
Searchable help file. Normal helpfile or HTML base helpfile as oppose to the large PDF document. I really prefer to use proper helpfiles where I can enter keywords and get a list of matches. This is spesificly aimed to the scripting documentation. (Documentation next to each feature of when it was availible would be nice. I now the history file got some info, but it's a but akward checking it up against the documentation.)
Ability to set prefered scripting language. I want to use JS instead of VB but allways have to remove the default VB script and change the language everytime I make a new script.
Have objects be an instance of another. (You change one, and it affects the rest. All though you want the option to have some parts of it remain unchanged. Example scenario, you make a shortcut object, you want them to have different label and execute different programs, but have the script and basic graphics remain the same.)
Text objects that can wrap text. (Really really want this.)
Email plugin that let you set the port it uses.
Be able to place controls that looks like part of the standard windows GUI. (That uses the WB skinning if applied of course.)
Searchable help file. Normal helpfile or HTML base helpfile as oppose to the large PDF document. I really prefer to use proper helpfiles where I can enter keywords and get a list of matches. This is spesificly aimed to the scripting documentation. (Documentation next to each feature of when it was availible would be nice. I now the history file got some info, but it's a but akward checking it up against the documentation.)
XX
Reply #35 Monday, February 14, 2005 9:18 PM
PDF files is search able.
Yes, please!! It's boring looking up in help file on what events is supported AND I gonna copy and paste it in script.
That's one of major pet peeves of mine. Just a window that has ready to go events would help very much. For example, I could just click somewhere I want code to be added, then press "mouse_enter" or something and entire sub code appears, ready for code for mouse_enter to be added.
Reply #35 Monday, February 14, 2005 9:18 PM
| Normal helpfile or HTML base helpfile as oppose to the large PDF document |
PDF files is search able.
| For instance it'd be nice if it could generate the events and functions available. |
Yes, please!! It's boring looking up in help file on what events is supported AND I gonna copy and paste it in script.
That's one of major pet peeves of mine. Just a window that has ready to go events would help very much. For example, I could just click somewhere I want code to be added, then press "mouse_enter" or something and entire sub code appears, ready for code for mouse_enter to be added.
Alberto
Reply #37 Tuesday, February 15, 2005 3:43 AM
On the list for March, 1.
Done. We have System.Clipboard (read/write)
The plan is to make everything scriptable. Not sure if *everything* will be in March 1 build. Font size will be easy though.
That's up to the widget authors. Unfortunately almost no one follows that design rules. I think we documented somewhere how such objects should behave and offer a On/Off switch.
Done. New mail plugin is totally scriptable and supports the number of unread mails.
There is a technical limitation in order to enhance the Trash-plugin to display the number of items. It would cause an huge CPU hit if we did so.
Done internally (max width, max height, autowrap, etc).
Reply #37 Tuesday, February 15, 2005 3:43 AM
| I would like the ability to change the shortcut target of an object with script - this would be especially handy for folder objects. |
On the list for March, 1.
| Also, scripted access to the system clipboard would be nice. |
Done. We have System.Clipboard (read/write)
| And scripted manipulation of font size and style would be great. |
The plan is to make everything scriptable. Not sure if *everything* will be in March 1 build. Font size will be easy though.
| On/Off toggle for netcentric apps for dial-up users. When I'm not on the net, I have two choices, unload DX or click to close the dial-up window that keeps popping open. For example I would like the weather widget I'm using to wait for me to connect to the net, not keep trying to connect on its own....off mode. |
That's up to the widget authors. Unfortunately almost no one follows that design rules. I think we documented somewhere how such objects should behave and offer a On/Off switch.
| Also I know I sound like a broken record, but DesktopX 3 could come with a more comfortable mail-plugin (functions like Sysmetrix) and some more informations for the trash-plugin. Wouldn't it be great to have some nice mail-monitoring widgets also ? |
Done. New mail plugin is totally scriptable and supports the number of unread mails.
There is a technical limitation in order to enhance the Trash-plugin to display the number of items. It would cause an huge CPU hit if we did so.
| Text objects that can wrap text. |
Done internally (max width, max height, autowrap, etc).
Leszek Karcz
Reply #38 Tuesday, February 15, 2005 6:36 AM
Reply #38 Tuesday, February 15, 2005 6:36 AM
And how about a line object, do yo have it in plans? It would be very usefull. Im now working on graph calculator object, and the line is made of lots of one pixel objects but when the function is growing very fast the space betwen each pixel is too big, and it doesnt look too good.
RomanDA
Reply #39 Tuesday, February 15, 2005 6:52 AM
Reply #39 Tuesday, February 15, 2005 6:52 AM
I brought this up in the IRC chat, but PLEASE add..
1. "STATE" Preview for images in the STATE tab
2. Ability to EXPORT images from the STATE tab
3. Ability to EDIT images from teh STATE tab
Any way to make things easier for me to see the state images.
Thanks!
1. "STATE" Preview for images in the STATE tab
2. Ability to EXPORT images from the STATE tab
3. Ability to EDIT images from teh STATE tab
Any way to make things easier for me to see the state images.
Thanks!
Thomas Thomassen
Reply #40 Tuesday, February 15, 2005 8:57 AM
Yes I know, but I dont feel comfortable with the PDF search. prefer the HTML file method of organizin the content. Not a major issue, but it'd be a nice plus.
Reply #40 Tuesday, February 15, 2005 8:57 AM
| PDF files is search able. |
Yes I know, but I dont feel comfortable with the PDF search. prefer the HTML file method of organizin the content. Not a major issue, but it'd be a nice plus.
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Reply #21 Monday, February 7, 2005 8:38 PM
DesktopX can already use Flash files right now. There are Flash widgets available here on WinCustomize.
People say WindowBlinds is a resource hog even though that's obviously not true. In what way were you using DesktopX that made it feel like a resource hog? On its own, even DesktopX 2 uses relatively little memory, CPU, or other resources.