I Love DesktopX: February 2009

I suck at introductions. Let's get on with the show!

Outstanding General Info

Daybreak Widget Pack by Fairyy~

It’s a widget pack from Fairyy~. Need I say more? She has a knack for creating stylish, usable widgets that just look good on the desktop. I really like the soothing color combination on this one and the very simple layout. And they’re not huge, which is always a plus for me.

The widget pack includes 3 weather widgets, 2 calendar widgets, and a clock widget, each in different styles so you can pick which color style suits you or, like me, you can mix and match.

With the official start of spring just 20 days away (woot!), these really put me in a cheerful mood.

Most Creative/Original

Lightning Ball Version 2 by zigboom

Behold! Harness the power of nature on your desktop! This one just tickled my fancy, and isn’t that what being creative is all about?

Yes, it’s eye candy. Eye candy is good. I love eye candy. Everyone needs a little eye candy in their desktop diet.

I’m really glad zigboom made a second version because the first was a little big (and y’all know how I prize my desktop real estate.) This second version also changes color, which looks really nice. Works best with dark walls.

I’ve never seen a lightning ball before, so it definitely qualifies as creative and original.

Most Innovative/Resourceful

Standalone Animator Script Component by Littleboy

This one’s for DX Builders and is a really cool object to have. It will, in essence, allow you to add neat fading, moving, rotating, resizing and frame animation effects to whatever you’re building.

And when I say neat effects I mean REALLY neat effects, like elastic moving where the object slides, overshoots, and yo-yos until settling into position. I’ve always wondered how that was done. Now I can just add this component to my object, make a few script adjustments and voila! I now have professional effects.

If you’re not used to scripting it won’t be quite as easy as I make it sound. But included in the zip is an example widget, the script component, and instructions. Using those, and after about an hour or so, I finally put the right pieces of code together. Overall, the relevant code was only some 26 lines at maximum, and it worked great!

What would’ve really taken the cake? If the sample widget actually generated the necessary script to paste in your object, much like Skarn’s DX Form Generator. As it is, though, it’s most definitely innovative. So, big thanks to Littleboy for kindly sharing this!

(Note: Do read & observe the copyright rules if you’re going to use this in your skin. And if you need a little help getting it to work, just ask.)

DX Theme of the Month

MRX V Black by Murex

Murex had created MRX V, the original, and I absolutely loved it. Then, he made one in black. *drools*

All the standard features are included: clock, startmenu, shortcuts, weather, media, calendar, system info, cursor—the works.

And all of that can be completely hidden. In-depth information slides in and out, and the menus themselves can be toggled on or off.

What I like most about the theme is the unique design; it’s intricately detailed, but on the whole it remains very lightweight. There’s a lot of artwork to look at and admire, but it’s not at all busy.

There are subtle animations sprinkled throughout the theme (the color/opacity fade on the startmenu text, the flashing gizmo on the center menu), which add to the overall feel that the author spent a good amount of time and energy getting it right, pondering what would make this theme original.

It is amazingly well-balanced between function and design, pizzazz and usability. This is no small feat. My hats off to the author.

Go download this theme!

Renaming a Shortcut Label

(or whatever your text object is supposed to be)

Got a request for this during the month and thought I’d share it here.

What the script does:

- Allows end-user to rename/edit text without having to switch to DXBuilder

- Truncates text to a specified length

- Shows full text in tool tip

This can be useful for many things, not just the aforementioned shortcut label.

First we need to set up two objects.

1. “parent”

2. “shortcut1”, text object, parent = “parent”, child = “yes”

You should have this:

Next, open the properties of the “parent” object. Create a new script. Copy and paste this script into the “parent” object.

'==============================

' INSTRUCTIONS

'

' This script goes in the parent object of the shortcuts

'--Add more cases for more shortcuts

'--Change maxW variable to your maximum allowed width

'==============================

'Called when L-click on object or its children

Function Object_OnLButtonUpEx(obj, x, y, dragged)

            If dragged Then Exit Function

            Select Case obj.name

                        Case "shortcut1" '---replace with the name of shortcut

                                    iBox(obj.name)

                        Case "shortcut2"

                                    iBox(obj.name)

                        'Add more cases for more shortcuts

                        'Case "another shortcut"

                                    'iBox(obj.name)

            End Select      

End Function

'--- Input Box ---

Function iBox(obj)

            Dim Input

            Input = InputBox("Enter Text", "Change Shortcut Text",DesktopX.Object(obj).tooltiptext)

            If strCheck(Input) = "t" Then

                        DesktopX.Object(obj).text = Input

                        DesktopX.Object(obj).tooltiptext = Input

                        truncateTxt(obj)

            End If

End Function

'--Check if input is not blank (or spaces) ---

Function strCheck(strg)

            Dim abet, nums

            abet = "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"

            nums = "0123456789"

            chk = "f"

            strg2 = LCase(strg)

            For x = 1 To len(abet)

                        g = Mid(abet,x,1)

                        If  Instr(strg2,g) > 0 Then       chk = "t"

            Next

            If chk = "f" Then

                        For y = 1 To len(nums)

                                    g =Mid(nums,y,1)

                                    If Instr(strg2,g) > 0 Then chk = "t"

                        Next

            End If

            strCheck = chk

End Function

'--- Truncate Text to a minimum length--

Function truncateTxt(obj)

            maxW = 200 '--change the value to max allowed width

            If DesktopX.Object(obj).width > maxW Then

                        While DesktopX.Object(obj).width > maxW

                                    DesktopX.Object(obj).text = Mid(desktopX.Object(obj).text,1,len(DesktopX.Object(obj).text) - 4) & "..."

                        Wend

            End If

End Function

The script works in four parts:

-OnLButtonUpEx, we check which shortcut has been clicked and then open the input box. (This could just as well be OnRButtonUpEx, by the way.)

-Function iBox, we display the input box, get user input, and call the other function to check if the input contains actual text. If everything checks out, it sets the new tooltip, text, and calls the function to truncate the object.

-Function strCheck, we check the user’s input for letters or numbers. If none are found, the input is blank and is not accepted.

-Function truncateTxt, we run a loop that continuously shortens the length of the text until it reaches the maximum allowed width. Then, we add ellipses to show there is more text than what appears.

That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!

Resources:

DX Scripting - DesktopX User's Guide

VBScript Functions - W3Schools.com

Goings-on in the Community

Over the last month, I’ve seen more people checking out RomanDA’s step-by-step tutorials. I’ve seen more posts asking for help in figuring out one DX issue or the other. I’ve seen more activity in the DX themes gallery. I’ve seen more activity in the DX object gallery. And I’ve gotten a noticeable amount of emails/PMs asking for specific DX help.

I could very well be imagining things, but, is DesktopX making a comeback? I’ve always believed that DesktopX has great potential waiting to be transformed into kinetic creativity.

Case in point:

This is OCCAM, a WIP DesktopX theme by PoSmedley. You may have read his post about it here.

It's a brilliant concept and I think it’ll be a smash hit once completed. It’s been interesting to read Po's progress on the theme as well.

It’s this kind of visible activity that sparks interest about the program, feeds creativity, fuels excitement, and cultivates can-do-too-ness. I’d like to see more of it.

So, if you’ve got a DX work in progress, or even a concept in progress, tell us about it below. (Don't leave me hangin' people!)

Huh? What? What have I been up to?

Well, I’ve spent the entire last month collaborating on a gadget with a friend for a gaming website. We’ve disagreed, agreed, butt heads, put our heads together, and the thing is almost ready for beta testing (I wonder if there are any Street Fighter Online players on WC.)

I’m pretty much a loner when it comes to creating widgets/gadgets so this was a new experience for me. He really helped push me to strive for excellence. Sure, I’d wince, groan, dread the amount of time and coding it would take, and pull my hair out over stupid errors, but when all was said and done I’d be pretty darn proud of what we accomplished. I’ve learned a lot and I’ve improved a lot. Such is the joy of DXing!

So, fellow DXers, what’ve you been up to? Share your pics or concepts below.

Huh? What? Where’s my pic? Okay, here: LINK