About
Deskwin
Deskwin
is a virtual desktop manager. Instead of having
one desktop on which all windows are shown, you can now have multiple
ones,
each with its own set of windows. You can switch between desktop by
clicking
on a desktop in the deskwin window or using a hotkey.
Unlike other virtual desktop managers, deskwin will
also
remove the invisible windows from Windows’ taskbar.
Home page
Deskwin
is developed by Peter van Sebille. Please send
comments and bug reports to deskwin@yipton.net
Don't forget to mention the version you're using (as
mentioned in the about dialog).
Features
Docking
When you move the deskwin window close enough to
the edges of the screen it will automatically dock itself. You can
configure
whether or not deskwin should dock.
Auto
hiding
You can configure deskwin to automatically hide itself
except for a small area. Autohiding will only occur when the deskwin is
docked and not used for a while (typically a few seconds). Deskwin will
then move itself out of the screen, except for a small area. When you
move
the mouse over the area that is still visible, deskwin will move itself
to a fully visible position.
Hotkeys
Hotkeys allow for quick desktop switching. You can
assign
hotkeys per desktop and hotkeys for navigating to the next and previous
desktop. In addition there is a hotkey to hide the explorer window. The
latter can be useful when you run an X Server on your windows 9x/NT
machine.
Moving
windows to a different desktop
Simply click a small window in one of the deskwin
desktop
windows and drag it to a new desktop. When
dragging desktops around in the small deskwin window (either on the
current
desktop or to others) the default behaviour is to set the window to the
position
you dragged it to; if you want to retain the window's original
position,
hold the CTRL key when you release the left mouse button.
Closing
down deskwin
When you close down the deskwin application, it will
move all the windows to the first desktop.
Restore
after crash
When deskwin is restarted after a crash, it will make
all windows that were hidden during the previous session visible again.
Configuration
Resizing
When you drag the deskwin window from one of its
corners,
you can resize its window. The individual desktop windows will drag
with
the window as well.
The
number of desktops
Selecting the number of desktops can be done by
dragging
from the right bottom corner of the deskwin window while
holding
the control-key down. When decreasing the total number of desktops,
deskwin
will move all windows on desktops that are about to be removed to the
last
desktop.
Appearance
Deskwin can be configured to always be on top of all
other windows. In addition, you can configure deskwin to display an
icon
in the system tray. The icon can either be deskwin's default icon
(which
will the same for all desktops) or an icon representing the current
desktop
number.
Options
When right clicking with the mouse in the deskwin
window,
you get a popup menu from which you can select the options for docking,
autohide and hotkeys. A few options cannot (yet) be configured from the
GUI, so you may want to look at the registry at:
\CurrentUser\Software\Suldrun\Deskwin.
In case you're wondering..., Suldrun is my Ltd
company's
name ;-)
License
Deskwin is released under the terms of the GNU General
Public License (GPL). See the file copying for
more
information.
History
Version
1.6.1:
- Fixed problems in audio handling (toggle mute and
up/down volume). Deskwin now queries the preferred audio device rather
than using audio device 0.
Version
1.6:
- Added restore-after-crash feature, based on patch
from Ryan Smith
- Better support when switching desktops when
applications are hung. Switching desktops is now asynchronously and
deskwin will monitor such hung applications to ensure they are visible
again when they stop hanging. Note that there is a
one second delay when switching desktops if there is a hung
application because deskwin is waiting for the hung application to
continue running.
- Fixed bug where stickywindow rules are off by one
desktop after a restart.
Version
1.5:
- Added hotkeys for master volume up/down and mute.
- Added "readme" option to context senstive
menu. It will launch the web browser showing the readme contents.
Version 1.4.1:
- Fixed bug where in Window 95/98/ME newly created
windows will not appear in the taskbar.
Version
1.4:
- Feature:
retain window position when dragging when holding
the CTRL key (see section on "Moving windows to a different desktop")
- Feature:
added new option for appearance. You can specify whether deskwin is
always
on top of all other windows and also to display an icon in the system
tray.
- Feature:
The system tray icon can either be a number representing the current
desktop
number or the deskwin icon. For the desktop number icons you can
configure
the foreground and background color.
- Feature: added a hotkey to bring deskwin to top
which is useful if "always-on-top" is disabled.
- Cosmetic: the cursor will change when hovering
the mouse above the frame of the deskwin mini window to indicate it can
be moved.
- Cosmetic: changed some default settings to make
deskwin more esthetically pleasing when started for the first time.
- Cosmetic: made some changes to the about
dialog.
- Fixed bug when dragging windows across desktops
and releasing the mouse outside the deskwin mini window.
- Fixed bug where "shadow" debris from tooltips
stay on screen in Windows XP.
- Fixed bug when switching when XP-style start menu
is visible.
Version
1.3.6:
- Fixed bug where deskwin would not display when
started.
- Replaced "yipton.demon.co.uk" with "yipton.net"
Version
1.3.5:
- Truly fixed a bug where a win16 could crash
when
exited (the fix in 1.3.4 doesn't work).
- Fixed autohide bug.
Version
1.3.4:
- Fixed a bug where a win16 could crash when
exited.
- Fixed bug where deskwin would hide the desktop
when switching desktops after using the "clear desktop" button in the
taskbar.
Version
1.3.3:
- Fixed a bug when running version 1.3 for the
first
time.
When
switching desktops, all windows including the shell and the taskbar
were hidden.
- Changed source to compile with VC++ 6.
Version 1.3.2:
- Fixed a crash bug when importing from window
list
(in the
sticky window rule dialog).
- Fixed a problem which affects Windows 9x + ME
machines only
(not NT 4.0 or 2000). On these platforms, deskwin didn't properly
switch
desktops, newly opened windows didn't show on the task bar and pressing
the windows key didn't pop up the task menu. Note, the fix was in the
deskwin.dll
so make sure to replace it.
Version 1.3.1:
- Fixed some sticky windows problems and made it
more
fool
proof. The three "system rules" cannot be deleted in the options
dialog,
can only be partially edited and will be recreated on startup if not
defined
in the registry.
Version
1.3:
- Fixed divide by 0 bug in autohiding.
- Fixed inconsistency in drawing the deskwin
framewindow
- Added support for sticky windows
- Added the feature to show the deskwin window by
mouse click
rather than mouse movement
Version 1.2:
- Moved window to foreground after it being
dragged
to other
desktops
- Added hotkey to minimise all windows on the
active
desktop
Version 1.1:
- Fixed resource leak in WM_PAINT
- Deskwin window position/size is saved when
shutting
down
windows
- Added configuration dialog for color options
- Better support for moving windows when
maximised
(thanks
to Daniel Zahn)
- Builds for VC++ 6 (thanks to Daniel Zahn)
- Added hyperlink buttons in about dialog
- Slightly changed the configuration for hotkeys
Version
1.0: Initial version
Known
problems
- The hotkey configuration window may show an
alternative key
combination then you one pressed. For example, when selecting "CRTL +
right
arrow" as a hotkey, "Ctrl + Right" is shown. When pressing OK and
reselecting
the dialog again, "Ctrl + Num 6" is displayed. This is beyond my
control
and cannot be changed. Note that both "Ctrl + Right" and "Ctrl + Num 6"
will work.
- Sticky windows is far from perfect.
Acknowledgements
Deskwin
uses Michael Hansen's C++ class wrapper for the
Win32 API (a good MFC alternative). His work is released under the GNU
GPL as well.
Deskwin uses Marc Stern's ACTLIB for its regular
expression
routines. Daniel Zahn for his comments and source contributions. Chris
to report the crashbug fixed in 1.3.2.