Active Desktop Tutorial

[sshenriksen]

OK. I have the code in there and I still get the same problem. It is within a script tag. What was that link for that you put. Is that to activate the script or something? ME

Thank you though.

 

[Mooz]

ok ....

the script is a function ... a block of code that may be called to do a common task . in this case launch an exe

the link calls the script ...

if you arent clicking the link the script will not do anything at all

in the same way that a desktop icon does nothing till clicked

when you click the link the function is called passing into it the name and path of the executable that you want to run

i hope that makes sense.

mooz

 

[zalood]

mooz . .

sorry . . no offense . . have you tried the script yourself ?
many of us only knows minimally about html not to mention scripting . . i would suggest that you post a complete guidance on posting a script.

madmatt . .

madmatt.xperience . . .
i hate to see a dropdownlist on my desktop . . managed to get rid of it. but i would like to show/combined two headlines, say . . main and security . . how can i do this ?

thanks

 

[SPeedY_B]

Blap.

I don't think the headlines can be mixed, the security and main sections use 2 different backends, parsing the 2 and merging the results would be awkward, perhaps you could run 2 instances of MADMATT.xperience one without the header etc (can be set in xperience.php)

 

[zalood]

SPeedY_B . .

thanks for quick response . . will try using 2 instances of madmatt.xperience using frame or iframe . . logically this should work . .will it? maybe by having a copy of xperience.php and name to xperience02.php ?

[edit]

yes it works . . thanks again

 

[sshenriksen]

Originally posted by Mooz
the warning is built into ie when the browser recieves a file that it cant interpret it allows you to download or open it //// thus the warning

Yes there is a warning, but at the bottom of that is a faded checkmark. Which means I can not uncheck it. This is all I want to know: How am I allowed to uncheck it? It is win XP

Sune

 

[beanieman]

Originally posted by Mooz
can i have a quick show of hands on the ppl that know HTML javascript and possible a bit of VB (objects)

??????

well, I know a little javascript coding, and as for vb... I think I went to the doctor as a child and got a shot to prevent gettting vb, I think
(me knows nothing about vb)

 

[zalood]

]Yes there is a warning . .

suggest you follow madmatt's tutorial line by line and in particular the creation of vbscript for a link . . guaranteed you solved your problem.

 

[Piett]

i did a course and a half of VB in highschool, but none of that was web based, all in forms. I don't know the different applet commands and whatnot

 

[madmatt]

uhm. hmm. okay.

Let me get one thing straight here. Mooz posted a function, however, nothing from that function (at least as it appears to me) is different than the one in the tutorial. Therefore, it cannot work without the commands from the VBS files that you must create (per my tutorial). The commands within the VBS file tell the function how to work and what to launch.

I use the VBS and shortcut method for various reasons and I will not touch on those reasons.

If Mooz says it works, then Mooz' method may work for executable files, but it will not work for launching folders (such as My Document, unless you want MSIE to open them rather than Explorer).

But, as I said, I see no difference between the code.

If I am wrong, then I am wrong and I will apologize in advance.

All functions within the tutorial have been tested by numerous persons and are guaranteed to work under any setup (a tweak or minor changes must be applied under certain setups) and I will not guarantee a fix for any other method besides the ones in the tutorial.

I promise to bring the best to my fellow active desktop users and if I am granted the proper time I will create new functions, fully tested, guaranteed to work, and 100% supported and release them to the public. Remember though, I do this for free so I will not rush things.

I appreciate all the comments, emails, IMs, PMs I have received over the past month and that's what keeps me going.

Thank you.

zalood, in my next version of MMXP I will add an option to display the dropdown and search box. Thanks for the idea.

 

[zalood]

The only difference my eyes can spot is matt's ended the exec function with double } and mooz's with only one } . . but i don't know what that means.

 

[Mooz]

ummm hmmm uh oh

where to begin

1) the function that i posted is a direct copy of maddmatt tut' function and it was posted purely as an example method. nothing has changed there at all ...

2) the reason that shortcuts are needed is the long file name issue (ie space in file names) is thus, when you use the scripting engine to execute a file name that is long and has spaces in any operating system newer than windows 98SE the scripting engine only sees up to the 8th character or to the first space.

STOP PRESS

now pay attention i will be asking questions later!!!

if you want to run a long file name you can use this trick. i learnt this by playing with the run box in windows. and looking at the code used to create shortcuts in languages like VB.

example executable :
C:\program files\microsoft office\office10\winword.exe

now due to the two spaces you would need to encapsulate the string in Quotes (single or double makes no difference)

ie : "C:\program files\microsoft office\office10\winword.exe"

the scripting engine then starts using the long filename and works like a dream..

finally ::::

if you want to launch a folder window then do this ... another trick learnt from the run box ./... windows explorer has some command line switches .. on of which allows you to specify how and where it opens.

so if you exec the following string

"explorer.exe c:\"

explorer will pop up with one pane (like my computer) at the root of your c drive, further more as with the long file names if you want to open a folder that has spaces or is over the 8 characters then do the following.

"explorer.exe 'C:\program files'"

thats the path encapsulated in single quotes and the exec string encapsulated in single quotes.

phew ...

now i hope that that has helped somebody out there, this has been tested on win98SE winME win2000 (workstation) and winXP Pro (although home is no different) on both NTFS and FAT32

i hope that this clears up any previous confusions but if not i will be posting my COMPLETE desktop in a zip file next week if anyone wants it?????? this has all the execs, MESSENGER ON THE DESKTOP WORKING.... hotmail and a SH*** load more

merry xmas

Mooz

 

[Jason Roberts]

Hey! Its been a while I haven't even got a chance to get on to the net. I have recently moved out of my parent's place and into my own place - a flat on the main road in town. A very good place to live.

Ok now I got my own phone and Electricity on, I can go back to surfing this sites.

Update: While I would not be able to put my phone on, I have completely overhauled my desktop. The reminder box has been working very well since I change its look.

Not quite finished. I will leave the space next to the notepad for messenger, calculator and/or calender.

How u think of it?

 

[zalood]

the function that i posted is a direct copy of maddmatt tut' function and it was posted purely as an example method. nothing has changed there at all ...

ummm . . no wonder it didn't work . . one closing bracket is missing.

add another closing bracket . . and it works . .
(still need the vb script tho)

 

[dworn]

just working on a dhtm version of the active desktop...

this is what i got so far... see screenshot... i just have a red dot with start... if i press it, i have different categories for navigation... e.g. i click on "online" it will show me the programs i defined for online... if i press a blue dot, it will start the program... still beta, but it works ... somehow..

 

[Mooz]

lol dworn is that not the script off of DHTML Central ... aka tom bratti ??? its a good script but i found that it all got a bit confusing on the desktop... good luck to you though i would like to see the finished article.

mooz

 

[dworn]

thats the one... sice somebody mentioned that site i started trying different things.... for my needs it is just what i want... but still i got a problem... the text itself looks fine, but as soon as i click start, the start text seems to become double text, as a second layer with the same caption is created but with 1px to the left... in mozilla the page is correct... only with ie6 and within the active desktop this happens...

 

[beanieman]

I just got to thinking (dangerous, I know) ... I have seen a lot of vb, Dhtml, html, etc.. but not very many people are using any flash objects on their desktops. Is there a reason for this?
I think some really cool effects could be made with flash, but maybe there is a good reason NOT to use flash, that I am not aware of..?

 

[Mooz]

dworn, having used this script i found that issue too. my work around was to realign the layers in the code that thomas supplied, if you get stuck with this mail me your source and i will do it for you ....

Mooz

 

[SPeedY_B]

Originally posted by beanieman
I just got to thinking (dangerous, I know) ... I have seen a lot of vb, Dhtml, html, etc.. but not very many people are using any flash objects on their desktops. Is there a reason for this?
I think some really cool effects could be made with flash, but maybe there is a good reason NOT to use flash, that I am not aware of..?

I'd think it'd be quite a resource hog to have on your desktop all the time.
Plus its not that easy to make and the Flash program itself is quite expensive.