sneak preview from the lab...
Published on July 9, 2007 By Dr W - Fences Support In OS Customization
Sneak preview of a potential new technology for the desktop that's brewing - Icon Organizing. Create areas on the desktop that apply a customizable graphic effect to the background, resize/move the areas and have the icons go with them, icons can auto-arrange independently within the areas... can choose a specific area for new icons to go to automatically, fold up areas, show a 'details' explorer view of a subfolder as a desktop area...etc etc.



What do you think!
Comments (Page 1)
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on Jul 09, 2007
I don't have regular icons on my desktop. Cleaner without them...
on Jul 09, 2007
I think thats a great Idea sir.......
on Jul 09, 2007
Does this have a name? I think it's a great idea and would love to be kept informed on your progress.

tigerlaz@msn.com
on Jul 09, 2007
What do you think!


Hey Jeff, the answer depends on whether it will be a Vista only thing or would it be for us XPers as well.
on Jul 09, 2007
Icons on the desktop....thats sacrilegious! Wait till the developer of ObjectDock hears about this!
on Jul 09, 2007
Icons on the desktop....thats sacrilegious! Wait till the developer of ObjectDock hears about this!


on Jul 09, 2007
Reminds me of program groups from the Win 3.x days. Can You close the areas also ? Wouldn't be bad to have this technology in DesktopX.
on Jul 09, 2007
I have my systems set to not show icons. Mainly due to how cluttered it can look. If it could be set to show some and hide others I'd be interested.
on Jul 09, 2007
I've created similar groups and shortcuts within DesktopX over the years so I think it's a fine idea.

Add a hotkey or hotspot to hide a specific or all groups and you're set.  Of course, at that point it's almost a  . . . dock. 
on Jul 09, 2007
Add a hotkey or hotspot to hide a specific or all groups and you're set. Of course, at that point it's almost a . . . dock


My thoughts also, I guess if you don't like ObjectDock this would be good for you. If you don't like OD though, where are you located...I'll send a couple gorillas over there...
on Jul 09, 2007
Nice idea!
Will this be for XP as well as Vista?
Still Vista free here so it would be good to know.  
on Jul 09, 2007
Great idea. I tend to organize by project but, know some people who organize by file type. This would definitely be beneficial for them being able to set up specific project areas filled with the respective shortcuts.
on Jul 09, 2007
Icons on the desktop....thats sacrilegious! Wait till the developer of ObjectDock hears about this!


Hahaha, I finish this up and you may find me beating myself up in some parking garage like in fight club or liar liar.

XP and Vista definitely.
Actually, on XP a neat side-effect of something I have to do anyways would be that that special semi-transparent selection rectangle that Vista has will be on XP too That stuff is already in XP its just disabled because of a technical shortcoming in background drawing in XP that the organizer can overcome. The only Vista-only features I see are the ability to show *other* folders on the desktop in details view/etc. (E.g. right click a folder icon on the desktop and say "expand" and instead of being an icon anymore it'll be a resizable explorer view of itself on the desktop. Vista only there.)

haha btw, c242, haha totally reminded me of old program manager at first too. just no minimizing areas of icons into yet another icon, thats a no-no. lol.


-Jeff
on Jul 09, 2007
hah btw, a piece of trivia for all you old users of Windows 3-1...the "desktop" window in Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP and even all the way through Vista? The assigned (but not visible of course) class name of the frameless-window that is the desktop itself....is "Progman", short of course for "Program Manager" Thinking about it, I think it even spells it out in full as the 'title' of the window.
on Jul 11, 2007

Lantec: just noticed your post sorry. Yes, I intend to have it be so you can have some icons always visible and others sometimes visible.

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