WorkShelf History (c) Copyright 1999-2008 by Jorge M.R.Coelho Winstep Software Technologies E-mail: support@winstep.net WWW: http://www.winstep.net -------------------------- Version 2.5 build 606 - February 20, 2008 - Xtreme 8.2 Official Release New Features: * Querying the Recycle Bin for size and number of items can be very slow if the bin is filled with thousands of files. This query should only occur for Recycle bin related activities now, which can significantly speed things up over previous versions when doing a lot of file operations. * Added statistical data collection. * WorkShelf now uses a different - and faster - method to retrieve process performance information for the CPU monitor module on XP SP1 systems and above. * The clock module should now assume the correct 24 Hour or AM/PM time format for the user's location when Workshelf runs for the first time. * The Weather Module should now assume the correct Metric/Imperial Units (e.g. temperatures in C or F) for the user's location when Workshelf runs for the first time. * WIN9X: Winstep Xtreme now uses Aero LowRes instead of PixOS as the default theme. * The dock magnify animation is now a bit faster and smoother. * The 'Show Start Menu' Internal Command now automatically positions the Windows Start Menu next to the mouse pointer. * Added a new ? default icon to be displayed when the item's icon or file cannot be found. * Added New Internal Command: 'Capture Desktop'. Saves a screenshot of your current desktop into the Windows Desktop as a JPG file. * The Exit WorkShelf/Winstep Xtreme confirmation dialog now allows the user to set if WorkShelf/NextSTART runs automatically at Windows Startup. * Moved the Create, Duplicate, Delete and Make Shelf from Dock NeXuS context menu options into a 'Dock Management' sub-menu. * WorkShelf is now able to expand environment variables e.g. %SYSTEMROOT%, %HOMEPATH%, etc... +++ * Minimized windows with no stored snapshot are now displayed as icons instead of small window titlebars. * Explorer tasks now display the correct folder icon on tasklist docks/shelves with icon sizes larger than 32x32. * Removed another unnecessary instance where Recycler bin contents were still being enumerated. * Speeded up WorkShelf startup by improving the way settings are read from the Windows Registry. * Speeded up the enumeration of NICs at startup if the user has not selected one to monitor yet. * Improved the detection of the correct NIC to monitor when running for the first time. * Added a 'Run As Admin' (VISTA) or 'Run As Another User' (NT/W2k/XP) option for program items in the Item Properties Dialog box. This allows the user to launch an item that requires elevation without having to right click on it first to select 'Run As' from the context menu. Note that, unlike the context menu option, this method also works for documents: the document is passed as the argument of the associated application and it is the later that is the target of the elevation prompt. * Changed the Winstep Xtreme folder structure for new users: program data that can be changed by the user is now stored on a Winstep folder inside the Public Documents (Common Documents) folder. This includes the Backup, AutoInstall, Export, Licenses, Themes, NeXus, NetMeter, Icons, Weather and Wanda folders as well as their contents. Xtreme theme files are automatically extracted to this new location. VERY IMPORTANT: this change only applies for 'first time' installations of Winstep Xtreme . The folder structure of current Winstep Xtreme installations is left as it is, except for the Backup and Export folders which are moved to Public Documents. * Added hotkeys to Desktop Modules, which can be set in the Module Preferences tab. Pressing a module hotkey will toggle it between visible and not visible. * The 'Apply to All' button in the Module Preferences tab no longer applies the 'Show in All Shelves' and 'Show on Desktop' settings to all the modules. * The Backup and Restore Settings dialog now remembers the last folder used for backup. * The 'Disable Edge Bumps' setting available in the context menu of WorkShelf's try icon now also disables all hotkeys and dock activation edge bumps. * Added a 'Fonts Manager' button to the Theme Management tab in Preferences that opens a dialog which allows you to quickly and easily replace all the fonts being used in a theme. * VISTA: The WorkShelf Version Rollback, Update Manager and .Xtreme themes Manager applets are now fully Vista compatible. * The backup of the initial default configuration is now made into the \Winstep\Backup folder instead of the main application folder in Program Files. * The Backup and Restore dialogs now point to the \Winstep\Backup folder by default. +++ * VISTA: Winstep Xtreme now runs a service as LOCAL USER to perform tasks that require admin privileges (like synchronizing the clock with the Internet Time servers and installing theme fonts). * Winstep Xtreme can now be registered by double clicking on the registration key (Xtreme.wsxkey). * The Active Network Connections panel now also resolves the hostnames of local addresses. * The Exception Handler dialog now gives the user the option to attempt to continue runing the application or exit it. * If WorkShelf cannot take the task snapshot of a window for 3 times in a row then it permanently quits trying for that particular window. * VISTA: The task manager is now able to Terminate (close) windows belonging to processes running with elevated privileges. * The Active Network Connections panel now offers identical functionality to SysInternal's excelent TcpView utility: you can sort network connections by any field, close connections, terminate processes, retrieve information about processes, perform WHOIS queries, and copy connection data to the clipboard. New, modified and terminated connections are highlighted so it's easier to track what is going on. The new Active Network Connections panel is also MUCH faster and responsive than the previous versions. * VISTA: The Active Network Connections panel can terminate processes and close network connections even if the associated process is running with elevated privileges. * Disabling All Animations in the Global Preferences tab now also disables any sub-dock and context menus opening animations. * On installation Winstep Xtreme now creates a shortcut to the Winstep data folder (in Vista and XP now located in Public Documents) under 'My Documents'. * VISTA: The CPU meter and RAM meter modules are now able to display performance information for *all* processes, including services and applications running with elevated privileges. +++ * Enforced automatic connection time out after 60 seconds to prevent modules communicating through the Internet to remain 'locked', i.e. forever waiting for a connection to close. +++ * You can now optionally specify a theme-specific NeXuS control icon by having a nxControl.ico/.png/.tif file in the theme folder. * The NeXuS sub-dock indicators are now also skinnable: nxSubC.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock closed indicator for a dock attached to the bottom screen edge. nxSubCtop.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock closed indicator for a dock attached to the top screen edge. nxSubCleft.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock closed indicator for a dock attached to the left screen edge. nxSubCright.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock closed indicator for a dock attached to the right screen edge. nxSubO.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock open indicator for a dock attached to the bottom screen edge. nxSubOtop.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock open indicator for a dock attached to the top screen edge. nxSubOleft.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock open indicator for a dock attached to the left screen edge. nxSubOright.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock open indicator for a dock attached to the right screen edge. nxSubM.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock mouseover indicator for a dock attached to the bottom screen edge. nxSubMtop.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock mouseover indicator for a dock attached to the top screen edge. nxSubMleft.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock mouseover indicator for a dock attached to the left screen edge. nxSubMright.ico/.png/.tif Sub-dock mouseover indicator for a dock attached to the right screen edge. If you don't include any of the above bitmaps, NeXuS uses the default indicators. If you only include nxsubc then the same bitmap will be used for all dock orientations and indicator states, and will also be automatically rotated/flipped to match the current dock orientation. If you only include nxsubC, nxsubO and nxsubM then the indicatators will be automatically rotated/flipped to match the other dock orientations. +++ * Renamed 'Delete' to 'Remove' in the context menu of items in docks and regular shelves to emphasize the difference between file system and WorkShelf items. * Dock and Shelf icon sizes can now range from 16x16 to 256x256 in 1 pixel increments. * Added shelf body content offsets. The content offsets are relative to the shelf body non-stretchable area sections. * The 'Shelf Body Advanced Skinning' setting has been removed and replaced by a single setting that applies to both tabs and body. * You can now install theme fonts from the Fonts Manager dialog in Theme Prefs. * Provided a work around for a bug in GDI+ that prevented new fonts installed while WorkShelf was running from being displayed until WorkShelf was restarted. * All settings in the Active Net Connections dialog are now saved between sessions. * The Active Net Connections dialog no longer flickers when trying to resize it below the minimum size. * WorkShelf no longer shows desktop icons on exit if the desktop icons were already hidden when it started. * You can now press ALT to move a dock without having to worry about initiating a drag & drop operation instead by clicking on an item. * Added a 'Enable/Disable Time Announcement' option to the clock module context menu. +++ * Added 'Close CDROM x: Door" internal commands, where x: is the drive letter of any CDROM/DVDROM drive(s) in the system. Fixes: * Dock activation hotkeys were not working. * It was theoretically possible for a dock to auto-collapse before the un-collapse animation finished playing. * Fixed problem where copying a shortcut to a special folder shelf that only acccepted shortcuts (like a 'Send To' shelf) would result in an invalid shortcut. * Empty User Defined tasklist entries (which could cause the tasklist not to show ANY programs) are now disregarded. * WIN9X: The balloon tooltip was popping up 40 pixels more to the left than it should for Dock and Shelf items. * VISTA: The desktop CPU meter now correctly displays the top CPU hogs. Note, however, that the module can only monitor processes that belong to the current user. * VISTA: The UAC prompt no longer appears minimized When running an item that requires elevation. * VISTA: Fixed '?' characters appearing in file dates and overlapping text in the balloon tooltips of file system objects. * The Weather Forecast component of the Weather module was displaying negative temperatures as N/A. * Deleting files directly from a Folder type shelf would not update the Recycle Bin information. * Clicking on Properties for an item was not updating the item's icon if it had changed in the mean time. * The Wanda systray icon context menu commands were not working. * The dock previews in the Dock Style Editor had too many icons. +++ * VISTA: Elevated applications now minimize and restore properly when clicking on task items on the shelf or docks. * Fixed a problem displaying the Desktop Wanda module on Win9x systems or when Wanda was displayed using window regions instead of a layered window. * VISTA: Snapshots of elevated windows no longer display black. The app task icon is displayed instead. * The Net Meter module was not rounding the connection speed number. * Some of the information displayed by the desktop Net Meter module was not being displayed until the module registered network activity. * Fixed an issue with problematic paths that caused icons not to be displayed in the Item Properties dialog box. * VISTA: any click on a UAC prompt was interpreted by WorkShelf as a top left screen corner bump. * Fixed problem displaying the preview of some modules in the Module Preferences tab. * Hotkeys could fire so fast that the same action could be repeated several times before the user had a chance to take his finger off the key. * The Recycler and CPU/RAM hog fonts were not being saved with them theme. * VISTA: Elevated applications no longer show up in the tasklist without the associated exe filename. * Fixed WorkShelf preventing Windows from shutting down properly. +++ * VISTA: The Active Network Connections panel now also displays the process names associated to each connection under Vista. * Deleted Email Accounts of the Email Module came back after a Workshelf restart. * Fixed problem with the WinstepXtreme applet showing a generic VB icon. * Some task icons on the NeXuS dock would disappear instead of flashing. * The Voice Theme (Female or Male) reverted to Female after a reboot. * The shelf would not repaint correctly when un-collapsing if animations had been globally disabled. * The clock module always reported that the clocks matched even if it had just corrected the time by a significant amount. * The 'Exploding' animation when you delete an item no longer takes focus away from the source shelf/dock, which stopped the mouse wheel from working and prevented the user from navigating the shelf/dock using the keyboard until clicking on it. +++ * Path to the Help files was wrong. * VISTA: if the theme wallpaper was JPG then the wallpaper would not 'stick' between reboots. * VISTA: The 'Show Volume Control' internal command wasn't working. * The sub-dock opening sound effect was not playing if animations were disabled. * Items that were being inserted close to the end of a dock or shelf could sometimes be added to the end of the shelf or dock instead of inserted at the choosen position. * When running for the first time, the shelf could take a long time to appear and could even attempt to sync the clock with the Internet Time Servers without being visible yet. * The shelf now only intializes after NextSTART displays the startbar, which should fix a problem where the shelf would sometimes overlap the NextSTART Startbar at startup. * If a file association changed task snapshots of minimized windows would display the small titlebar picture instead of the application icon. +++ * Fixed problem in the Weather data file that caused most cities in Iowa not to be displayed in the Weather Settings panel. +++ * VISTA: WorkShelf was not installing fonts properly. * Fixed problem with text in the desktop weather module not appearing anti--aliased. * The balloon tooltip would become black when clicked on. * Fixed z-order problems with some dialogs when the source object was set to always on top. * Fixed positioning problems with some dialogs on multi-monitor systems. * On returning from Suspend, WorkShelf would be frozen for a while while the hi-response Multimedia Timer fired trying to catch up. -------------------------- Version 2.4 build 555 - November 26, 2007 - Xtreme 7.11 Official Release New Features: * Greatly improved the speed of the Email Checker module animations. * The Email Checker module now automatically retrieves the default email client on first run. * Desktop Module positions are now automatically remembered when switching themes. * Implemented the ability to provide a Wanda icon custom animation via a wsWandaAni.png bitmap. * Edge bumps now work when performing drag & drop operations. +++ * Changed the speed and frequency of the scrolling text in the Weather Module to decrease CPU usage. * Changed the speed and frequency of the blinking NeXuS task icons to decrease CPU usage. * Updated the internal list of Internet Atomic Time servers to replace those not in service any longer. * Changed the Internet communication retrial delays from 30 seconds to 10 minutes for 'No Internet Connection Available' and from 10 minutes to 1 hour for 'Failed Connections'. This primarily prevents WorkShelf from trying to connect to the Internet every 10 minutes if it thinks an Internet connection is available when it actually isn't. * Implemented the Registration Notification mechanism. * Added the ability to save and restore the current positions of the desktop modules into the Modules context menu. * The Browse for Folder dialog box now opens with the proper directory already selected. * The desktop RAM Meter can now display the current Top x memory hogs. +++ * Fine tuned the tasklist update algorithm to use even less CPU. * WorkShelf can now read Winstep theme thumbnails in JPG format. Fixes: * Separate Net in and Net out graphics were not being displayed. * Weather information scrolling text was broken under certain conditions. * Fixed missing first letter of Sky Conditions on the weather module. * Blinking task icons on NeXuS could sometimes result on Access Violation errors. * The File Browser dialog would retain the file mask from a previous browse operation, sometimes preventing it from browsing for 'All Files' * Changing the Net Meter device did not immediately update the desktop net meter module. * Desktop Module balloon tooltips no longer pop up if a context menu is open. * The Minimize and Maximize All task context menu options were not working properly. +++ * Blinking task icons on NeXuS docks could sometimes not show an image. * Icon labels flickered annoyingly on and off when dragging items over a dock. -------------------------- Version 2.3 build 546 - September 28, 2007 - Xtreme 7.9 Official Release New Features: * The Close and Open module options in the Modules context menu are now groupped together in individual sections. * Added a 'Enable/Disable Sounds' option to the shelf's Appearence and Sounds sub-menu of the left-mini tab context menu. * Optimized the way in-shelf meter modules are displayed, which reduces CPU usage when the shelf is open and several modules are visible. * Wanda, Clock, Email and Trash in-shelf/in-dock module bitmaps are now cached in memory, with dramatic effects on CPU usage, specially when Wanda is visible and animated. * Optimized the text scrolling routine in the weather module which was consuming more CPU than it should. * Exception Error dialogs now identify if the exception occured within WorkShelf or NextSTART. * The desktop weather module is now capable of displaying the weather forecast on the module itself, as well as on the tooltip as it did before. * Changed the default WorkShelf sounds to something less intrusive. * Improved startup times. * Show Folder Shelves now accept URLs dragged directly from the Browser. * Task list items on NeXuS docks now 'blink' when they need your attention. * When transparency settings for a collapsed and un-collapsed shelf are different, the shelf now smoothly fades in and out as it collapses/un-collapses. * The percentage of CPU used per process is now displayed correctly on multi-processor systems. * Added 'GanttProject' and 'Media Player 2' to the default snapshot exclusion list. * Increased the delay between terminating a task and the task force terminate dialog appearing from 2 to 3 seconds. +++ * Added a 'Delete Sub-Dock' command to the sub-dock context menu. Fixes: * .Xtreme theme packs were not being created properly and could still be recognized as zip files by IE. * The shelf, docks and desktop modules were not re-positioning themselves automatically when screen resolution changed. * Ajusted the initial position of module balloon tooltips so that the arrow of the balloon tooltip points to the horizontal center of the module. * The update subscription reminder was not showing up if the user was running an update released after the period covered by his license key. * The support email address in the About tab of Preferences had a leading space, which could confuse some email clients. * Sub-docks of docks displaying running tasks also displayed running tasks. * Dock context menus could pop up behind the dock if the dock was set to Always on Top. * It was possible for the default Snapshot Exclusion list not to be properly initialized when Winstep Xtreme run for the first time. * When backing up settings, and if the file already existed, the confirmation dialog would pop up twice. * Certain endcap tile bitmaps were being ignored when using the NeXus Advanced skinning mode. * The Dock Place Holder context menu was displaying 'Separator' for the title. +++ * The labels of 'Always On Top' docks now also appear above other windows even if the dock does not have the focus. * Under very specific conditions, it was possible to pop up the main NeXuS context menu on a sub-dock. * Under Vista and Win2003 dropping URLs sometimes resulted in a item label with a carriage return and a line feed inserted in it, which would also cause other drag & drop problems if that item was dragged or moved somewhere else later. * Fixed some problems with the 'Desktop Modules' context menu. -------------------------- Version 2.2 build 533 - April 16, 2007 - Xtreme 7.4 Official Release New Features: * Added 'Insert Dock Place Holder' option to the dock tile context menu. * Added a 'Don't Show Temperature in Icon' setting to the Weather module advanced skinning settings. This allows you to display the current temperature somewhere else on the weather desktop module other than on the icon itself. * Added 'In Shelf Dock' to the tooltip description of in-shelf docks. * The Desktop Clock module now supports bitmap clock hands. The bitmap versions are automatically used if the following bitmaps are found in the theme folder: wsHour.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsHourShadow.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsMin.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsMinShadow.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsSec.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsSecShadow.bmp/jpg/png/tif All clock hand bitmaps are optional, and if you don't provide a particular and then a 'drawn' pointer will be used instead. The shadow bitmaps are displaced from the clock center by one pixel in both directions, The last hand to be painted is the seconds hand and overlaps the others, so you can use that bitmap for the clock center dot. * Added ability to define analog gauges for the CPU, RAM and Net meter desktop modules. Bitmap names are the following: CPU Module: wsCPUGauge.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsCPUGaugeShadow.bmp/jpg/png/tif (optional) RAM Module: wsRAMGauge.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsRAMGaugeShadow.bmp/jpg/png/tif (optional) Net Module: wsNetGauge.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsNetGaugeShadow.bmp/jpg/png/tif (optional) OR, if you wish to define individual bitmaps for Net In and Out, wsNetGaugeIn.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsNetGaugeShadowIn.bmp/jpg/png/tif (optional) wsNetGaugeOut.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsNetGaugeShadowOut.bmp/jpg/png/tif (optional) Gauge needles can also be drawn, rather than being bitmapped based. * Added ability to add overlays to the CPU, RAM and Net meter desktop modules. Bitmap names are the following: wsCPUOverlay.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsRAMOverlay.bmp/jpg/png/tif wsNetOverlay.bmp/jpg/png/tif * Added a *random* delay (up to 30 seconds) to the on-the-hour weather conditions polling, to prevent overloading NOAA servers (without the random delay and with Xtreme time sync abilities, all machines running Xtreme would poll the NOAA weather server at EXACTLY the same time). * Theme files now have an .xtreme file extension associated to Winstep Xtreme. Themes can now be automatically imported and applied by clicking on the .xtreme file. * Added an Uninstall survey. +++ * Added a 'Insert Item Separator' option to the shelf body context menu. * Added a 'Exit Winstep Xtreme' internal command to quit both NextSTART and WorkShelf, but asking for confirmation first. * Added a 'Quick Exit Winstep Xtreme' internal command to quit both NextSTART and WorkShelf, WITHOUT asking for confirmation first. * Added a 'Exit Winstep Xtreme' option to the shelf's Exit sub-menu. * The default dock now also features a NextSTART hotspot that opens the main NextSTART menu. * Docks can now optionally display running tasks at the end. Added new 'Show running tasks' option to the Dock Properties dialog. * Tasks in a dock can be re-arranged via drag & drop. * Tasks in a dock can be dragged and dropped into other docks, shelves or Explorer windows, in which case a shortcut is created to the application responsible for that task (i.e.; drag a text document and you get a shortcut to Notepad). * Task shelves and dock tasklists are now only refreshed when stricly necessary, which should decrease CPU consumption a bit. +++ * Added 5 day Weather Forecast through Weather.com. The forecast is displayed in the balloon tooltip of the weather module. * The weather module is now able to provide weather information for over 39,000 cities worldwide, from the 5,800 previously covered by METAR. * When selecting a weather location in the US, you can now narrow the search by specifying the State. * The timezones within the US used to display dates on the weather module are now State specific, instead of having a single timezone for the whole country. +++ * WorkShelf should now automatically detect full screen games and videos, even when they don't change screen resolution. * Workshelf now uses an absolute minimum of CPU resources when it detects a full screen game or application is running. +++ * Added 'Show Temperature Unit' to the advanced skinning text temperature setting of the weather desktop module. It is enabled by default, but, when disabled, allows you to display the temperature without the 'C' or 'F' suffix. * Should have increased a little bit the speed of text rendering with outline and/or shadow effects in alpha blended context menus and shelves. * WorkShelf now uses the default sounds whenever switching themes and the new theme does not have a sound pack, instead of keeping the sound effects of the last loaded theme that had a sound pack. * Added .xtreme file extension switches to convert .xtreme files to and from .zip and for just Importing instead of Importing *and* Applying. +++ * Process names in the desktop CPU meter module are now displayed in proper case (i.e. first letter capitalized, remaining letters in lower case). * When opening the Weather Module Settings dialog, a small 'Busy' dialog pops up while WorkShelf is busy retrieving the locations database. Changes: * Changed the balloon tooltip to a 'Aero Glass' type look. * Changed the small 'Busy' dialog to a 'Aero Glass' type look. +++ * Made some changes to the shelf drawing algorithm so icons don't end up overlapping the frames around them. * WorkShelf, when it trial mode, now updates the number of days it has been running for every day, instead of only at startup time. +++ * The Pressure value in the Weather module is now displayed as 1234.5 instead of 1,234.50. * The tooltip displayed for shelf items is now always displayed either above or under the icon, instead of at the mouse pointer position. Fixes: * It was not possible to un-collapse a dock that started collapsed. * Changing the icon size of a dock without a magnify effect did not reset the icon cache - the displayed icons would look fuzzy. * In special cases, NeXuS could keep opening a sub-dock when clicking on the sub-dock indicator,instead of toggling it. * The sub-dock open animations were overlapping the parent dock if the magnify effect was on. * Subdocks attached to dock placeholders opened automatically when dragging something over it, but then kept opening and closing. * Dragging over a sub-dock indicator now automatically opens the associated sub-dock as it should. * Collapsing/uncollapsing a dock with the magnify effect on by double clicking the control tile no longer un-magnifies the dock. * The Icon Text Effect pull up menu and text effect color well in Shelf Appearences was not displaying the current setting when opening this Preferences dialog. * Fixed problem where text on context menus could extend to, and overlap, the next menu line. * Fixed the scroll ticker 'jump' that occured on the weather module when using alpha blended background bitmaps. * Fixed label width and positioning problems with the shelf icons when using an alpha blended background bitmap. * WorkShelf no longer locks PNG and TIF files used as icons in WorkShelf or the dock or referenced in the Recent Documents shelf. * Fixed problem where the Automatic Update Manager would keep prompting the user about new versions if one of the executables in the list had been deliberately deleted by the user. +++ * .Xtreme theme files are now NOT automatically converted to .zip files when downloading via Internet Explorer. * When opening a sub-dock, the animated sub-dock would slide too far and then snap back into the correct position. * Fixed small clock hand 'jump' that occured whenever the clock hand reached the 30 second mark. * Fixed dock sizing problems where the dock might not return to 'native' icon size after having the icon size automatically reduced to fit it on the screen. * The dock balloon tooltip was not being positioned correctly if the tooltip had to be displayed with the pointer facing right. * NeXuS no longer locks PNG and TIF files used as images for dock objects. * When dragging an object from a dock or shelf, the semi-transparent icon sometimes was not immediately visible. * Bug in the bitmap flip routine which could cause the edges of the shelf body not to be displayed correctly on inverted shelves. +++ * Docks were not accepting dropped URLs. * Rotating a dock could display the icons in the wrong position. * Semi-transparency applied to dock backgrounds only wasn't working if the background used alpha blended bitmaps. +++ * Fixed problem where setting the opacity of a window via the tasks menu could affect the wrong window. * Fixed problem where starting Xtreme with no windows open and with a dock showing running tasks would freeze WorkShelf. * 'Change Task Icon' and 'Task Customization' dialogs were always appearing over the shelf. +++ * The desktop module 'auto-arrange' function was also arranging modules that had been 'position locked' by the user. * The first letter of the days-of-the-week string in the weather forecast was not being capitalized as it should on some non-English versions of Windows. * VISTA: The information in the tooltip of shell items was being compressed into a single line of text. * VISTA: Fixed problem where dragging file system items into targets outside WorkShelf would fail in Vista because of file permission rights. * Double clicking the weather desktop module or clicking on 'Detailed Weather Conditions' in the weather module context menu was failing for locations with no METAR code. The browser now displays the appropriate Weather.com page as required. * The weather module would display the forecast conditions for New York when the user upgraded from a previous Winstep Xtreme version if the location previously defined had no Weather.com code equivalent to the METAR code. * Fixed bug where the US States list box would remain disabled even when United States was selected as a country. * Fixed annoying flicker of the dock tooltip that very briefly appeared on the wrong position when rapidly moving over dock items. * Ohio Weather.com codes were missing. +++ * The email module had stopped updating itself when new mail arrived. * WorkShelf might not come automatically forward when the user clicked on the Show Desktop quick launch icon. * Fixed problems calculating the width and position of text with outline and shadow effects. * Fixed several small details with the position of icon text and icon text selection on the shelf. +++ * The Email Checker would keep trying to connect to the Internet even if no email servers had been defined. -------------------------- Version 2.1 build 507 - February 6th, 2007 - Xtreme 7.1 Official Release New Features: * Dock item labels are now displayed when dragging an object over a dock. * Added a 'More Themes' internal command. Opens the Themes page on the Winstep web site which holds a list of repository sites for Winstep themes. * The Themes shelf now also includes the 'More Themes' internal command. * FontBrowser now appears as part of the programs included in the default Main shelf. * Added a 'Show/Hide Desktop Modules' internal command. This hides from view or displays all currently open desktop modules. Useful to bring the modules you want back into view and into the foreground when you need them and to hide them when not in use. Hidden modules keep performing their functions in the background, so their information is not 'stale' when brought into view again. * Added 'Show/Hide Desktop Modules' to the Desktop Modules context menu. * The Automatic Update Manager now knows if it needs to download the full or the update pak. * Added a 'Zoom Tiles on Magnify Effect' option to the NeXuS Appearence Preferences tab. This controls if the tiles on a tile based dock theme are magnified vertically *as well as* horizontally (as opposed to just vertically or just horizontally, depending on the dock orientation) when the icons are magnified. * WorkShelf now watches both the current user and all users desktop folder for changes and refrehes the desktop shelf automatically when required. Changes: * Replaced the analog clock bitmap with another capable of being magnified up to 128x128 (courtesy of John T.Folden). * Renamed all 'Show' and 'Hide' entries in the Desktop Modules context menu to 'Open' and 'Close', to make a distinction between hidding a running module and actually closing it. * Changed the color of the bubble tooltip to make it more 'modern'. * Desktop icons are now hidden at startup before displaying the shelf and desktop modules, which makes it happen much sooner in the initialization process. Fixes: * Span Monitors was not working if the Reserve Screen Space option was enabled. * The text in context menus could overlap the icon area in some themes that had a specific area for menu icons. * It was still possible to dock the shelf in the same edge as a dock. * It was not possible to open sub-docks of horizontal docks using the keyboard. * Fixed a problem where docks or sub-docks could constantly expand and contract at high speed when navigating them using the keyboard. * Fixed problem where the shelf would un-dock itself on startup or after comming out of Preferences complaining that a dock was already attached to that screen edge. * Screen edge bumps on multi-monitor systems are now working correctly. * The animated fish image in Wanda Settings was not clearing the background before drawing each frame. * Should have prevented WorkShelf from sometimes crashing on exit. * A shelf starting collapsed where the tabs are set to blend in with the body bitmap, would show the tab area as a body bitmap shrunk to fit the tab area. * Duplicated docks now have the 'Start Collapsed' setting disabled, otherwise the user would only see the collapsed control tile and assume the dock contents had not been duplicated at all. * The desktop RAM meter was not updating on systems with more than 2 GB of virtual memory. * The Automatic Update Manager was crashing on Win9x systems. * Changing a file on the desktop or on a folder associated to a shelf would make a collapsed WorkShelf re-paint incorrectly if the associated shelf was currently selected and the shelf was inverted. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 504 - November 24th, 2006 - Xtreme 6.11 Official Release New Features: * The Shelf can now have overlapped tabs. The skinner can also specify how many pixels they overlap. * The Shelf can now have the main body bitmap applied to the whole shelf, while retaining the ability to display tabs, which overlap the main bitmap. * Added Left and Right offsets to tabs, which help creating themes where the body bitmap rises up to the tabs. * WorkShelf now remembers the last target object selected in the Theme Manager tab of Preferences while switching Preference tabs. Fixes: * Fixed some potential issues with shortcuts leading to virtual shell folders not being properly added to the shelf or docks. * The 'Restore' task context menu command was not restoring maximized windows to normal size. * WorkShelf was still not using the settings defined in NextSTART for task mouse clicks. * The 'Raise WorkShelf' internal command was not working if the request came from a NextSTART internal command. * A bitmap could be painted incorrectly if the non-stretchable areas were larger than the destination area. * Docks with themes that have bitmaps for all dock orientations could display the wrong bitmap after restarting WorkShelf. * The pressed image of the shelf scroll arrows was never displayed on PNG based shelves. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 498 - November 17th, 2006 - Xtreme RC1 Release New Features: * NeXus (the dock component) has been integrated into WorkShelf. - Multiple dock support. - Docks can have an unlimited number of sub-docks levels. - Docks can be created from 'Regular' Shelves. - Shelves can be created from Docks. - Shelves can have 'in-shelf' docks. * You can now set the size of the dock's control tile icon. This way you can have an always on top dock that can collapse to a small icon. * New 'Browse Container with NextSTART' context menu option for file system objects. Allows you to browse the folder holding the item using NextSTART menus. * Deleting an item that is the parent of a sub-dock now causes the first sub-dock item to 'shift' into the parent dock, taking the place of the deleted item. * Creating a new dock now displays the Dock Properties dialog where you can set the initial dock properties or cancel the operation. * You can now have an infinite number of sub-dock levels. * Sub-docks now move much more smoothly when adding or removing items above the sub-dock parent tile. * Dragging & dropping an item onto the first 1/4 of the tile (assuming a vertical dock at the left) now inserts that item there, shifting the replaced item into a sub-dock. * Floating Docks and sub-docks now open into the area with the most available screen space. +++ * Item Separators in Docks can now display an icon, have a label and display a balloon tooltip if a label has been associated to them. * Item Separators in Docks are now called 'Dock Place Holders' in the Item Properties Editor dialog. * Implemented the 'Collapse on application Launch' dock functionality. * Implemented the 'Collapse sub-docks on application Launch' functionality. * Added the ability to drag a sub-dock Parent tile and move the sub dock with it. * Added a 'Detach Sub-Dock' command to the context menu to the parent dock tile of a sub-dock. This detaches the sub-dock and turns it into a full blown dock. * Sub-docks now close when you click on the control tile. * You can drag a dock's control icon into *another* dock, thus making that dock a sub-dock of the target. * You can drag a dock's control icon into the shelf, which makes it an 'in-shelf' dock (only pops up when you click on the shelf's dock icon). You can also move this icon into another dock, in which case the dock is made a sub-dock of the target. * You can add items to a closed in-shelf docks by dropping the item directly into the in-shelf dock icon. * Added several context menu options to the in-shelf dock icon, including 'Detach Dock from Shelf'. * Added new 'Dock Style Editor' option to the Appearence context menu of the dock's control tile. From the Dock Style Editor dialog you can choose and apply any of the bitmap background tiles that exist in the ...\winstep\nexus\tiles\ folder. +++ * Implemented the Dock Alpha Transparency level and 'Apply to Background' functions. * Implemented the IDropTargetHelper interface to docks so objects being dragged from Explorer are visible while on top of the docks. * Added support for dock 'Backgrounds'. * The Dock Style Editor now displays all the backgrounds that exist in the ...\winstep\nexus\backgrounds folder (each background is in a unique sub-folder with the image files and the background settings (INI) file). * Added icon 'Magnify' effect to docks which can be turned on or off, on a per-dock fashion, in the Dock Properties dialog. * Added 'Lock/Unlock Dock Theme' to the Appearence and Sounds sub-menu of the control tile context menu. +++ * NeXuS is compatible with ObjectDock and RocketDock Backgrounds. * Added sking rotation for dock backgrounds, depending on dock position and orientation. * The Dock Style Editor now displays the currently selected Tile or Background for that dock (if any) on opening. * Changed the dock collapse algorithm so it looks and works correctly with both tiles and backgrounds and does not cause problems with the magnification effect. * Added 'Icon Shift' effect when dragging an object over a dock. * Added sub-dock opening animation. * Added 'Open Sub Dock' sound event. * The 3 dot sub-dock indicator has been replaced by an arrow indicator which points out in which direction the sub-dock will open and 'lights up' when the associated sub-dock is open. * Added a 'bouncing arrow' effect that provides visual feedback when an object is about to be dropped into the sub-dock of the parent tile rather than into the tile itself. +++ * You can now use ICO or ICL files with 128x128 icons and NeXus will use the proper 128x128 version when magnifying. * New 'Raise WorkShelf' internal command which brings the shelf, all desktop modules and docks to the foreground. * A docked dock now respects reserved screen space, unless told not to do so in the Dock Properties dialog. * Added support for Dock activation keys and screen edge/corner bumps. * Collapsing and uncollapsing the dock now plays the same sound event as opening a sub-dock. * Added 'Monitor' sub-menu to the main context menu of the shelf and docks, which allows the user to choose, on multi-monitor systems, which monitor should the shelf or a dock be docked to. * Added a 'Desktop Modules' sub-menu to the main context menu of the shelf, the docks and all in-shelf and desktop modules, from where you can individually control which desktop modules to show and/or hide, show or hide all of them at once, or bring everything forward. * Made sure the balloon tooltip for dock items does not overlap the dock, since this actually made it quite intrusive. * Sub-Dock indicators now light up cyan on mouseover to provide visual feedback. * Added icon bounce effect when launching items through the dock. * Added a 'Settings' button to the 'Effects' pull up menu in the Dock Properties dialog from where you can specify the size of the magnification effect in pixels. * Added options in the Dock Properties panel to control the 'icon shift on drag over' and 'Icon bounce on application launch' effects. * Added 'Collapse to Screen Edge when Docked' option to the Dock Properties dialog. This makes the dock collapse towards the screen edge it is docked to instead of collapsing into a control icon. Bumping the screen edge un-hides the dock. * Added 'Auto-Hide' option to the Dock Properties dialog and to the context menu of a dock's control tile. * The dock now automatically re-sizes icon sizes (up to a minimum of 16x16) if the current icon size makes it too large to fit on the screen. * Added a 'Flat Magnify' effect, where all the icons in the dock magnify to the maximum size at once. * Added a 'Disable Magnify Effect on Drag & Drop' option to the Settings dialog of the Magnification effects. +++ * Added 'Ripple Effect' support to docks. * Added labels to docks, which appear instantaneously, being replaced by the balloon tooltip with full info after a couple of seconds if the mouse pointer remains over the same item. * Added a 'Show Labels' option to the Dock Properties dialog. * When dropping files from Explorer, WorkShelf now automatically removes any file extension from the item label (e.g.; 'WorkShelf.exe' becomes simply 'WorkShelf') * Text Effects now look much better when writting over layered windows. * Pressing SHIFT while right clicking a dock's control tile now opens the Dock Properties dialog of that dock. * Pressing CTRL while right clicking a dock's control tile now opens the Dock Style Editor of that dock. * Completely changed the dock magnification algorithms: the dock now smoothly magnifies and restores and there are no more positioning problems (like the last or first tile of a dock beeing off-screen when you are mousing over them). * Added a 'Magnification Span' setting to the Magnification Settings dialog, which allows to specify how many icons are affected at once by the magnification effect. The default is 3 but you can change this to 5 or 7. * Added a new 'NeXus Appearence Preferences' tab to WorkShelf Preferences (non-functional yet) and moved it and the Shelf Appearence Preferences tab to after the Global Preferences tab in the icon ribbon. +++ * The default dock now features a clock, recycler, default internet browser and default email client. * The Themes Manager pull up menu is now ordered alphabetically. * You can now save or load the shelf theme individually of modules and dock themes. * Added functionality to the NeXuS skinning tab in Preferences. New Dock bitmaps are: nxtile.bmp/jpg/png nxback.bmp/jpg/png nxbacktop.bmp/jpg/png nxbackleft.bmp/jpg/png nxbackright.bmp/jpg/png nxoverlay.bmp/jpg/png nxoverlaytop.bmp/jpg/png nxoverlayleft.bmp/jpg/png nxoverlayright.bmp/jpg/png * It is now also possible to drag a dock by the top or bottom edges (when the dock is vertical) or left and right edges (when the dock is horizontal). * Sub-docks now automatically shrink their icon size if they are too large to fit on the available screen space. * Added the ability to use overlays on docks. * Added the option to have 'per tile' overlays, in which the overlay bitmap is applied to each dock tile instead of to the dock as a whole. * Added 'Duplicate Dock' command to the dock's main context menu. * Added 'Duplicate Sub-Dock' to the tile context menu of a dock item associated to a sub-dock. * Added a 'Font' button to the Dock Properties dialog. You can now specify the font and font size used for displaying the labels for that dock. * Improved the rendering of desktop module tile backgrounds on older themes that do not provide backgrounds for all the modules. * The shelf no longer resets back to the top icon row when applying themes using the themes shelf. Makes it easier to try several themes in a row. * Added endcaps to tiled docks. NeXuS will automatically use the endcaps if the bitmap files are present in the theme folder. Endcap bitmap names are: nxtilestart.bmp/jpg/png nxtilestarttop.bmp/jpg/png nxtilestartleft.bmp/jpg/png nxtilestartright.bmp/jpg/png nxtileend.bmp/jpg/png nxtileendtop.bmp/jpg/png nxtileendleft.bmp/jpg/png nxtileendright.bmp/jpg/png Endcaps are added to the begining and end of tiled docks. * Added endcaps to tiled overlays. NeXuS will automatically use the endcaps if the bitmap files are present in the theme folder. Overlay Endcap bitmap names are: nxOverlaystart.bmp/jpg/png nxOverlaystarttop.bmp/jpg/png nxOverlaystartleft.bmp/jpg/png nxOverlaystartright.bmp/jpg/png nxOverlayend.bmp/jpg/png nxOverlayendtop.bmp/jpg/png nxOverlayendleft.bmp/jpg/png nxOverlayendright.bmp/jpg/png * Added a 'Extended Endcaps' switch to the NeXuS Appearance tab in Preferences. Enabling it makes the endcaps extend beyond the dock edges. Note that docks with tile or overlay endcaps extend automatically if the dock has less than 3 items in it. * Added thumbnail support for TIF and TIFF files. +++ * Added 'Enable/Disable Auto-Arrange' and 'Arrange Modules' commands to the 'Desktop Modules' context menu. * Added a 'Show In All Shelves' and 'Don't Show In All Shelves' command to the context menu of in-shelf modules. * Added support for TIF icons and bitmaps. * Internet access is now fully asynchronous, i.e.; it no longer makes WorkShelf look like it is using 100% of the CPU. * The Winstep Auto Update function is now an external application capable of downloading and installing any updates by itself. * The following settings are now shared between WorkShelf and NextSTART: * Internet connection Settings * Lock Wallpaper * Winstep Theme Integration * Use Common File Dialogs in Preferences * Show Tip of the Day. * The Tip of the Day dialog is now shared between NextSTART and WorkShelf, showing tips for both applications and only popping up, when enabled, once. * Added a 'Update Subscritption Reminder' that goes off when the '1 year of free updates' subscription expires. * NeXuS now uses the same 'Launch with Single/Double Click' setting as the shelf. * Added a 'No Overlay on Subdocks' switch to the NeXuS appearance tab. This allows the skinner to make complex overlays for main docks while keeping sub-docks simple. * Sub-docks now close automatically when the user clicks on anything that isn't a dock, the shelf or a context menu. * Added new Wanda photo-realistic bitmaps so they look good all the way up to 128x128. * Added new Globe Email Checker bitmaps so they look good all the way up to 128x128. * WorkShelf will now create the default dock even if the user is already an existing Winstep user but is running the NeXuS version of WorkShelf for the first time. * Docks and shelf are now prevented from docking to the same screen edge. * The Dock Style Editor now also displays and previews normal NeXuS themes. * Added a 'Customize Tasks' option to the context menus of tasks, which brings up the dialog where you can specify which tasks not to show on the tasklist, which to show only when the window is minimized, customize task icons and manage the snapshot exclusion list. * Docks now reserve and respect reserved screen space. * When undocking a dock, the dock now moves sligthly to provide some visual feedback about the operation. * Removed the options to set individual tile icon sizes. * Added support for the 'Always on Bottom' dock z-order setting. * Added keyboard navigation support for docks with the mag effect enabled. * Context menus no longer display icons even if the theme supports them. This is to prevent all the items in the context menus displaying all the same icon, which did not make sense. * Added a 'Lock/Unlock Theme' option to the context menu of all the modules. * Added 'wmplayer.exe','tbrush.exe','powerpnt.exe','quemu.exe' to the default snapshot exclusion list. +++ * The Desktop Modules 'auto-arrange' function now tries to take into account any dock docked at the bottom or top of the screen edge so that the desktop modules are not overlapped by or overlap it. * The 'Hide/Show Desktop Icons' command in the shelf left mini-tab context menu now saves the current state in the 'Hide Desktop Icons at Startup'. * Added vertical and horizontal offsets for the mini-tab symbols in the Shelf Advanced Skinning dialog. * Added, with permission, a set of PNG icon files based on Treetog's Next OS Black icon theme to the \Winstep\Icons\Samples\ folder. * Some of the Internal Commands now use the Next OS Black icons. * Because of a backwards compatibility issue, the CPU meter load label always added the "%" symbol to the value. To prevent this, put the @ (at) character in the sufix field. * WorkShelf no longer attempts to draw frames around the icons on themes made before version 1.70 of WorkShelf (when this feature was first introduced and made the default). You can still force the theme to display frames around the icons by selecting this option again in the shelf 'appearance and sounds' context menu. * Changed the order of the tasks context menu so that the standard commands are in the same order as that of the Windows tasklist and at the bottom of the menu, so that the mouse pointer doesn't have to travel so much to reach them as before. * NextSTART and WorkShelf now share the Task mouse click actions. Changes: * Changed the Dock 'Screen Position' menu so it presents different options when the dock is docked or undocked. +++ * To move a floating dock around, you now must drag the control tile background, being careful not to click on the icon itself, which would initiate a drag & drop operation of the dock. +++ * To launch a dock item you must now click on the item icon, it is no longer enough to click on the tile. * Dragging the control icon of a dock into the recycler now pops up a stern warning about the dock and all its contents being deleted. +++ * Moved the Dock Style Editor and Control Icon Color options from the Appearence and Sounds sub-menu to the dock's main context menu. * The Dock Style Editor list of backgrounds and tiles is now sorted alphabetically. * When a sub-dock opens the sub-dock is now icon-aligned with the parent tile icon. * Increased the 'Add Item to Sub-Dock' quadrant for docks with magnified icons. * Changed the dock icon magnification algorithm so it works correctly with magnification sizes other than 128 pixels and improved it's smoothness a bit in the process. * Changed order of some of the items in the main context menu of docks and removed the 'Backup' and 'Restore' options because the menu was getting too long. +++ * Speeded up the icon bouncing effect and made the icon go down faster than it goes up, which improves the effect. +++ * Decreased a bit the time taken between rest and full dock magnification (and between full magnification and rest). +++ * WorkShelf now has a default silent period of 0 AM to 7 AM. * Now, when WorkShelf is run for the first time, only the Clock, CPU Meter and Weather desktop modules are shown by default. * Removed the 'Rotate icons on selection' shelf special effect from the special effects dialog, since this effect has not been implemented yet. +++ * The default Icon Browser path is now the ...\Winstep\Icons folder. * Added a 'Click and Hold' function, in which left clicking on a folder item, and holding for 1 second, opens the folder in a NextSTART menu. Fixes: * Delayed Saving for the dock was not being activated unless the user moused over the shelf first. This could cause delays in the manipulation of dock items. * Docks were appearing on the tasklist. * Item Separators were not being displayed properly on docks. * Increased the clickable area of the sub-dock indicator. * Fixed bug where dragging & dropping a shortcut file between Winstep applications caused customized icons to be replaced by the normal file icon. * Fixed SERIOUS bug that could cause dock corruption when deleting docks. * Items can now be dropped directly INTO the control tile icon and they are still inserted below it. * A proper tooltip, with instructions, is now displayed for the control tile of a dock. * When a sub-dock is open and you click on another tile to open another sub-dock, the first sub-dock now closes and the second opens, instead of the mouse click being ignored. +++ * It was possible to move a dock with sub-docks open. * A GDI+ handle was being leaked every time a new dock was created. * Bug with dock automatic repositioning when items were moved around if the dock or sub-dock was 'reversed'. * MAJOR bug in which deleting or inserting a shelf would corrupt all the docks. +++ * There was an extra menu item separator at the bottom of the context menu of dock tiles without child docks. * Running an application from a sub-dock would not close all the parent sub-docks automatically. * MAJOR bug in which deleting a dock could corrupt all docks. * Applying a new theme now updates docks themes unless the dock has been set to lock the current theme via the control tile context menu. +++ * The in-dock CPU Meter module was always being painted at the top of the dock. * The Magnify effect would 'forget' the left offset from margin for dock backgrounds. * The Dock Style Editor window was not showing up centered on screen. * Fixed problems with sub-dock repositioning when dragging & dropping. * Dock with the magnify effect on and very small icon sizes now display much improved magnified icon images. * Changing the color of the dock control icon did not have an immediate effect. +++ * Fixed sub-dock relative position to parent tile problems when dragging over the parent dock. * Dragging an item from a sub-dock and inserting it as a sub-dock of the parent dock would leave a ghost icon behind and always copy the item instead of moving it. * When applying transparency with the "Background only" box checked, sub-docks would open with the transparency applied to icons as well as the background. * The Dock's 'Apply to Background Only' transparency setting was not being saved properly, which caused this setting to be ignored when starting WorkShelf. * The Email Checker module on docks was not updating when new mail arrived or was retrieved from the mail server. * Changing the Style or colors of in-shelf modules would not update the style and/or colors of in-dock modules. * Clicking on a magnified dock icon on horizontal bottom docks would have no effect unless the click was within the dock tile. * Docks and sub-docks now act as one window, i.e.; if one comes forward so do all the others. * Sometimes when starting to drag a dock item and then aborting the drag operation with ESC while the mouse pointer was still over the dragged item would cause that item to be launched. * Text Size on in-dock modules was not being correctly re-sized when magnifying. * Changed the pop up position of dock context menus so the mouse pointer starts well within the menu, which prevents the dock from returning to normal size and immediately magnifying again. +++ * Fixed some Recycler icon size problems on magnified docks. * Fixed SERIOUS bug where moving an item from the shelf to the dock could cause the wrong item to be deleted from the shelf. * The icon bouncing effect was not re-drawing any sub-dock indicator. +++ * The Items Properties Dialog was showing folder items as either 'Item Separators' or as 'Dock PlaceHolder'. * On single monitor systems it was possible for a dock with a magnification effect to have the right edge 'cut off'. * A dock would stop auto-hiding if you opened a context menu and then dismissed the menu by clicking on the desktop or closing it directly. * Fixed SERIOUS bug where the 'Detach sub-dock' feature was broken and any detached sub-dock would be lost. * The in-Dock modules, apart from the clock and recycler, were not doing anything when clicked on. * Fixed problem with dock labels sometimes not fading out. * The 'Label' field was always blank when invoking the item Property Editor dialog. * URL dock items were not working when clicked on. * The Dock Tile context menu would not allow you to insert a new dock placeholder. * A Dock with an icon size shrunk automatically to fit on the screen did not revert to the previous icon size as it should when items were deleted from it. * When creating a 'NextSTART Hotspot' item in the Item Properties dialog, the hotspot number choosen always reset back to zero regardless of your choice. * A dragged task item from the tasks shelf would not function correctly when dragged into a regular shelf, and no icon would be displayed while dragging either. * A dock placeholder item would loose its context menu if associated to a sub-dock. * Image thumbnails in docks with the magnifying effect on now display a proper magnified image instead of a fuzzy scaled up version of the current dock's icon size. * Moving a dock with the magnify effect on was not working properly, the dock would end up being placed at the wrong spot once the user released the mouse button. * Fixed some tooltip positioning problems for magnifying docks with a sub-dock open. * Decreased the font size used for Text Effects when using smaller font sizes to prevent the text from over-running the allocated area. * In-dock net meters were not being updated. * Clicking on a in-shelf module on the Themes shelf would apply a random theme instead of executing the action associated to that module. * Accessing the Shelf Icon Preferences and Shelf Appearance Preferences tabs was corrupting the shelf layout. * Fixed problem with the Dock Style Editor showing PNG tiles. * A WorkShelf PNG Active Tab was using the bitmap tile settings of the inactive tabs. * Moving items around in a folder shelf or special shelf like 'My Desktop' could cause display glitches (blank items, etc...). * The dock bitmaps were not automatically rotating properly when using the dock to screen edge context menu options. +++ * Clicking the email module on a dock would NOT launch the email client. * In-dock analog clock and recycler icons did not scale properly when magnifying for icon sizes above 32x32 and below 48x48 pixels. * Dock water ripple effect settings were not being applied immediately. * Cached dock icons were not being reset when switching between a mouseover effect with no magnification and one with magnification (and vice-versa). * Some of the actions on the dock (changing magnification effect, rotating the dock, moving it into another screen quadrant, etc...) would cause the dock to 'jerk'. The dock is now momentarily hidden while the new settings are applied, so it doesn't seems to 'jerk' anymore. * WorkShelf was not copying all of the possible NeXuS bitmaps when saving a theme. * Docks with locked themes would lose the 'Extended Endcaps' setting when switching to a new theme. * Docks with locked themes would lose any existing overlay when WorkShelf was restarted. * Docks could lose their overlay and extended endcaps settings when a new theme was applied and then canceled. * Dragging a sub-dock item over a parent dock with a magnification effect would cause the source sub-dock to be mispositioned. * A sub-dock indicator could sometimes stay lit in the mouseover color even though the mouse pointer would no longer be over it. * The digital clock is now scaling up properly. * It was possible to display the wrong image when animating the email checker and/or Wanda. * It was possible for a in-shelf dock to lose its in-shelf status by editing its properties via the Dock Properties dialog. * Should have fixed some problems with the shelf and respecting reserved screen space. * A floating dock set to 'Collapse to Screen Edge when docked' would remain collapsed into the control icon if docked in this state. * Fixed some issues with the shelf not auto-collapsing after opening a context menu or auto-collapsing when it shouldn't (e.g.; rename dialog open). * Opening a context menu of an in-shelf dock and clicking on it would close the in-shelf dock. * An in-shelf dock with a magnify effect on would would re-magnify right after opening a context menu on one of its items. +++ * The Dock Style Editor Preview panel would retain the previous image if one of the sections (Tiles, Backgrounds or Themes) did not have any content. * Sub-docks with endcaps and less than 3 icons might not be positioned correctly initially. * Dropping an item over a 'new item place holder' blank tile, created when 'Shift on Dragover' is enabled, no longer allows the item to be inserted into a sub-dock. To insert items into sub-docks you must be over an actual item. * Changing the dock orientation using the Dock Properties dialog would cause NeXuS not to use the correct dock background bitmaps for the new orientation. * The tip of the day was still being shown twice on startup. * The Auto-Update prompt was still being shown while the Tip of the day was visible on the screen. * The Auto-Update application stayed running on the background when it prompted the user to check for updates, which to all effects disabled auto-update until the next reboot. * WorkShelf could freeze when upgrading from a previous version for the first time and starting up the whole Winstep Xtreme environment. * The Dock Style Preview window was not displaying extended dock endcaps. * Dropping an item into another dock's recycle bin did not reclaim the blank insertion tile in the target dock. * Fully transparent backgrounds no longer cause drag & drop dock operations to fail. * Fixed bug in which docks and shelves would stop auto-hiding after a drag & drop operation. * A dock with the magnify effect enabled could appear 'cropped' at the edges when initiating a drag & drop operation and the 'Shift Icons on Drag' effect was on. * The right mini-tab symbol was not updating itself when the shelf collapsed on PNG based themes. * Should have fixed problem where the right mini-tab gets 'squashed' depending on the total size of the shelf. Left and Right mini-tab bitmaps should always be 28 pixels wide. * The 'Get Weather' button in the Weather Settings dialog was always failing. * Fixed some problems which the subscription renewal code. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 442 - September 1st, 2006 - Public Beta 4 New Features: * The 'Internet Settings' dialog now also displays update information. * WorkShelf now performs a 'delayed' save every time shelf contents are added, deleted or modified. This prevents the annoying 'pause' that could occur while the shelf was being saved if you had lots of items in 'Regular' shelves. * Added support for the TEMPO (Possible Temporary weather changes') and VC (in the Vicinity) METAR directives. * New 'Fast User Switching' Internal Command (Win 2000 and above only). Fixes: * The sticky shelf timer is now reset every time the user uses the keyboard to navigate the shelf. * Pressing a shift key could sometimes result in a WorkShelf hotkey activating without the corresponding key being actually pressed. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 441 - June 30, 2006 - Public Beta 3 New Features: * WorkShelf is now able to use PNG task or Hotspot button bitmaps as the default background of desktop modules. * Added new option to the Misc.Options section of Shelf Icon Preferences to select wether folder items are displayed as a NextSTART menu or in a Explorer window when clicked on. * WorkShelf no longer keeps adding itself to the Registry Run section when set to run at startup. This could cause some Registry monitors to keep flagging the application. * You can now specify a Proxy Server and Proxy Port different from those specified in Internet Explorer. Fixes: * The shelf would collapse automatically when activating it through the keyboard even while you were navigating it. * VISTA: Showing the contents of the Recycle Bin returned an error. * The Net In and Net Out graphics in the Net Statistics panel were not being displayed. * VISTA: The Active Connections panel kept giving Access Violation errors because iphlpapi.dll no longer exports the AllocateAndGetTcpExTableFromStack function. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 438 - Jun 19, 2006 - 3rd Beta 3 Preview New Features: * The Email Checker systray icon now pops up a balloon tooltip to notify you of new mail (XP Only). * WorkShelf now selects the first item When activating a shelf through the keyboard, because otherwise you would not be able to keep on navigating that shelf contents using just the keyboard. Fixes: * WorkShelf was not displaying layered (per pixel alpha) windows under Windows 2000. * WorkShelf was using PixOS instead of Aero as the default theme under Windows 2000. * Camberra was listed as Gamberra on the Weather module locations list. * WorkShelf no longer crashes when displaying the Control Panel shelf and the buggy Logitech Camera Control applet is installed on a system. * If the center section of a bitmap was larger than the destination area, then the bitmap was being cropped instead of stretched. * The 'Empty Recycler' sound effect was playing before the confirmation dialog. * Unzip was not honoring sub-directories, which caused themes with individual bitmaps for sub-menus to overwrite the main bitmaps and setting files when importing themes. * When you load a per-pixel alpha theme for the first time that uses one or more fonts not yet installed on your system, these fonts are automatically installed as normal. However, because of a bug in GDI+, the fonts will not be recognized until WorkShelf is re-started, which can cause all text to be missing. From now on, when this occurs, Arial will be automatically used instead, and the proper font will be used when WorkShelf is re-started. * WorkShelf was not retrieving the user defined icons and snapshot exclusion list at startup as it should, which could cause it to 'forget' these settings. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 436 - May 31, 2006 - 2nd Private Beta 3 Preview New Features: * Added support for the NextSTART \subtheme folder when Exporting zip files. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 435 - May 26, 2006 - Private Beta 3 Preview New Features: * You can now set specific tasks to only appear in the tasks shelf when they have been minimized. Fixes: * Fixed some issues with certain UI elements not appearing enabled or disabled when they should in the User Defined Task Icons dialog. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 434 - May 02, 2006 - Public Beta 2 Emergency Update Fixes: * The date of a new release could not be obtained on non-English systems. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 433 - May 02, 2006 - Public Beta 2 New Features: * You can now use PNG files to customize icons in the tasks shelf. Note that if you have the tasks shelf set to display task snapshots and the associated window is minimized, the icon will NOT update until the window has been restored. * Drag & Dropping items in the same shelf or between different shelves is now much faster (the shelf now updates instantaneously and the double save + refresh that was happening when moving items in the same shelf has been eliminated). * Added a Back button to the WorkShelf Help panel. * WorkShelf now tries to use NextSTART's Hotspot button bitmap for the background of desktop modules not being skinned before it tries to use the Task bitmap. * WorkShelf weather module now displays the weather conditions in Central Park, NY City, USA, by default. * Decreased CPU load imposed by scrolling text items in the weather module. Fixes: * 3D buttons were being mis-positioned at the top. They now start at the body top offset minus 2 pixels. * Task context menu actions could potentially be applied to the wrong windows. * Scrolling the shelf while an icon was selected and zoomed in, could cause the zoomed in version to be painted at the wrong position. * WorkShelf's version of the Windows Open and Save common control dialogs could create problems with Stardock's Enhanced Dialog utility. * Loading a Sound Theme through the Theme Management tab in Preferences failed to correctly apply the default sounds. * Mini-tabs based on PNG files are now edge aligned with the shelf body. * The Desktop Wanda module would flash the 'magic pink' background every animation frame if it was set to use a non-per-pixel alpha transparent background bitmap. * The clock module captured into the NextSTART Startbar as an icon was using the colors from the desktop clock for the hours, minutes and second hands instead of the shelf colors as it should. * The Clock, Weather, Trash and Email modules, when captured into the NextSTART startbar as icons, could become 'clipped'. * The CPU Module's most active programs list now also works on non English systems. * The text effect color was still being rendered transparent on some systems. * WorkShelf was not un-hooking itself from the system wide Shell Hook, which could cause potential problems or even crashes. * Text artifacts on scrolling items in the desktop weather module due to the difference in size between GDI and GDI+ text. * The Theme Manager tab was not copying animation strip bimaps (*ani.png/bmp/jpg) when saving a theme. * If no Email accounts were defined or all the existing ones were disabled, WorkShelf would keep flashing the desktop email module forever. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 424 - April 25, 2006 - 4th private Beta 2 Preview New Features: * The Desktop Email Checker module now supports animations, which can be achieved by using a WsMailAni.png/bmp strip and specifying the number of frames and frame interval (in milliseconds) in the Email Module Advanced Skinning panel. * Under XP, Desktop modules captured into the NextSTART startbar now become layered windows in order to preserve bitmap alpha transparency. * The Desktop Recycler module now supports animations, which can be achieved by using a WsTrashAni.png/bmp strip and specifying the number of frames and frame interval (in milliseconds) in the Recycler Module Advanced Skinning panel. * You can now display the Recycler Icon in the Desktop Recycler Module. * Deleting a shelf item via the keyboard or a context menu now also plays the Recycler Delete sound. Fixes: * Prevented windows that constantly change their caption bars to reflect some setting (e.g.; GIMP, eMule) from having snapshots taken all the time. This could be very annoying because the window is forced to redraw, every time a snapshot is taken, to prevent screen artifacts. * Problem with WorkShelf Desktop Modules not being captured properly into the NextSTART Startbar. * Hibernate Internal Command was executing a Standby instead. * Fixed glitches in the drawing of the 3D buttons around the icons. * 3D buttons did not scale well to vertical icon spacings other than the default. * It was possible, when changing themes, for icons belonging to a row that is not visible to appear at the bottom of the shelf. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 422 - April 13, 2006 - 3rd Private Beta 2 Preview New Features: * Added a Water Ripple Effect settings dialog where you can define the speed, distance traveled and size of ripple. * Added an 'Opacity' sub-menu to a task's CTRL+Right Click menu. There you can set the opacity level of an application, either 25%, 50%, 75% of 100% (fully opaque). * Added a 'wsWandaOverlay.bmp/png' bitmap which can be used to overlay the desktop module's Wanda to make it look like it's inside an aquarium, behind a rock, etc... Changes: * Decreased the default distance travelled by the water ripple effect to half of what it was. * Changed the order in which Histograms, Bar Graphs and Multi-State images are drawn in meter desktop modules: Multi-State images are now drawn first, which enables the skinner to paint an Histogram or Bar Graph on top of it. Fixes: * Clicking the Advanced button in the Tasks section of Icon Preferences crashed WorkShelf. * Setting 'Normal Z-Order (Linked to Shelf)' from a desktop module's context menu was not working. * Fixed low-quality, blurred, text when ClearType was not enabled. * The ability to Right click and drag an item and then dropping it into WorkShelf was broken. Menu options would be ignored. * Thumbnails of video files were not being rendered properly on context menus with per pixel alpha themes. * Auto-Arrange Modules was engaging, re-arranging all the modules on the screen, even if you only changed the theme of a single module. * The 'Clear Fx' button wasn't clearing all the sound effects. * Module Histogram bitmaps, when used on per pixel alpha surfaces, were not being correctly aligned horizontally. * Some Module and Shelf bitmap files were still being locked by GDI+. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 418 - April 5, 2006 - 2nd Private Beta 2 Preview Changes: * Changed the thumbnail rendering code. It is now faster and does not fail on some thumbnails as the previous code did. Fixes: * GDIPlus.dll is no longer installed on XP systems since it is already part of the OS. * Wanda's tooltip - or any other balloon tooltip - would cause the shelf to come forward. * The task window snapshot function now forces a window to repaint after taking a snapshot from it. This should take care of some window refreshing problems caused by the snapshot function. * Text rendered on per-pixel-alpha transparent windows was transparent on XP Systems with ClearType disabled. * WorkShelf would crash on some systems when generating thumbnails. This also made it impossible to open the Icon Preferences tab in WorkShelf Preferences. * On some systems, uncollapsing the shelf caused the shelf body to become fully transparent. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 405 - March 31, 2006 - Private Beta 2 Preview New Features: * The desktop modules and the shelf are now all independent of each other, i.e.; when you click on one the others no longer come forward as well. If you prefer the old method you can still have it by setting the Z-Order of each module to 'Normal, Linked to WorkShelf'. * Added 'Always On Bottom' z-order setting to desktop modules i.e.; modules can now be forced to always stay behind other windows. * Added a 'Apply to All' button in the Module tab of WorkShelf Preferences which applies the current settings to all the modules. * Added 'Empty Recycle Bin' and 'Drop Into Recycler' sound effects. * Added a new dialog that pops up when there is a new version available. This dialog not only displays version and release date information as it allows you to temporarily dismiss the notification for up to 15 days. * Added 'Flash Selected Icon' effect for when you click or drop something onto an icon. * Added 'Water Ripple' effect for when you click anywhere on the shelf. * Added a new Special Fx and Animations dialog to the Icon Preferences tab, from where you can individually turn on or off some of the special effects (like Icon Shift on Drag, Icon Zoom on Selection, Water Ripple Effect, etc...). * WorkShelf now displays the icons of virtual or file objects being dragged into it from Explorer windows instead of just displaying the little drag symbol. * WorkShelf now only enumerates running tasks when windows are created or destroyed, instead of every second. This should save a few cycles. * WorkShelf right click context menus now also display ower drawn context menus, such as 'Send To' and 'Open With...'. Since these type of menus are owner drawn, they will not be skinned. * Taking Task Snapshots is now much less agressive to the system than it was: snapshots are taken once and only refreshed when the window caption changes or a window is minimized and then restored. * WorkShelf now asks for confirmation before deleting a 'Regular' type shelf using the 'Delete Shelf' option in the tab's right click context menu. * Added Proxy support. When connected to the Internet via a LAN, WorkShelf now uses the Proxy settings specified in the Connections tab of Internet Explorer. * Fine tuned the task list polling algorithm, which is now only activated when windows are created, changed or destroyed. * Added Hotkeys to shelf selection and item execution. You can now specify a global hot key to open a specific shelf or to run a specific program. * Added 'Move' and 'Size' commands to the context menu of tasks. * Improved the algorithm used to calculate when to update the desktop RAM meter. The RAM Meter information is now only updated when strictly necessary for all cases, while still maintaining 100% accuracy. Changes: * Changed the layout of the Moduler Preferences window to make room for the new features. * Changed 'Don't show this message again' in the Ask to check for Updates dialog to 'Always ask before checking for updates' to prevent users from thinking that un- -selecting this box would disable new update checking. * Moved the 'Zoom Icon on Selection' effect to the Special Fx dialog in the same Preferences panel. * The Module list in the pull up menu of Module Preferences is now sorted in alphabetical order. * The Shelf types pull up menus in the Shelf Editor and Shelf Properties dialogs are now sorted in alphabetical order. * Changed the layout of the Item Properties dialog panel. Fixes: * In the email checker module, enabling ssl encryption, closing the settings windows, and then reopening the settings windows would show the ssl box unchecked. * Configuration Backup files (.wbk) larger than 32Kb might create a buffer overlflow situation on restore in which some settings would be left with their default values. * Workshelf task snapshot function will no longer wreck havoc with per pixel alpha layered windows, which enables you to keep applications using layered windows out of the snapshot exclusion list. * The 'Don't show this message again' option in the Ask to check for Updates dialog always showed up un-checked. * The RAM meter and Net Meter styles were being switched in the Module Preferences settings. * The security descriptor for the critical section mutex was nor properly initialized, which would cause a delay of up to 1 minute for WorkShelf to load on Win9x systems. * The Desktop meter modules were leaking GDI resources under Win9x systems. * Some item types (such as folders) where not properly converted when dragging items from NextSTART to WorkShelf and vice-versa, resulting in things like dropping a folder and getting a in-shelf clock module. -------------------------- Version 2.0 build 395 - March 13, 2006 - Public Beta 1 New Features: * GDI+ support added on systems that have the GDI+ library and are compatible with it. Backward compatibility is still maintained, however: new WorkShelf features based on GDI+ will simply not be available on systems without the GDI+ library (mainly Win95, which does not support GDI+). * Workshelf and WorkShelf modules now support per-pixel alpha transparency through the use of PNG files. Modules retain the old bitmap filenames, except that they now accept .png files as well as the old .bmp and .jpg formats. For per-pixel alpha transparency, WorkShelf requires the use of a new skinning method which uses the following filenames: WsFullBody.bmp/jpg/png WsFullTabA.bmp/jpg/png WsFullTabI.bmp/jpg/png WsFullTabmL.bmp/jpg/png WsFullTabmR.bmp/jpg/png With the new method, you no longer have to cut bitmaps up - WS will do this automatically for you in memory. All you have to do is specify the tile sections (top,bottom,left and right for WsFullBody and left and right for WFullTabA and WsFullTabI) in the Advanced Skinning panel. Workshelf will still work with the older bitmap formats, but per-pixel alpha transparency in WorkShelf is only supported if you use the new skinning method. * WorkShelf can now use PNG files for shelf icons. * Faster GDI+ stretch methods now used for the icon magnification effects rather than the slower original method. * Added optional 'shift' effect animation when dragging icons over the shelf. * New optional bitmaps to be used on the desktop Net Meter if you need independent In/Out images. wsNetbIn.bmp/jpg/png wsNetbOut.bmp/jpg/png wsNethIn.bmp/jpg/png wsNethOut.bmp/jpg/png wsNetMultiIn.bmp/jpg/png wsNetMultiOut.bmp/jpg/png * New filenames for Trash and Mail icons. This was necessary because the previous ico filenames shared the same filename with the desktop module backgrounds. Old .ico filenames are maintained for back compatibility reasons: wsMailES.ico/png WsMailFS.ico/png WsTrashES.ico/png WsTrashFS.ico/png * Optimization code to the desktop Net and RAM meters so that they do not repaint if the values have not changed in the mean time AND the Histogram function is not enabled. * New 'Auto Arrange Desktop Modules' option to automatically re-arrange desktop modules at the right side of the screen when switching themes. This option can be found on the Theme Options dialog of the Theme Management tab in Preferences. * Added the 'Shelf Invert' option to the shelf body context menu. Changes: * Wanda desktop module animation now uses layered windows for transparency instead of windows regions (Win2k and XP only). This is faster and prevents problems with tooltips not appearing on certain older applications. * The Desktop mail checker module now uses the same icons as the ones used for the in-shelf mail checker module. Fixes: * The horizontal text offset for active and inactive types was being taken into account to calculate total tab area width even when the text was centered in both active and inactive tabs (the horizontal offset is ignored in such a case). * Moving an icon in a shelf would create a copy of that same icon unless you pressed SHIFT. * Running Explorer-specific context menu options prevented WorkShelf from auto-collapsing. * Fixed bug in which moving a desktop module with the 'Opaque On Mouseover' option enabled would prevent it from returning to the previous transparency level. * The RAM Meter module 'RAM Meter Theme' right click context menu option was not applying the selected theme. * Bug where the X position of the desktop CPU meter multi-state image was always equal to the Y position. * The first Multi-State frame was being used for zero values. * Bug in which, when loading a theme, 'CPU' and '%' were always added as the Prefix and Sufix of Desktop Module CPU percentage if the skinner had set them both to be blank. * WorkShelf could freeze as well, because of the tasks window snapshot function, if another program froze. -------------------------- Version 1.90 build 372 - December 5, 2005 - Official Release New Features: * Added a 'Show Recycler Properties' entry to the Recycler's context menu that displays the Windows Recycle Bin Properties panel. * Pressing SHIFT when dropping a file into WorkShelf now always makes sure that file is moved instead of copied. * The Active Connections window now remembers its size and the size of each header. As a fail-safe measure, pressing the SHIFT key while opening this window will reset all sizes to default. Changes: * If the Automatic Update Notification window is disabled but the auto update function enabled, then WorkShelf checks for updates every 24 hours instead of every week. * Fine tuned the grow/shrink icon code, which should now be a little bit faster. * WorkShelf is now set by default to run on Windows Startup, just like NextSTART. * A minimized Active Connections window no longer uses any negligible CPU time. Fixes: * The Explosion animation was not being displayed when files were being deleted by dragging them onto the Recycler. * Workshelf was deleting the incorrect item in a Regular Shelf if the item was dragged into a Recycler in another shelf. * Should have fixed the intermitent problems with WorkShelf overlapping the NextSTART Startbar or jumping to the wrong screen position when changing themes. * Some of the controls in the Tasklist Advanced dialog were not being enabled or disabled properly due to a documented MicroSoft bug in ActiveX controls. * Wanda no longer tries to display cookies in the middle of a full screen game. * Moving objects within Regular shelves was always copying the object instead of moving it, even when the CTRL key was not being pressed. This made it nearly impossible to re-arrange the contents of shelves. * When using application with large number of TCP/IP or UDP connections (such as P2P software) it was possible to have multiple connections highlighted at the same time. * Minimizing the Active Connections window would crash WorkShelf. -------------------------- Version 1.90 build 350 - November 23, 2005 - Public Beta 6 New Features: * Added CTRL+Right Click context menu to tasks in Tasks shelf with the following options: Minimize Restore Close Minimize Similar Restore Similar Close Similar Minimize All Restore All Change Task Icon Add to/Remove from Snapshot Exclusion list. Changes: * Wanda animation is turned off by default on Win9x/NT4 systems so it doesn't use too much CPU resources. * The Wanda desktop module is repositioned at the left of the other screen modules if screen resolution is less than 1024x768. * Grow/Shrink selection method is disabled by default on Win9x/NT4 systems since it is very CPU intensive and it is assumed that the host machine is low end. Fixes: * Fixed problem where drag & drop outside of WorkShelf was not working properly with icon grow/shrink effect enabled. * The Preview button of WorkShelf Preferences was not applying changes to specific modules when the Module tab was open. * Workshelf was exiting anyway even when the user answered 'No' to the 'Exit WorkShelf' prompt. * The CPU hogs list had the CPU usage percentage truncated if the text was right justified and the program name too large to fit. * WorkShelf could overlap the NextSTART starbar when changing themes. * Fixed problem where the wsdefault.wbk file was not being deleted on un-instalation. -------------------------- Version 1.90 build 343 - October 18, 2005 - Public Beta 5 Fixes: * Pressing Preview after changing the Task's user defined icon list or the Snapshot Exclusion list would lose the changes. * Using the common Windows dialogs to browse for files in the Task's User Defined Icons list or the Snapshot Exclusion list would crash WorkShelf. -------------------------- Version 1.90 build 342 - October 18, 2005 New Features: * You can now customize task icons in the tasks shelf by dropping a *.ico file into a task. * Customizing a task's icon in NextSTART now automatically customizes the same task's icon in WorkShelf. Fixes: * Opening a drive in the Drives shelf would result in a 'The Parameter is Incorrect' message box being displayed. * On non-XP systems magnified icons would have a 'pink' halo around them. * The 'Don't Update Snapshot' option in the Advanced Task Options dialog was not working properly. * Exit, Log Out and Hybernate functions were broken. WorkShelf would exit but the required action was not performed. -------------------------- Version 1.90 build 341 - October 4, 2005 - Public Beta 4 New Features: * Added an Advanced button in the Icons tab of WorkShelf Preferences where you can define a list of tasks to be excluded from having their snapshot taken. * The frame icon selection method switches back to 3D mode when there is no 3D frame around the icons. * Added 'Raised' option for the frame icon selection method. Note that for this option to have an effect, the 3D frame around icons must be turned off. * The grow/shrink effect is no longer limited to an icon at a time. Mouse over a series of icons and you get a much more natural wave like effect * Improved the quality of the growing icons when the grow & shrink effect is turned on by using an anti-aliasing algorithm. * Auto Update can now optionally check for beta versions. Fixes: * A hung application would hung WorkShelf as well if the option to take tasklist window snapshots was enabled. -------------------------- Version 1.90 build 338 - September 15, 2005 - Public Beta 3 Changes: * Reduced the frequency in which task window snapshots are taken in order to reduce CPU load. Fixes: * Grow effect sizing problem on tasks shelf with tasks that did not provide window snapshots or when the snapshots function was disabled. * Size problems with customized in-shelf clock bitmaps. * The currently Active window no longer has the task snapshot updated since this can cause some subtle - and not so subtle - window painting problems. * Selecting a theme from the Themes tab would generate a hidden error that could crash WorkShelf with an Access Violation error if compiler optimizations were enabled. * The Email Checker module was not respecting the 'Wait for Connection' and 'Alternative Connection Detection' Internet settings. -------------------------- Version 1.90 build 336 - September 12, 2005 - Public Beta 2 New Features: * Added a 'Zoom in effect on Icon Selection' option. When selected, a shelf icon grows a little bit and then shrinks back to original size when unselected. * Added a 'Zoom in on Windows Snapshots' option to zoom the snapshot of a task window into a full blown 128x128 image. * Added a 'Tab Alignment' sub-menu to the tab's context menu. * Added 'Show Tasks as Icons' or 'Show Window Snapshots' option to the Task's Shelf context menu. * Added new context menu entries to the Shelves context menu. * Explosion effect when you drag a shelf object into the Recycle bin and the object is visible on the shelf when you drop it. * Added a 'New Folder' context menu entry for shelves pointing to folders. * Added an option (XP ONLY) to view tasks as window snapshots instead of task icons. * Added a 'Tabs Position' section to the Shelf Settings tab in Preferences. * New 'Icon Settings' Preferences tab. Moved shelf icon related settings from the Shelf Settings tab to the new Icon Settings tab. * Added a Preview section to the new Icon Settings tab. Changes to icon related settings are immediately previewed here. * Added an option to show icons in a Tasks shelf as application rather than window icons when the icon size is 48x48 or larger. This circunvents a Windows limitation where 48x48 or larger tasklist icons are stretched up versions of 32x32 icons. * The desktop recycler module now also asks for confirmation before deleting files or objects (if 'Ask for Confirmation' is enabled in the Recycler module Settings). * Pressing the SHIFT key while dropping a file into the Recycle bin now permanently deletes the file (does not send to Recycler) * Added Auto Complete to all edit boxes that requested filenames. * Added a Preview button to the Advanced Skinning Settings of all the desktop modules when accessing these dialogs through the module's context menu. Changes: * Renamed 'Use Windows File Browser' to 'Use NeXT style File Browser' and made WorkShelf use the Windows Common File dialog by default. * Moved some settings around within the Shelf Settings tab. * Removed the 'Show Launch Errors' option which was obsolete. * Moved the 'Show Icon Tooltips' option from the Global to the Icon Settings tab in Preferences and renamed it 'Show Object Tooltips'. Fixes: * Tabs with a justification other than full width could, in certain themes, take up more space than necessary. * Automatic shelf switch could select the wrong shelf or none at all if tabs justification was not set to full width. * Left clicking on a task icon in the Tasks shelf would not minimize the window as it should if the window was already in the foreground. * If a shelf being previewed in Preferences was smaller than the preview window the image would appear to jump up and down. * Bug where dragging a shelf object very fast could prevent the correct icon from being shown while dragging the object. * If MouseOver activation was enabled, it would uncollapse WorkShelf even if you were pointing to a mini-tab. This would, more often than not, prevent you from clicking on the mini tabs without causing the shelf to un-collapse automatically. * Bug where Restoring a backup of WorkShelf would make it leak an undetermined amount of icon handles. * Fixed some issues with the Respect Reserved Screen space option. * Possible icon rendering problems when the shelf was inverted. * Minor popup location problems for the Wanda cookie tooltip. * Shelf could be manually resized when collapsed. * Could not drag shortcuts to items that no longer existed. * Context menus were not closing automatically when executing a shell action. * Context menus could sometimes terminate with an item separator instead of a valid context menu option. * Folder items in Regular shelves did not get the 'Make Shelf from Folder' and 'Browse in NextSTART' context menu entries. * The Net Out meter was not being refreshed when attached to the NextSTART startbar as an icon. -------------------------- Version 1.90 build 324 - August 30, 2005 - Public Beta 1 Release New Features: * The default clock and recycler module icons now scale up above 48x48. * WorkShelf now automatically updates its icons when you change a file association. * Added Initialization Mutexes so NextSTART and WorkShelf do not initialize at the same time, which could spell trouble under certain conditions. * Added support for NextSTART's ability to captured WorkShelf desktop modules as icons into the Startbar. * Added "Attach to NextSTART' and 'Detach From NextSTART" context menu entries for desktop modules to make it easy to add or remove desktop modules from the NextSTART Startbar. * Improved WorkShelf's ability to deal with Reserved Screen area changes. * You can now select a theme in the Theme Management tab of WorkShelf Preferences and apply it by clicking on the OK or Preview buttons at the bottom of the panel. This takes care of a common mistake - and a big source of confusion - for first time users, who would do just this instead of clicking on the diskette button and would then be terribly surprised because nothing happened. Users are always right! * New 'Show Themes' shelf type. This shelf shows all currently available WorkShelf themes and displays each theme's preview screenshot as the icon for easy recognition. * Added an option to save fortune cookies retrieved from the Internet into a local 'Online Cookies' file. Maximum allowed size for this file is 150 Kb, once it reaches this limit no more cookies are added to it. * Added a 'Test' button in Wanda Settings to test the online cookie retrieval. * Pressing the SHIFT key while deleting a file from a Show Folder shelf now permanently deletes the file (does not send to Recycler) * Browse in NextSTART context menu entry for folder type items. Note that NextSTART must be running for this to work. * 'Opaque on Mouseover' option for semi-transparent desktop modules. Makes a semi-transparent desktop module fade to opaque when the mouse pointer is over it and fade back to the previous transparency level when the mouse pointer leaves it. * Added option in Global Preferences panel to control how many Documents are displayed in the Recent Documents shelf (XP only). The default is 15. * The Recent Documents shelf under XP no longer displays hundreds of files, but the last 15 used documents as it should. * Added Backup and Restore buttons to the Global Preferences panel of WorkShelf. * Added 'Show Icon Frame' option to the Shelf Settings Preferences Panel. * Added Internal Command 'Show Tip of the Day'. Changes: * Rewrote routines to draw the clock and recycler in-shelf icons. * WorkShelf now starts docked to the bottom screen edge and reserves screen space by default. * The Weather module now automatically retrieves the weather for the first time once you choose a location (i.e. Interval is now set to Every Hour by default). * The Atomic Clock feature is now enabled by default. * Removed the 'Glow when retrieving cookies from the Internet' option in Wanda settings which was not being used. * Renamed 'Show/Hide Buttons' in the Shelf context menu to 'Show/Hide Icon Frames' Fixes: * The Wanda in-shelf module was not being temporarily disabled when collapsing the shelf, which could cause some painting problems during the shelf's collapse animation. * WorkShelf prevented NextSTART from releasing a module's position in the Startbar when the module was closed. * Wanda balloon tooltip positioning issues when Wanda was located at the bottom of the screen. * WorkShelf no longer re-initializes its internal icon cache as often as it used to (i.e.; sometimes unnecessarily). * Wanda's cookie balloon tip would not appear or appear in the wrong place if Wanda was attached to the NextSTART startbar. * Changes to the Wanda show cookie interval did not take effect until the previous interval had elapsed. * Certain XP Icons with Alpha shaddows, when dragged, showed an ugly pink color around the edges. * WorkShelf now flushes the internal Icon Cache when the icon size is changed. * Fixed an error in the thumbnail generator that could cause some thumbnails not to be rendered. * Trying to open WorkShelf Preferences from the systray button could crash WorkShelf if a modal window was currently open. * Aborting a file delete in a Show Folder shelf type was temporarily unselecting and hidding the file's icon. * The 'Tip of the Day' dialog could be resized. * Trying to change a theme through the Desktop Weather Module context menu would apply the selected theme to everything instead of just the Weather module. -------------------------- Version 1.80 build 305 - June 26, 2005 - Official Release New Features: * WorkShelf now permits simultaneous internet connections for all modules and Internet functions. * The Email Checker module can now work over SSL connections. This also means the Email Checker can be used with Gmail accounts if you enable POP3 on that account. * The Email Checker module now supports IMAP mail servers. * The Email Checker tooltip now provides individual information about each of the mail servers being polled when you are using the module to monitor more than one email account. * WorkShelf now uses it's own private clipboard format in drag & drop operations of WorkShelf objects. This means WorkShelf drag & drop data cannot be confused by other applications as drag & drop of straight text anymore. * The 'Current Network Connections' window of the Net Meter module is now resizable. * Icons are now cached on NT/Win2000/XP systems. This means that shelves now open instantly after you have accessed them once. * Shelf icons and thumbnails of the currently open shelf that are not in view are never-the-less rendered on the background so that they are ready to be displayed when the user scrolls the shelf. * If system icons change, WorkShelf now automatically refreshes the currently open shelf so that any icon changes can be reflected. * New 'Make Shelf from Folder' right click context menu option. Right click on a folder in a Shelf and you will get an option to create a new shelf displaying the contents of that folder. This new shelf will also open automatically. * You can now specify which server port number to use for email server connections performed by the Email Checker module. * Added a 'Check for Updates' item to Info sub-menu of the Shelf context menu. Fixes: * Fixed bug in the Icon Caching algorithm which would not update an item's icon when this was changed using that item's Properties dialog or by dropping an ico file onto it. -------------------------- Version 1.71 build 302 - March 31, 2005 - Maintenance Update. Changes: * When a new version is available, Web Update now opens the Winstep Full Pak page instead if NextSTART is also detected on the system. Fixes: * The desktop RAM Meter was using the y coordinate instead of the x coordinate for multi-state images. * Multi-state images did not work unless the Histogram was enabled as well. * Net Meter bitmap images were not being applied. * The Recycler Module was not properly changing between Empty and Full states. * The shelf no longer automatically uncollapses itself after a screen resolution change. -------------------------- Version 1.70 build 301 - March 10, 2005 - Official Release New Features: * Added a Most Active Programs History dialog to the CPU meter - lists the top most active programs in the last 128 seconds and the percentage of CPU used by them. * Net Meter Module with selectable Interface to monitor and complete Net Statistics (TCP,IP,UDP,ICMP) plus list of currently active connections (similar to the netstat DOS command). The Net Meter Module works under Win98/ME/W2k/XP and NT4 SP4 - Win95 does not suport this module. Net Meter advanced skinning bitmap name is wsNet.bmp. * RAM Meter Module. RAM Meter advanced skinning bitmap name is wsRAM.bmp. * The context menu of the desktop CPU Meter and the new Meter modules now allows the module style to be changed if advanced skinning is disabled. * Clock hands are now anti-aliased. * The colors of the in-shelf clock hands can now be set in the Clock Settings dialog. * Workshelf now accepts virtual shell items (such as the objects in Control Panel) to be dropped into it. If such a virtual object is dropped into a folder type shelf, a shortcut is created into it in the folder. * Icon labels are now highlighted as well as the icon when the mouse pointer hovers over them. * Image and Video files can now be previewed as thumbnails. * The shelf now automatically scrolls if you hold the mouse pointer over a scroll button for over 1 second. * When dragging an item you can now scroll the shelf by holding the mouse pointer over one of the scroll buttons. * Tabs can now be full shelf width or dynamic width, in which case they can be left or right justified or centered. * Wanda Fish module. Wanda swims mindlessly in a shelf or on the desktop until you click on her, at which point she will share a bit of her wisdom with you. Wanda has optional access to an online database of over 50,000 'fortune cookies'. You can also add your own cookie files. * Added the ability to set WorkShelf's icon size through the left mini-tab context menu. * New balloon tooltips! * Shelf item tooltips now present as much information about files, folders and virtual objects as the tooltips provided by Explorer. * New 'Cookie Popup' sound effect for when a Wanda cookie is delivered. * WorkShelf can now automatically check for updates over the Internet. * Right Clicking on a tab now also provides access to the Shelf Editor, where you can re-arrange the shelf's order. * Added a 'Tip of the Day'. * WorkShelf now also asks for confirmation before deleting shelf objects, unless you turn this feature off in the Recycler settings. * You can now drag & drop objects from Regular shelves into Explorer windows. * Added support for URLs. You can now drag & drop an URL from Internet Explorer windows into WorkShelf. * The non-advanced skinning desktop net meter module can now be switched between horizontal and vertical configuration. * Added bitmap graph support for Meter modules with advanced skinning (wsCPUb.bmp,wsCPUh.bmp,wsNetb.bmp,wsNeth.bmp, wsRAMb.bmp and wsRAMh.bmp). The 'b' stands for Bar and the 'h' for Histogram. * Added Multi-State image support to desktop meters (for things like Gauges, etc...). Filenames are wsCPUMulti.bmp, wsNetMulti.bmp and WsRAMMulti.bmp. Just create a single bitmap with as many state images as you want and tell WS the x and y position plus the number of frames. * You can now copy URLs from WorkShelf to Explorer windows. * Optimized Wanda desktop module display routines for faster execution on slower systems. * Added visual percentage indication to the Active and Inactive text maximum text widths in the Advanced tabs skinning dialog. Changes: * METAR information in the desktop module now only scrolls if it is too long to fit on the allocated space. * Default Shelf icon size under XP is now 48x48. * The Themes, Sound Schemes and Voices items in the left mini-tab right-click context menu have been moved into a 'Appearence and Sounds' sub-menu. * Renamed the 'Disable Edge Bump' option to 'Disable Edge Bump Activation' and moved it to the Shelf auto activation section. * Moved the icon tooltips option to Global Preferences tab. * Because you can now drag & drop file objects from regular shelves to Explorer windows, it is no longer possible to delete shelf objects by dragging them off the shelf. You must either drag the object to the in-shelf recycler or delete it via the keyboard (DEL key) or the object's right click context menu. * The 'Location' field of the Metar Module now only displays the city name, since it was considered to be enough and takes up less valuable space. * Improved scrolling text algorithm in the Weather module, it was consuming too many CPU cycles. * WorkShelf no longer automatically collapses the shelf (if this feature is turned on) when an object is being dragged from it. * Changed and optimized shelf drawing code. * The shelf preview in the Shelf Skinning tab of Preferences now always displays 32x32 icons so a good preview is possible. * Scroll arrows are no longer allowed to overlap the new shelf buttons. * Thumbnails now only begin to get rendered when the shelf is fully un-collapsed to prevent jerky uncollapse animation. Fixes: * Should have corrected a problem where file sizes over 2GB could sometimes be displayed as negative numbers (Again!) * Resource Leak with the Round Selection method of selecting icons. * Bug where dragging a shelf object over itself or another object would get it deleted from the shelf. * On specific conditions, certain fonts in desktop modules might fail to display properly, even when available on the system, and Arial would be used instead. * Bug where selecting the Wanda module in Module Preferences and then another module would crash WorkShelf. * Bug where dragging a file item from a regular shelf to an Explorer window would move or copy the actual file instead of a shortcut to it. * Changing Scroll Buttons style was not being reflected on the Shelf Preview image. * Couple of painting bugs with inverted shelves and Canceling a new theme with the shelf collapsed. * The 'Hide Systray Icon' command in the Wanda Systray context menu was not working. * Fixed problem displaying memory values with the RAM Meter and systems that had over 4 GB of total virtual memory. * Dragging the Preferences window scrollbar when WS was not registered did nothing. * Bug where balloon tooltip text could show up misplaced if the tooltip had no title. * The 'Browse' button in the Wanda Advs Skinning dialog was not working. * The mouseover icon for the left mini-tab was not being displayed. * Items in the desktop tab were not being deleted when dragged into the Recycler icon. * Refresh problems with some of the in-shelf modules. * Initiating a drag & drop operation with a shelf item and then canceling with with ESC with the mouse pointer over another item could cause that item to be executed. -------------------------- Version 1.6 build 276 - August 20, 2004 - Official Release. New Features: * If the 'Respect Reserve Screen Area' is enabled WorkShelf now positions itself properly when docked and the size of the NextSTART reserved screen area changes (for instance, when the size of the NextSTART startbar changes and the Startbar's 'Reserve Screen Space' options is enabled). * Whenever an item is deleted from Workshelf an 'explosion' animation is displayed. Fixes: * A bug in a specific version of shell32.dll could cause the Recycle bin module to always report zero files in the Recycler,a work around as been provided. * The WorkShelf tray icon was not being added to the systray after an Explorer crash. * WorkShelf was not running properly under NT4/Win95 because of the multi-monitor code. * The trash module displayed the size of files in the Recycle Bin as zero on systems that did not support the SHQueryRecycleBin API call. -------------------------- Version 1.5 build 269 - April 12, 2004 - Official Release. New Features: * Items in *Regular* shelves can now be deleted by dragging them away from the shelf and then releasing the mouse button - this only works with Regular shelves though, because the Windows Desktop is itself a drag & drop target and it is a legit action to drag files from folder type shelves into the Desktop. * Added maximum width option for the top CPU Hogs text in the CPU Meter Advanced Skinning panel. * Added 'Show CPU Meter Caption' to CPU Meter advanced skinning panel. * The Email Checker module now accepts arguments in the Email Client filename, provided that the actual filename is enclosed in quotes and the arguments are provided after the quotes; e.g.; "C:\Program Files\mozilla.org\Mozilla\mozilla.exe" -mail * To help diagnose Weather server connection problems, the dialog in the Weather Settings panel that reports a connection failure now also displays the failure reason. Changes: * Customized icons for in-shelf modules should now hold all the possible icon sizes (or at least 16x16,32x32 and 48x48) in a single icon file. Old icon file format remains supported for backward compatibility but will no longer be listed in the documentation as an option. Customized icons for the in-shelf recycle bin module are: wstrashe.ico wstrashf.ico Optional icons (Recycle Bin animation): wstrash1.ico wstrash2.ico wstrash3.ico wstrash4.ico wstrashd.ico Customized icons for the in-shelf clock module are: wsclocka.ico wsclockd.ico Customized icons for the in-shelf email module are: wsmaile.ico wsmailf.ico * The leading zero on the CPU load of the CPU hogs has been removed. * The desktop CPU Meter now automatically adds "%" to the current CPU load, unless the skinner already uses the symbol in the suffix. * Most skinners forgot to add post and leading spaces to suffixes and prefixes on the text of desktop objects, so WorkShelf now automatically adds a space if necessary. * Text on the desktop Weather module now scrolls pixel by pixel instead of character by character, which makes scrolling much smoother. Fixes: * The scrollbar in WorkShelf Preferences was not being properly resized and made it very difficult to access the Register tab. * Weather Observation hour was being added the daylight savings bias twice. * The size of the weather module icon being dragged was not correct for icon sizes larger than 48x48. * The color of the graph in the CPU Meter systray icon depended on the color of the in-shelf CPU meter module. * Folder type shelves were not being watched for changes, which meant the shelf would not automatically refresh itself whenever a file or folder was added/removed/renamed. * WorkShelf was allowing folders to be moved or copyed into themselves, which could result in a recursive operation. * When dropping a file on the in-shelf recycle bin, the round selection was not being painted behind the recycler. * A custom in-shelf Recycler icon would make the shelf refresh itself before having all content painted properly, causing the shelf body to 'flicker'. * With custom recycle bin icons WorkShelf would mix the built in recycler icons with the custom ones when animating the recycle bin. * Painting problems with the Email Checker in-shelf module and the round selection style. -------------------------- Version 1.4 build 266 - March 15, 2004 - Official Release. New Features: * When WorkShelf runs for the first time it now applies the default theme's wallpaper. * WorkShelf now uses the new Nature Sound pak by default. * WorkShelf frees RAM more agressively (NT/W2k/XP). * WorkShelf now re-inserts all tray icons into the systray after an Explorer crash. * Desktop modules no longer temporarilly 'jump' out of place when inside a reserved screen area and the size of this area changes. * Added a Find button to WorkShelf's Help page. Changes: * The METAR data file has now been moved to the \Weather\ sub-folder and the Weather icons have been moved out of the executable and into \Weather\Icons1\ and \Weather\Icons2\ * Moved wszip.dll, wsunzip.dll and region.dll to the Winstep folder. * The multi-monitor list is now only refreshed when there is a system display change notification. * Improved the way settings are retrieved from the Registry, which improves the startup time a little bit. Fixes: * Clicking on the Email Checker icon would not reset the module to 0 pending messages if there was no Email Client defined. * Fixed Resource leak in Win9x/ME with the CPU Tray icon. * WorkShelf would crash on Win9x/ME systems when trying to display the tooltip of the in-shelf or desktop CPU Meters. * After opening and closing WorkShelf Preferences, a previously collapsed shelf will remain collapsed instead of quickly uncollapsing and collapsing as it did previously. * With the shelf collapsed, double clicking the left mini-tab would invoke WS Preferences as it should, but it would also uncollapse the shelf. * Some of the Control Panel applets IC icons would display the default WorkShelf icon instead of the applet's icon. * Fixed problem where the shelf could appear 'cropped' at startup if it was docked to the same edge as the Windows startbar. * Power Off Monitor internal command was not working. * The silent period for clock and new email announcements was being ignored. * Fixed Weather icons still displaying the alpha channel on non-XP systems. * Fixed Z-Order problems that still remained with the shelf and desktop modules. * The CPU Hog list was still inacurate if one of the hogs was a proccess with multiple instances. -------------------------- Version 1.4 build 254 - February 25, 2004 - Public Beta 2 Fixes: * Z-Order problems with Always On Top desktop modules. * Added Weather icon versions without alpha-channel for non-XP systems. * Switch tabs on mouseover was not working properly when WS was inverted. * If the Recycler Desktop module had been captured into the NextSTART Starbar, the CPU Meter desktop module could not be moved. * Fixed problems with the built-in NeXT-style list control. * Opening the Appearence Preferences tab and then clicking on the shelf would make it change places. * The list of CPU Hogs would become non-accurate as processes were added and removed from it. -------------------------- Version 1.4 build 251 - February 20, 2004 - Public Beta 1 New Features: * The shelf can now be docked inverted at the bottom. * The Email Checker desktop module can now display one of the two built in animated icons even when using the advanced skinning settings. * The WorkShelf uninstaller now asks if you wish to clear Workshelf settings and delete all files (eg; Themes folder) before proceding with un-installation. * The WorkShelf installer now permits you to launch WorkShelf right after installation. * Added two new entries to the left mini-tab context menu: Sounds (Lets you select and apply Sound themes) Voices (Lets you select and apply different voices) * The Shelf can now be docked to the top of the screen in inverted or normal form (where the tabs stay fixed at the top). * The left mini-tab context menu now displays 'Dock to Top' and 'Dock to Bottom'. * Clicking on the CPU Meter Systray icon (W2k/XP only) now displays a balloon tooltip with the current CPU hog. * The desktop CPU Meter can now display the current Top x CPU hogs. Fixes: * The systray Weather icon was leaking GDI resources. * The Shelf was not properly reserving the screen space when being being inverted from one screen edge to the other. * Problem dragging icons from the shelf when Reserve Screen Space was enabled and the shelf was docked. * XP Weather icons in the shelf would gradually lose their alpha channel as they were selected. * Fixed problems with changing the Reserved Settings and applying them. -------------------------- Version 1.4 build 245 - February 17, 2004 - Private Beta 6 New Features: * The Shelf should no longer be moved out of of it's place by Windows when NextSTART's reserved screen area is changed. * Pressing F1 in WorkShelf now brings up WorkShelf Help. *The built-in NeXT style File Browser now saves the current icon setting and last used path between sessions. *The EMail Checker now respects the Silent Period, the global 'Disable All Sounds' and the Module 'Enable Sounds' settings. *The shelf can now reserve screen space when docked. The space reserved is equivalent to the shelf collapsed height. *The Shelf can now respect reserved screen areas when docked. This is very useful to prevent WS from docking behind things like the Windows taskbar, NextSTART Startbar, etc... *Added lots of Sound effects for specific WS events to the Global Preferences tab. Currently available events are: Collapse WorkShelf Expand WorkShelf Switch Tabs Mouse Over Select Item Execute Item Scroll Up or Down Open Preferences Clock Chime Clock Tick Email Chime *Added an Animation section to Global Preferences. Animation Speed can now be set and the collapse/expand animation can be turned off. *Added a new Shelf Preferences tab to WS Preferences. All shelf related options that were in the Global Preferences tab were moved to it. The Shelf Skinning tab was moved one place down. *Clicking on the Weather icon on the systray pops up a balloon tooltip showing more weather information (W2k/XP only). Changes: * Clock Voice and Sound folders have now been moved to the Global Preferences tab as well as the Silent Period. Voice settings now apply to any module that uses voices. The Sound folder is obsolete and has been replaced by the new Sound Effects section in Global Preferences. * The Email checker can now EITHER speak the number of email messages OR sound a chime. * Renamed 'Automatic Tab Selection' to 'Switch Shelves on Mouseover'. This option now works regardless of WorkShelf being collapsed or not, however if 'Enable Mouse Over Activation' is disabled, WS will not switch tabs when collapsed. *Internet connection related settings were moved to the Global Preferences tab. *Speech and Notification settings (like the Silent Period where WS is prevented from making time/new mail announcements or playing chimes, etc...) were moved to the Global Preferences tab. Fixes: *The Windows Commond Dialog File Browser was not correctly displaying multi-file type associations (eg; "*.wav;*.mid") *Leaving the mouse pointer inside the shelf while the collapse animation was playing and with activate on mouseover enabled could lead to strange things happening. *The Collapse animation could leave artifacts on screen on certain circumstances. *The Recycler icon was not showing the proper Recycler status when WorkShelf started. -------------------------- Version 1.4 build 239 - February 11, 2004 - Private Beta 5 Changes: * Improved the Weather Module Advanced Skinning dialog. * Slowed the scrolling rate of weather items. * Improved Recycle Bin Management. Fixes: * The icon of an in-shelf weather module being dragged was not visible while the drag operation took place. * The round rectangle icon selector was erasing the in-shelf weather module. * Persistent Objects (Show in All Shelves modules) could still be deleted through their context menu - this would crash WS. * The 32x32 version of the in-shelf digital clock was not showing the minutes leading zero. * The 'Always on top' option of the Email Checker and Weather desktop module context menus was not changing to reflect the current z-order of the module. * WS was sending a malformed HTTP GET command, to get the Weather information, that would be discarded by some Proxy servers. * Some 48x48 icons were still not being displayed properly. * The Email Checker bitmaps were not being copied when saving a new theme. * When saving an existing theme to a new folder, module bitmaps and definitions were not being copied. * Weather Module Advanced Skinning Pressure setting was not being saved or applied. * The Recycler Size can now handle values greater than 2 GB. * The background of scrolling items of the weather module was not being properly erased. * The Email Checker and Weather Module bitmaps were not being copied to the new folder when the theme was saved. * After saving a theme to a new folder, the Email Checker bitmap path was not updated to reflect the changes. -------------------------- Version 1.4 build 237 - February 9, 2004 - Private Beta 4 New Features: * Added 48x48 icon support for *.ICL (Icon Library) files under XP. * New 'Item Separator' - shows a blank space between icons in a shelf. Although it is not highlighted, this special item can be deleted and dragged as normal. * Weather Module with optional systray component: Advanced Skinning Bitmap: wsWeather.bmp - Weather module bitmap background. * Files and Folders can now be dragged from Regular shelf types into Folder-type shelves (e.g. Desktop and Startup tabs). A shortcut pointing to the source file is created in the target folder. * Added an option to show or hide the desktop icons to the shelf's left mini-tab context menu. * Added Backup and Restore options to the Shelf's left mini-tab context menu. Changed: * Checking the Atomic time servers or polling the email servers using the context menu option of the in-shelf modules no longer hangs Workshelf until the task is completed. * CPU Meter Systray icons are now build dinamicly, instead of being individual icons in the resource file. Fixes: * Some issues with Alpha Transparency and the shelf collapse animation. * The Shelf Body right click context menu was only available on Regular and Desktop shelves. * WS should now retrieve the correct 48x48 icon in systems using customized shell icons. * MSI shortcuts are now resolved properly. * Fonts used in the POP3 email checker module were not being saved. * WorkShelf might still remain in memory after exiting through the main shelf menu. * Clicking on the WS systray icon and selecting 'Show Preferences' would crash WorkShelf if a modal window was currently on display. * It was impossible to get rid of the CPU Meter systray icon if there was no CPU Meter module on the desktop or on the currently open shelf. * When using Windows File Dialogs, the Restore option would keep prompting the user for a backup filename. * WorkShelf could crash on exit if the CPU meter was enabled. * Context menus could sometimes not go away when running certain options. * WorkShelf shelves could become corrupt when deleting shelves. * WorkShelf would behave and look strange just after a restore. -------------------------- Version 1.4 build 223 - January 26, 2004 - Private Beta 3 New Features: * The Recycle Bin Desktop module can now display the number of files in the recycler and the space used by them in the disk. * The Desktop shelf now always displays two persistent objects: Hide/Show Desktop Icons and Display Properties. * Concurrent requests to speak the time or the number of pending emails messages are now queued instead of