ObjectBar lives!

Beta 1.99G released

http://www.objectdesktop.com
from WinCustomize Forums

ObjectBar lives! ObjectBar 1.99G is now available for Object Desktop users.  One of Stardock's most ambitious long-term projects of all time is nearly complete. It's been close for a long while but it has had to evolve with the marketplace. 

So what is ObjectBar?  ObjectBar is truly a one-of-a-kind program that lets people create their own sidebar/wharfs/finders/docks/bars/whatever.  There are plenty of "side bars" out there as well as other programs that lets you have some sort of dock, but what makes ObjectBar special is that it lets you create any kind of bar you want.  Want to make a Finder-like bar ala MacOS? ObjectBar can do it.  Want something that resembles something from OS/2? BeOS? Gnome? KDE? ObjectBar can do it.  ObjectBar can even do the kinds of things that Microsoft is hoping to do with its Windows Sidebar in Vista.  ObjectBar even supports putting widgets and gadgets onto it as a native part of the bar.

ObjectBar 2 has been in beta  long time.  A lot of that has been due to having to increase its feature set as programs from Google, Microsoft, and elsewhere have come onto the scene.  Development has continued even if beta releases were less frequent.  A lot of underlying technology had to be developed in order to make this sort of thing work.  For example, with ObjectBar 2, you can actually develop your own custom bars and then export them as programs for others to use! An actual .EXE!

ObjectBar 2 is also the basis of ControlCenter 2.  If you have Object Desktop, ControlCenter 2 beta should be available to try out.  ControlCenter 2 is a particular ObjectBar creation that was exported. The difference between an exported bar and ObjectBar itself is the simplicity of configuration. 

As you might expect, ObjectBar is a lot more complex than a "specialized" program would be.  This was a problem that has existed since ObjectBar 1 -- power users loved ObjectBar but casual users were intimidated.  But with the ability to export your creations as programs that have their own simplified configuration UI, that problem seems to be solved.  Power Users can continue to use ObjectBar and casual users can use ControlCenter or some other exported creation.  They all use the same skins.

ObjectBar 2 can be set to automatically make use of whatever WindowBlinds skin you are using.  It also has its own skin library.

Here's a summary of what's in in 1.99G:

  • Lots of cosmetic fixes. Example: Arrow bitmaps will show up on skins that don't have them (such as on submenus).
  • Can drag and drop URLs from web pages onto bars to create short-cuts.
  • Can drag and drop nearly anything onto a bar and have it create an object.
  • Enhanced plugin support for RSS readers, CPU meters, memory meters, drive meters, etc.
  • Bunch of new skinning options
  • TONS of other things which can be found here.

As the change log indicates, development on ObjectBar hasn't slowed down. It's just been a matter of getting the pieces together to make something public.

If all goes well on this version, it'll become a release candidate and then a final 2.0. Let us know what you think.  We're way beyond the "wishlist" stage though.  As many reading this probably agree, it's time for 2.0 to be released. So wishlist stuff can go into 2.x. Stability, bugs, etc. are things we're looking to resolve at this stage.

14,186 views 31 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Haha kinda ironic, I first saw this new post not by browsing WinCustomize, but by playing with the new RSS-Feed feature while preparing a new build of RightClick (which is based off of ObjectBar2). A "oh! hey cool its out!" moment. Hah ah well. Hope everyone enjoys this new build, let us know what you think on the boards!

-Jeff Bargmann (ObjectBar Developer)
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Start11 - Customize the Start Menu and Taskbar in Windows 10/11.
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It's an impressive list of changes there Jeff. Looking forward to try it out when I get time.
Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
There is one thing though, not sure if it's conisdered bug or a wish, but it'd be really nice if vertical docks that use the current WB skin use the skin info for the vertical taskbar.
Reply #5 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Wow. Installed OB and tried to download a couple skins. Something went amok and I lost Object Bar and taskbar. Had to do a system restore and something messed up my anti-virus. Seems that this program might not be ready for prime time quite yet...
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
ObjectBar can't affect your system itself. You could have just unloaded it or restarted your computer.  It may not be 100% compatible with 1.x skins since a lot has changed.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I did restart the computer but when the loading completed, the taskbar disappeared. As for unloading it, without a taskbar or Object Bar, there was no way to unload it.

It did work properly with one of the skins that came with the download, so you believe that the problem may have been the older downloaded skin rather than the program itself?
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
As for unloading it, without a taskbar or Object Bar, there was no way to unload it.


You can always run Task Manager and kill the process. Piece of cake.
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I did that as well. I was still left without a task bar.
Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Installed fine here. Works great so far. It's easy to put together a bar across the top or bottom of the screen but I want to do something vertical. Guess I'm gonna have to read the documentation....
Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Workin smoothly ... !!!

Welldone (as always)
Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
while preparing a new build of RightClick


Only one question : When ?
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
For some reason, when having a bar marked as hidden and making it show up with a hotkey, the bar won't hide again after losing focus.

I had StrokeIt set up to issue a F11 keypress when doing an "up" gesture, and this then made the bar show up since it was set up to show up (below the mouse cursor) on an F11 keypress.

In the prior release the bar hid again after losing the focus, but now I can't use this approach anymore.

As a workaround I docked the bar to the top border and told it to hide automatically, which is kind of neat and I think I like this a bit more than before, but nevertheless I won't be able to let it show up at the cursor position anymore (if I preferred to).
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Installed Object Bar and rebooted. Opened Object Bar config from Start Menu and tried to apply one of the default themes. Boom, crashed. The standard Microsoft Crash box came up and I clicked to report. Something is not quite right.
Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Quote : "We're way beyond the "wishlist" stage though. As many reading this probably agree, it's time for 2.0 to be released. So wishlist stuff can go into 2.x. Stability, bugs, etc. are things we're looking to resolve at this stage."

This statement worries me somewhat. You don't release something just because it's time (though this thing is really behind), you do it because its ready. Unfortunatly, object bar isn't there yet. The theme editor still needs a LOT of work, we've been pointing this out for a long time on the forums. This isn't a 'wishlist' issue, this is a major problem.

From a business sense, its been so long since object bar has had a major update, you need to almost treat this like a brand new release. The current state of this will literally cause you NOT to be able to get new users as they'll immediatly be turned off by that theme editor. I can use it, I've had a lot of practice, though 1.65 was much easier.

I'll be posting full thoughts on this beta on the forums when I'm done examining this release, but I just had to protest this thought that it's time for a release once you stabilize what you currently have. This is literally stardock's best productivity app, it needs the attention it deserves to really take off this next release.
Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Brad..love it that it's getting updated, HOWEVER, when I updated to this new version, my desktop icons suddenloy reappeared and I couldn't find any option to hide them when Objectbar is activated like I could in the old version. Am I missing some step? I checked thru all the options availave3 in theme editor and couldn't find any option to hide the desiktop icons...just the taskbar (which I never hide).
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I have created a bar and enabled "Replace applicable elements in this grouping with the current aplications menu, when available". As soon as i open a folder and click on File>New in ObjectBar the menu that appears is empty...
Just FYI: I'm using XP-Pro (german version)
Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top

This statement worries me somewhat. You don't release something just because it's time (though this thing is really behind), you do it because its ready. Unfortunatly, object bar isn't there yet. The theme editor still needs a LOT of work, we've been pointing this out for a long time on the forums. This isn't a 'wishlist' issue, this is a major problem.

Other than bug fixes, this is going to be 2.0.  The theme editor is supposed to be very basic, real skinners will update the actual files underneath.  WindowBlinds doesn't come with a theme editor, neither do most programs. It's just there to act as a basic thing.

Wanting a new feature is a wishlist - by definition.  People have been waiting for 2.0 a long time and a built in skin editor is a feature is not central to what ObjectBar does.

Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Thanks for the update.  The update was smooth and so far I haven't found any bugs to report.  I have been managing my OB using both the advanced and standard editors and am able to accomplish much of what I want if not with one then with the other.  OB still is equal to WindowBlinds and DesktopX for me.  I wouldn't be very happy to lose any one of them.
Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Does objectbar support per pixel graphics for the bars (apart from widgets embedded in it)? If not is is planned?

Not in 2.0.  We're going to wait and see what Windows Vista brings.

Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm not talking about a skin editor, I'm talking about the theme editor, i.e. how you create your bars. And its central to how object bar is useful.
Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Although this is possibly largely unrelated, what is the status of the virtual desktop application?

It still needs to support multiple monitors, and it needs to have vm locking and app exclusions working.

As far as I'm concerned, Control Center is largely defined by how well the virtual desktops work, and if the VWM isn't working correctly, then CC isn't much use either.

I largely like the way Control Center is implemented and working, but if the VWM isn't up to snuff, there's not really any good reason for me to use CC. The VWM functionality is what *makes* CC useful, without a good VWM, CC is just another sidebar.

I hope you're actually working to improve the Band VWM application, since CC and OB are largely useless to me unless it works the way it should.

Thanks.
Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top


I'm not talking about a skin editor, I'm talking about the theme editor, i.e. how you create your bars. And its central to how object bar is useful.

Okay.  What issues are you having with it?

Reply #25 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I'm not talking about a skin editor, I'm talking about the theme editor, i.e. how you create your bars. And its central to how object bar is useful.


Well I for one have been missing some of the more advanced features from 1.65. The basic theme editor is fine as far as it goes. As I recall, there was an advanced editor in earlier betas but I can't find it in the current version.


Just at the moment I can't think of specifics but while I was setting up my bar yesterday there were a number of things that I wanted to do that I either abandoned or modified in ways I didn't really want because I couldn't manipulate things the way I used to. Documentation (as always) doesn't exist.

Don't get me wrong, I like the product but simplfying the configuration isn't one of the improvements in my opinion.