I think everyone stood back and waited to see if this would become another Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?"

No to buttons launching a specific program (did that in my last two skins - no problem there.) Decided this may be more specific so I have included what I have in my uis file for the smartBar (which of course is now called Smartbutton in the Windowblinds configuration - not to add to confusion, of course):

The Launch Menu is what I can't seem to get configured:

SmartBar0]
Name=SmartBar Zone 1
NAME0=Quick Launch Menu
DLL0=quickl.wbp
WIDTH0=24
Enabled=1
Author0=Neil Banfield

[SmartBar1]
Name=SmartBar Zone 2
NAME0=url Button
DLL0=url.wbp
WIDTH0=24
Enabled=1
Author0=Neil Banfield

[Button8]
Align=1
XCoord=28
YCoord=25
ALpha=254
Width=24
Height=24
Action=-3
ShiftAction=0
CtrlAction=0
Visibility=0
DllName=smart.dll
SmartBarNumber=0
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp
AlphaOp=0
MouseOverLayout=0

[Button9]
Align=1
XCoord=27
YCoord=50
ALpha=254
Width=24
Height=24
Action=-3
ShiftAction=0
CtrlAction=0
Visibility=0
DllName=smart.dll
SmartBarNumber=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp
AlphaOp=0
MouseOverLayout=0

[Smartbar.quicklaunch]
Image=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp

[Smartbar.url]
Image=GoldEagle\Button2.bmp

[SmartBar1.url.wbp]
URL=https://www.wincustomize.com


This is what I have for Winamp (maybe you can tell if I need to add something, delete something, or just plain give up:

[WBAmp]
DialogMode=1
TimerInterval=1000
TitleMode=1

[Button10]
XCoord=311
YCoord=140
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_prev.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=5
WBAmpShift=5
WBAmpCtrl=7
Width=19
Height=19

[Button11]
XCoord=311
YCoord=192
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_play.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=1
WBAmpShift=1
WBAmpCtrl=1
Width=10
Height=19

[Button12]
XCoord=311
YCoord=176
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_pause.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=2
WBAmpShift=1
WBAmpCtrl=1
Width=12
Height=19

[Button13]
XCoord=311
YCoord=159
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_stop.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=3
WBAmpShift=3
WBAmpCtrl=3
Width=11
Height=19

[Button14]
XCoord=311
YCoord=120
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_next.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
LinkedTo=17
Align=2
Action=-4
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
WBAmp=6
WBAmpShift=8
WBAmpCtrl=8
Width=13
Height=19

[Button15]
XCoord=311
YCoord=102
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_down.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=13
WBAmpShift=13
WBAmpCtrl=11
Width=11
Height=19

[Button16]
XCoord=311
YCoord=83
Align=2
Action=-4
LinkedTo=17
Visibility2=40
Visibility=1
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_up.bmp
DllName=GoldEagle\WBAmp.dll
WBAmp=14
WBAmpShift=14
WBAmpCtrl=12
Width=16
Height=19

[Button17]
XCoord=310
YCoord=212
Align=2
Action=40
Visibility=1
Visibility1=19
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_toggle.bmp
Width=14
Height=13

[Button18]
XCoord=306
YCoord=235
Align=2
Action=-1
Visibility=2
ButtonImage=GoldEagle\wa_inactwin.bmp
#@!$$UNIQUE$STRING$$!@#=0

I think skin studio put in the unique string when I moved the buttons. (I must have done something really different huh?) I just arranged them to what I thought was a better order - okay go ahead and laugh.

You know, Dendillon may be right about the Abbot and Costello bit. I'm beginning to laugh hysterically because I don't know what I'm doing. Better than crying I guess.

Am downloading Blue Toast - need my fix of more bytes.

Hope the uis info helps. Think if everything gets to working I'll frame it for eternity.

Well, good news and bad news. The good news is after looking at Blue Toast, I got Winamp to work great. The bad news, I think I have the links wrong. When I press the button the Tray and the controls come up, but the controls are not on the tray. Oh well, making progress anyway. May as well ignore the info on Winamp. Needlesstosay, it has now changed.

dendillon - I think everyone stood back and waited to see if this would become another Abbott and Costello's "Who's on First?"

/me can no longer stand the strain of staying on topic
/me feels confused all over
/me hasent a clue what dendillon is talking about
/me wonders if confused is upset at being felt all over, cos there is a certain "expression" developing

starone - Decided this may be more specific so I have included what I have in my uis file for the smartBar (which of course is now called Smartbutton in the Windowblinds configuration - not to add to confusion, of course):

we are going to have to do this the hard way
i have downloaded both of the current versions of skin studio currently listed on object desktop, and both of them are "going nuclear" (lots and lots of illegal operations, and eating ALL of my remaining resorces) on my win98 machine.

/me leaps up and down on until machine works again

combine this with the fact that this machine is only running WB 2.21b.

at an educated guess these "smartBar" things are specific to WB3. is this correct?

if so, i am not going to be able to do any experiments here, so i am going to be entirely "in your hands" as to what is going on.

i can run experiments on my home machine under win2k with WB 3.00, but that wont really be until saturday at the earliest.

starone, how do you want to try this? i am quite prepared to have some more goes via this board in the mean time, or we can try and combine our ignorance over the weekend, or perhaps both?

remember, never underestimate the power of large numbers of "stupid" people in one place

so long as i dont understand that i cannot fix this, we should be fine

so, lets start with some basic questions to try and formulate a common vocab:
a) are these bars a new WB3 feature?
are you creating them with skin studio, and if so, which version?
c) if , are you inserting standard "controls" onto these bars?
d) what are you trying to achieve, in general terms?
e) is this designed to show up on a window skin (it will show on notepad), a taskbar skin, or a windows XP start bar skin?

starone - Well, good news and bad news. The good news is after looking at Blue Toast, I got Winamp to work great. The bad news, I think I have the links wrong. When I press the button the Tray and the controls come up, but the controls are not on the tray. Oh well, making progress anyway. May as well ignore the info on Winamp. Needlesstosay, it has now changed.


this should be solvable
from my vague and random guesswork in the blue toast UIS file, i think i see how the control toggle button works.

however, what do you mean by the tray vs controls?

from the blue toast skin there is an area that shows the current track info, and there is another area that holds the control buttons, but they dont overlap. if they did overlap, then you could only have on on the go at any one time.

starone - Think if everything gets to working I'll frame it for eternity.

look at it this way, if we keep this up we may be eligable for the longest average posting thread award!

/me is having one of those days, in case you hadent guessed

Don't take this too hard! It has to get better (I keep telling myself.) Had to write all your questions down (couldn't see them from here). Don't know how to interact inbetween like you do.

Well here goes:

(a) Yes, it is a new WB3 feature.
(b) It is going into the latest Skin Studio.
(c) I am inserting the Quick Launch Menu that is supplied with WB3. The Quick Launch Menu is in the WindowBlinds configuration under SmartButton (right click on the Windowblind icon in the system tray, go into configure Windowblinds, then the SmartButtons. You will see "Defined Smartbuttons" on the right. I inserted their QuickLaunch Menu).
(d) Trying to get the features that are in the Quick Launch Menu to do what they are suppose to do, i.e. launch Outlook Express, Explorer and Winamp.
(e) It will show up on a Windowblind skin.

Now, Winamp - The tray and controls come up at the same time, but the controls are not on the tray that is suppose to hold the controls.

You got it on the longest thread. At this rate, it may take an hour to come up, huh? However, anyway you want to handle it is fine with me. (No hurry on this skin - won't do anything else to it until I get things to work, then I can go from there with the perfecting.) In other words, don't feel pressured.

I'm sorry that it has caused you problems. Hope everything turns out okay and thanks for the help.

Feline - here is a link to the Abbott and Costello's comedic routine "Who's on First?"
http://www.city-net.com/abbottandcostellofc/whoscrip.htm

starone - Don't take this too hard!

/me is doing this for light releaf!
i have aproximately 2000 pages of technical specifications writen by several commities all over my desk. needles to say, they tend to contradict themselves a lot.
and all i have to do is to produce software to conform to all of the specs at once.
even the other programmers at work run screaming at the sigt of these specs, they really are that bad!
puts this in perspective

starone - It has to get better (I keep telling myself.)

just remember that there IS light at the tunnel. it is a great big cuddly teady bear with a torch, which is why skipping up the tunnel to cuddle it is considered suitable behaviour

starone - Had to write all your questions down (couldn't see them from here). Don't know how to interact inbetween like you do.

i have had special zen like training in multi-tasking

(a) Yes, it is a new WB3 feature.

ahha! i was right!
/me awards lots of points to feline

(b) It is going into the latest Skin Studio.

ah well, who needs a prity front end, i have vim

(c) I am inserting the Quick Launch Menu that is supplied with WB3. The Quick Launch Menu is in the WindowBlinds configuration under SmartButton (right click on the Windowblind icon in the system tray, go into configure Windowblinds, then the SmartButtons. You will see "Defined Smartbuttons" on the right. I inserted their QuickLaunch Menu).

did you receive the latest stardock news letter email? it contained a link to a document about the future of desktopX. in there it pointed out that when WB3 was released, it didnt actually come with any skins that contain smartBars. this goes some way towards explaining why i have never actually seen this. i have tried now and then, but i always simply get a message box saying that the skin doesnt contain any smartbars.

(d) Trying to get the features that are in the Quick Launch Menu to do what they are suppose to do, i.e. launch Outlook Express, Explorer and Winamp.

interesting.
have you tried running this skin, and then using any of the other items that are available to go into the smartbars? i am assuming that there are other items available to choose from.
the idea hear is to find out if the smartbars are actually working as expected with some controls. if so, then this is probably a control specific problem. otherwise this is probably a skin problem with the smartbar its self.

is there say an "always on top" item for the smartbar? that should be a fairly simple control to test.

back to the question of your menu control, if it wants to run a given program (say outlook express), then either the program is going to have to be in the windows search path, or the control is going to have to know the location of the program.

can you open the run dialog box (windows_key + r) and run "msimn.exe". this is the executable that is run by the outlook express shortcut. if this program name on its own works, then this progam is findable by windows, and should be easily run by the control. however, if it isnt found, then the control is going to need some way of being configured, which will be the next and interesting stage to tackle.

(e) It will show up on a Windowblind skin.

oooh oooh oooh

starone - Now, Winamp - The tray and controls come up at the same time, but the controls are not on the tray that is suppose to hold the controls.

from what you are saying, it sounds like you are producing a "pop out" window extension to hold the controls. is that correct, or are they just supposed to appear in a pre-defined place on the current window border?

starone - You got it on the longest thread. At this rate, it may take an hour to come up, huh?

i take it you never saw the "romance" thread? that reached over 300 repies, a fair portion of which were mine now that thread took a while to load!

starone - However, anyway you want to handle it is fine with me.

at some point it may be useful for you to email me a version of this to try on my win2k box (with WB3), but no imidiate rush, since i wont get there till the weekend now.

starone - I'm sorry that it has caused you problems. Hope everything turns out okay and thanks for the help.

well, it provides some variety. it gets boaring watching WB3 crash my machine all the time

dendillon - here is a link to the Abbott and Costello's comedic routine "Who's on First?"

sounds like the sort of conversations that we have where i work. probably what scared everyone off

Too many specs for me - right now I'm satisfied with the one I'm wearing.

No smartbars? Now you tell me! Anyway, seriously, this one does include the smartbar - honestly. Even includes the url bit and the menu. It's just that only two of the five work for me. Tried the msimn.exe bit and it works fine. - and - Re the menu, yes I have inserted other controls and they work fine.

On Winamp, yes to trying to get the popout window extension. Unfortunately, when I push the button they pop out with the tray and controls being on a predifined area of the border, with the controls lining up next to the tray - not on the tray - ugh!

Re sending you the blind - okay, but bear in mind it is in the rough and not a finished product. (Really cringe on that one, at this point don't know if I would even want my cat to lick it.) Almost feel I need to get it descent before anyone sees it. Sorta of like hiring someone to come in and clean your house. You clean it before she gets there so she doesn't think you are a dirty housekeeper.

Hoorah! Sounds like we are starting to make ends meet. Bet we have it up and running soon.

Read the Abbott and Cosetllo bit - had heard it a long time ago and it was fun being refreshed.

starone - Too many specs for me - right now I'm satisfied with the one I'm wearing.

thats the trouble with the youth of today, no sence of adventure
/me seens no conflict with the fact you may be older than me, you are still younger

starone - No smartbars? Now you tell me!

i have been trying to point out that we are naving comunication problems here for a while now

starone - Anyway, seriously, this one does include the smartbar - honestly. Even includes the url bit and the menu. It's just that only two of the five work for me. Tried the msimn.exe bit and it works fine. - and - Re the menu, yes I have inserted other controls and they work fine.

so, to look further into this i am probably going to need to experiment with a smartbar, since i havent actually seen one yet, let alone the items you can put into one. and this is probably going to want skinstudio, WB3 and a skin with smartbar support

/me goes hunting down back of monitor for a better machine

so far, not making much progress here, i think we are going to need to go for plan B

starone - On Winamp, yes to trying to get the popout window extension. Unfortunately, when I push the button they pop out with the tray and controls being on a predifined area of the border, with the controls lining up next to the tray - not on the tray - ugh!

i have the definet suspision that the mental image your words are generating in my minds doesnt match what you are trying to discribe.

/me feels the need for pictures

i am going to attempt a character art pic of what i think you are describing, but since the message board doesnt use a fixed size font, it is probably going to look strange.

for the sake of the picture, * is a button, and the popout is going to appear above the window border. so, before you press the winamp button we have:

#-----------------------------------#
| notepad * * * * |

so, we have 4 buttons at the top of a notepad window, winamp, min, max and close.

pressing the winamp button should make the window look like:

#-------------#
| * * * * * * |
#-----------------#-------------#---#
| notepad * * * * |

so, all of the winamp buttons are showing up on an extension to the windows border, so that now notpad has a differently shaped border.

now, the question is, how different is this mental image to the effect you are trying to produce?

starone - Re sending you the blind - okay, but bear in mind it is in the rough and not a finished product. (Really cringe on that one, at this point don't know if I would even want my cat to lick it.) Almost feel I need to get it descent before anyone sees it. Sorta of like hiring someone to come in and clean your house. You clean it before she gets there so she doesn't think you are a dirty housekeeper.

/me will consider licking all sorts of things, expecially if they are chocolate or sweeties

at this point, for plan B, i think i am going to need to play with a skin that supports smartBars on my win2k box, since that is running WB3, and hopefully skinstudio wont go nuclear as soon as i try and load it.

unless you know of any other skins that support smartbars, then i think you are going to have to email your current "development" version to me to investigate.

dont worry, i will be gentle with it. after all, it isnt as if i have a massive history of releasing quality skins to base my comparisons on

i am just sending an email to your account email address, with an email address that points at my win2k box.

then, if you are around here tommorow, hopefully we can start to make some real progress on this smartbar question.

starone - Hoorah! Sounds like we are starting to make ends meet. Bet we have it up and running soon.

this is the plan

DOH
the message board has eaten all of the extra spaces in my pictures.

the # marks are "corners", and the edges of the windows are supposed to line up with the corners.

for the second picture, the bit on top is supposed to line up with the # marks as well.

/me wonders if this means that crayons will work


so, do crayons work

/me concludes not
probably for the best, since i would only end up with rainbow posts if they did

Got your email and replied - had a dream last night about the Winamp thing. Went in this morning and reworked the uis. Everything is where I want it, exept the buttons seem to overlap, so I will re-work the buttons and then send you the skin. While I was in there tried to specifically program in where the menu items are, but that didn't work. Anyway, when you get the skin it will be the picture worth a thousand words. (Of course, when you take a look at the uis you may go ugh, what have I gotten myself into.)

Anyway, if I can't get the buttons lined up you can take a look at the whole mess.

Thanks for making me feel younger. (However, I think I have just aged a bit.)

May not get the skin to you until later in the day as my daughter and grandson are coming over and unfortunately have to do some errands before they get here. Guess that tips you off on age - alas! Anyway, still feel 20 and can still here and see. Though I'm beginning to wonder about my mental capacity at this point. Thank heaven for dreams. Too bad I didn't have one regarding the menu.

Here should be hear, oh well, what can I say. Maybe I was wrong about the eyesight.

/me *snigger*

at one point i was actually given official dispensation from Jafo, the resident spell checker to perform whatever evil acts on the english language i wanted, since there were FAR to many spelling mistakes in my posts to keep up with

so, this shows that you must be a LOT younger than me.

anyway, age is all a matter of perspective. people just use the wrong units. step back a little, and anyone with less than about 3 billion (earth) years is only just starting out

children? as i recall in some countries "girls" marry at 13, so say first child at 15, same for daughter, and you are almost my (supposed) age.

remember, you are only as old as you are feeling, or was that you are only as old as the thing you are feeling?

/me goes looking for some very new chocolate, so as to be all young, innocent and pure

starone - Of course, when you take a look at the uis you may go ugh, what have I gotten myself into.

/me doesnt know the meaning of "ugh, what have I gotten myself into"
/me failed english 3 times

Don't believe you failed English 3 times (not with all your knowledge).

Good news, the buttons lined up and Winamp is a done deal (feel like singing). Had to do with my last graphic piece. I was trying to do three pieces spearately and finally figured out I needed to incorporate and layer them. Think that was why I had the problem the first go around.

Just got through running errands and have an hour to kill before things start spinning around here so thought I would check the posts. Needed some laughter today.

Read the cat and butter thing too. Interesting.

(Noticed I dropped the subject of age.)

Will email you the skin anywhere between now and later.

starone - Don't believe you failed English 3 times (not with all your knowledge).

i have (or at least had) the bits of paper to prove it. basically my spelling (of my "native" language) is so wayward that it caused me to fail 3 times in a row.

the ironic this is that i was told that i would be a lot better at A-level english than O-level english, due to the way my mind works. not a lot of help when trying to pass O-level english though

i did pass on the 4th go though

starone - Good news, the buttons lined up and Winamp is a done deal



starone - Read the cat and butter thing too. Interesting.

with a bit of luck it might snowball. should be good for a lot of fun if it does

starone - (Noticed I dropped the subject of age.)

i am one of those (strange?) people who think people should be appreaciated for who they are, not what age/sex/species they are

you seem like a nice person, and should be free to be yourself, regardless of "assumptions" based on you age.

starone - Will email you the skin anywhere between now and later.

ahha!
i was wondering why there was no sign of it in my inbox. i have just turned on my win2k box, and am downloading skinstudio as i write this.

i am guessing you havent yet sent it, or at least not long ago. the other option of course is that i send the wrong email address. hope not, that would be mildly embarasising

I sent it yesterday. Shows in my sent folders that it was sent. I attached it to the previous email. If there is still a problem and you didn't get it, let me know.

I am re-sending it now (10:00 a.m. our time which I guess puts it 11:00 your time) to the mail to address given in your first email. They are in zip format. There are 3 attachments. It has finished being sent. You should now have them.

the email turn has turned up now, although it took a little while to download

cunning thoughts to follow soon, just as soon as i can get windows to tell me something

i beleive i have worked out what is going on with the smartbar plugin problem.

are you still getting problems with the quick launch plugin?

when i click on this button on my machine, i get the following 6 items:
Launch Internet Explorer Browser
Launch Outlook Express
Outlook Express
PoserDesk
QuickTime Player
Show Desktop

since it is a little unlikely you would have configured the skin to run powerdesk, the logical conclusion is that these are being picked up locally somehow.

on the taskbar, there is often a "quick launch" area, next to the start button. this plugin is simply listing the shortcuts stored in this quick launch direcory. this is why you cannot configure the plugin, since what it does is machine specific already.

if the listed items are not working, then this suggests that there is a problem with the shortcuts in your quick launch folder.

i have worked out where this folder lives under win2k, but it is probably in a different location on your machine.

let me know if you are having problems finding this directory. it took me 10 minutes to work out how to make windows tell me where it was

now off to to try and find the pictures for the winamp buttons