If only that was possible,self-resizing DXthemes. 

That would be even better than hoping for all themes to be RI in the future.

I would have a downloading-gasm.

Well how about a submission rule:
"All submitted Themes need to be Resolution Independant to be considered for Moderation."

I am Admin on a website for the Logitech G15 keyboard, and I do Overlays for said Keyboard.
Request Thread
G15v1 Thread
G15v2 Thread
And I have very strict rules for user-submitted Overlays, probably as a result of this,
most of the Overlays there, were done by myself.
The rules however ensure that every posted Overlay is easily usable for anybody,
regardless of their printer or experience with graphic programs.

IMHO.. resolution dependency has held back DX more than anything.

 

I'd have to totally agree with that, I had a look a long time ago at DesktopX, but the resolution problem held me away from buying.

Nuts.. that was one i really want - in Acad programming there was a way to "place" items into the dialog box.

Things like "ROW" "COLUMN" "WIDTH" etc.  Being able to modify this screen even with a layout file of some sort would be awesome.

 

One other item that i would love to be able to work on is a "dynamic" change to the task icon, so i could make a gadget with say a weather icon that shows the current weather in the icon, or even the current temp.

 

I think there are TONS of posts out there with bug fixes and issues that need addressed.  I just spotted this thread, and will have to work out some new ideas.  Most have to do with ease of re-use of code, componants, etc. 

 

Also.. .one of the major things is to have a much easier way to access "code".  I had plans for this with desktopx.info but that just didnt work out, the idea of a "script repository" and an "integrated" way to import these into dx EASILY would make coding so much better.  Things like Read/Write/Create INI Files, reading drive space, etc.  I know a lot of things have been made into DLL's but these are not easily updated, a web-based repository would be aweome, and having this supported by SD would make it that much better.   Id be more than willing to help put together some scripts, etc.

Wow I must post in this EPIC thread

I've been at DX for about 4 years, last two were pretty intense. I am glad many bugs I noticed have already been reported here and I'm also glad that there are many great suggestions made.

Well I'd like to give my 2 cents so lemme begin:

- make DX not murder CPU as soon as something a bit larger or a group of objects has to be moved/resized/transparentized(i made that last one up but u catch my drift).

- please fix at least the problem of controls not showing until their parent is dragged

- improve script editor - maybe add tabs and other tools that other editors have (i love notepad++)

- maybe enable gadgets to wipe their data off the PC as soon as they're closed (for instance when running them from a memstick)

- it would be great if we could use blur and similar techniques to make our objects more attractive (windowblinds style), it would also be cool to be able to access windowblinds skin data easily and not have to be of Vad_M's caliber to do so

- make some more plugins for lets say: catching global keyboard keys imput, mouse movement (maybe ability to move mouse) and all mouse buttons as well as current mouse coursor's state.

- maybe enable already completed gadgets to communicate with eachother

 

(if any of those is utter nonsense I'd like to excuse myself as I am a total self-learner)

 

To addres this:

Well this is really more up to the author than DX because as someone said DX coders freestyle a lot so I would say it is impossible or way too hard to achieve. However if the whole idea with templates is adopted than maybe programmers with insufficient knowledge on how to make something resolution independant will be able to do so by using the appropriate template.

I concur. A central properties and script editor would be nice, so I don't have several windows open to work on different objects.

DX has functions to help make your theme rez-independent; take for example Quentin's resolution independent theme. More examples/templates wouldn't hurt, but it really is up to the author to do the work.

That's what I'm talkin' about. It's one thing for users to upload a bunch of templates to the gallery, but each one has a different way it needs to be tweaked, and each user has a different level of experience which means they may or may not know how/what to tweak. A standardized set of templates would be essential and I propose Martin be put in charge of implementing it.   (Excellent suggestions overall, Martin!)

 

 

I remembered one more important thing right now!

Imagine that you made CPU Speed Meter (just for example) and decided to save it as a widget (or gadget). Then you run it and minimize to the System Tray. What will happen in this case? Nothing! You just see its "dead" Icon in the Tray...

But now imagine that you have some scriptable DX plug-in which allow you show in the Tray a small frame with CPU Speed and Usage instead of "dead" Icon (current weather and temperature if you've made the weather widget, incoming mails, etc..., etc...)

I'm sure this little thing (and a few other) should move up DesktopX to the next, most higher level!

 

Currently, everything I make is resolution independent. This has been true for quite some time now. Of course, I have recently REUPPED a few of my older non res/ind. themes which I do plan to update as soon as my site redo is complete.  

See reply #34.

I disagree...

Yes. DesktopX has all that we need to make the resolution independed themes (just look at the DesktopX Scripting Guide):

System.ScreenWidth

System.ScreenHeight

System.VscreenLeft

System.VScreenTop

System.VScreenWidth

System.VScreenHeight

System.WorkareaLeft

System.WorkareaRight

System.WorkareaTop

System.WorkareaBottom

So the quality and usability of each DX Theme depends only of its author. He (or she) can make it for fixed resolution. Or work a bit longer and make a simple script which will get a few parameters listed above to use them during theme loading for auto moving all parts of this theme to the necessary positions inside the screen.

Horizontal and vertical guidelines to help make things straighter. Or maybe a grid that we can turn on and off.   Just a thought.  

First and foremost I concur with the comments regarding resolution independancy. This really is down to the authors as everything we need is there.

Good idea. However, why don't we take this a step further and have "Global" scripts that interact with the development environment rather than being "local to an object/a theme.
Think of it as script plugins. e.g. it would be very easy to write a script to draw a grid on the desktop. It would be very easy to write a script to move any given (or in fact all) objects to snap to a grid. What if these scripts could just be run and implemented based on events occuring within the development environment. e.g. Development_OnStart (draw grid), Development_OnObjectMove (snap to grid) etc etc.

Thanks sViz I think! :LOL:. I've managed to find the draft document I did many a moon ago. Obviously it's not up to date but I think most would still be valid. You can see the article here.

As I say, this my be implementable without Stardock support, but I think we'd want to get some reassurances from Stardock about the direction of DX before anyone spends too much time on this, and we would also need help if we were to do anything relating to "templates".

Having said that, if necessary a standard template library could be managed ourselves, but it would be far better to get this built in.

I've never seen this article earlier. But now I can say that it is really cool and easy to understand!

Unfortunate that Stardock Developers Team so rarely hears and uses our ideas, wishes and proposals...

Oops, why did nobody told me about this ?   I have my own set of templates and helper code along with a custom parser/preprocessor to go with them (to get #define/#include, script merging and stuff like that - see reply #3), so this is indeed manageable externally. You have to be careful though to be able to handle different versions of the lib running at the same time.

If you want an example of how it works, you can have a look at the standalone version of the Animator component. Most of the main templates are unfortunately much more tightly coupled and not so easy to use independently.

While having a full blown standard template library in DX would be nice, I'd hope they'd rather use their limited resources to work on infrastructure & better support for components (already in the windows script runtime) and let the community handle the scripting side.

I absolutely support this idea- most of us would rather see new tools than the same old ones that have just been made more accessible.

Also the "template pack" could be created independently by some of our leading scripters (let them decide on "standards"), there really isn't much need for stardock to bother with this except to give the project a green light..

Most of us would rather see some new creativity within DesktopX, rather than a rehash of the same old objects as we've had (in the main) for the last 5 years. If it requires a more "simplistic" interface to bring some new blood and new ideas into the DesktopX community then I'm all for it. So are you suggesting that people do a lot of work on your behalf, in the hope that people will care enough to use what they spend a lot of time creating? We need support from Stardock, otherwise a future change could render all this work obsolete. We need positive involvement from all parties and a critical mass of users to adopt a "standard" otherwise there is no chance it will work. As per my previous post, suggesting such standards got positive feedback previously but despite the work put in, most people now are totally unaware of it. Now, maybe if this had Stardock support previously, then by now we wouldn't even be discussing this. I'm not saying that is definitely the case, but it would have had a better chance!

I agree, there has been so little major new features in the past 3+ years..

 

Also, fixing some of the main bitches should be #1, then New features.  There are multiple threads out there that have been around for a VERY long time that point out some of the major gripes.

 

I look so farward to V4 and hope that when you need input you email me (ZU!)

Great to see some new input on DX. I agree with most of what was suggested here. I would still like to see some more plugins / updates to plugins for DX to make life easier. Fiddling with WMI is way too complicated IMHO. Sure, copy & paste, but up to now I still can't get the usual WMI code to work for a simple memory-meter above 2 GB RAM. It just stays there doing nothing. Same for the plugin btw.

And yes, 64bit support would be great. At least with Windows 7 coming, I personally won't use 32bit anymore. Yes, I am not very active uploading here anymore, but I still try to work with DX.

Another slightly OT matter (IconX is a derivate of DX AFAIK) : I still miss IconX for Vista.

I'm still watching this thread.  Thanks for all the feedback.

Wow. And that was five years ago.

I ran into the CUI thing with one of your weather widgets; it seemed like a good idea, but I had no idea how to implement it. The document makes a lot of sense. As was stated in the old thread, CUI and AOI would definitely need a prompt, so the users can fill in the information easily. In your document you stated the CUI file should come with DX, which is a good idea, but what if exporting as a gadget? The file would need to be included with the final product since the targeted end-users would likely not have DX on their PC. If we were to have standard DX weather templates, for example,  I'd imagine that would require a way to query whether or not the final creation was a gadget or widget so the script would know where to grab the CUI file from.
 

Yup. Having both accessibility and new tools would be ideal, but I strongly believe accessibility is key to any further success with DesktopX otherwise most people just won't "get it" and it will remain a niche program.

Amen. Unless these templates, standards, and what-not are included with future versions of DX, there is no way the majority of users will know about them much less capitalize on them. Which is why the Wiki isn't working, the dozens of tutorials aren't reaching everyone, and the template/example widgets in the galleries majorly go unseen, unused.

We need maximum exposure. As it is, DX relies too much on the community for this. You can't expect the forums or galleries on WC to be the first stop for a new user looking for a headstart on using DX. I know I first looked in the Tutorial folder included with DX, at all the widgets included, and then in the User's Guide. If we're hoping to have any impact whatsoever in getting new users started with DX, this is where our efforts must be concentrated--within DX.

Reading over this thread, it all boils down to accessibility and power. Some would like more tools, more functions, more power. Others would just like for it to be easier to use.

Much more experienced DXers than I would know more about the kinds of powerful new functions DX needs, so accessibility and ease of use is my main focus with DX. It seems to me the root of this is in the interface. Think of any program and its interface is generally where you would gain access to all its functions--everything in plain view and a few clicks a way. DX has NO interface. It has a systray icon, r-click menus, properties windows, properties windows within properties windows, tabs, and tabs within tabs. DesktopX is a great program, quite revolutionary in my humble opinion, but it is time for reboot. While the concept of using nothing but the desktop (and individual properties windows) as the work environment has its perks, it falls short on so many levels. Such as the central/visual editor several people in this thread expressed a desire for. Such as having grids, guidlines, etc. Such as having a quick-creation object pallette.

DX already does a whole helluva lot; the problem is a whole helluva lot of people don't know how to make it do what it does.The only limitation should be the user's imagination, and not the complicated, frustrating process of realizing his or her idea. Give the user quick access to the tools at their disposal, and you simplify the creation process. Simplify the creation process, and you free up the user's time to learn new tricks and actually get creative.

An intuitive user interface seems like the most logical solution to the lack of accessibility, and I think Stardock should strongly consider implementing any new aids in this format. DX does not have to become an inside-the-box program but it does need a more developmentally-friendly environment. I think a set of DX Builder widgets, or one super-console with access to all the developer tools/aids mentioned here could be a step in the right direction.

I seem to be repeating myself.   Ima shut up now and get back to work.

I think the biggest question here is... what will help SD sell more copies of DX and DX PRO?

 

Bring it out soon and I will Buy pro. been waiting forever.

Agreed.  Finding a market and an audience for DX is hard.  Gadgets have not caught on like Apple, Yahoo, and MS thought they would.

Who is going to buy DX and why?  What can we (Stardock generally, and me specifically) do to make some sales.  I love the app and want to see it be a flagship like WB.