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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2018 2:23 pm 
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Vlad, not sure I can fix this in time for the next beta, since I'm in a hurry and I need more info.

Is the shift you are talking about the same shift that happens when you click and hold the button? How about a screenshot? :)

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2018 5:20 pm 
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Hmmm... Found another potential problem with NextSTART only docks being docks that are disabled:

As you know (or not) I'm very careful about not wasting CPU cycles. Therefore certain functions (for instance, stuff like measuring CPU activity, RAM usage, etc...) are ONLY performed if there is a dock or Shelf item set to use them.

For instance, if there isn't a battery module anywhere, then the function that monitors battery status is disabled (i.e.; doesn't run at all).

Battery modules in docks that are currently disabled (or in any sub-docks of that dock) ARE NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.

And here lies the problem. For instance: music will play until you stop it or exit the application while there is at least ONE valid instance of the Media Player somewhere in a dock or Shelf. But if you delete the last instance of a Media Player IC while it is still playing music, the music will stop automatically. And this is how it should be.

But what if you put, for instance, a Media Player IC in a NextSTART only dock (i.e.; one that WorkShelf sees as disabled)? As soon as you close that dock the music will stop playing, because that single instance of the Media Player IC, being on a disabled dock, will not be taken into account. WorkShelf will think there are no instances of the Media Player IC anywhere and stops the music.

Taking disabled docks into consideration is not a valid solution IMO, since then we would run the risk of wasting CPU cycles running stuff that isn't actually used anywhere on docks that are active.

So it seems we need a way to distinguish between NextSTART only docks and docks that are actually disabled.

Alternatively, I can ask NextSTART if it is hosting that particular disabled dock. A bit more complicated but probably worthy it.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2018 5:38 pm 
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winstep wrote:
Hmmm... Found another potential problem with NextSTART only docks being docks that are disabled:

As you know (or not) I'm very careful about not wasting CPU cycles. Therefore certain functions (for instance, stuff like measuring CPU activity, RAM usage, etc...) are ONLY performed if there is a dock or Shelf item set to use them.

For instance, if there isn't a battery module anywhere, then the function that monitors battery status is disabled (i.e.; doesn't run at all).

Battery modules in docks that are currently disabled (or in any sub-docks of that dock) ARE NOT TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.

And here lies the problem. For instance: music will play until you stop it or exit the application while there is at least ONE valid instance of the Media Player somewhere in a dock or Shelf. But if you delete the last instance of a Media Player IC while it is still playing music, the music will stop automatically. And this is how it should be.

But what if you put, for instance, a Media Player IC in a NextSTART only dock (i.e.; one that WorkShelf sees as disabled)? As soon as you close that dock the music will stop playing, because that single instance of the Media Player IC, being on a disabled dock, will not be taken into account. WorkShelf will think there are no instances of the Media Player IC anywhere and stops the music.

Taking disabled docks into consideration is not a valid solution IMO, since then we would run the risk of wasting CPU cycles running stuff that isn't actually used anywhere on docks that are active.

So it seems we need a way to distinguish between NextSTART only docks and docks that are actually disabled.

Alternatively, I can ask NextSTART if it is hosting that particular disabled dock. A bit more complicated but probably worthy it.


maybe sub category of disabled dock, like 'nextstart only'? and when nextart tuns itr flags (while running only) docks attached to ql as 'nextstart only', on exit it removes the flag


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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2018 6:31 pm 
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seeker wrote:
maybe sub category of disabled dock, like 'nextstart only'? and when nextart tuns itr flags (while running only) docks attached to ql as 'nextstart only', on exit it removes the flag


Just solved it.

I simply ask NextSTART itself if it is hosting that dock via SendMessageTimeout. The other advantage of this is that if NextSTART is not running the dock counts as disabled anyway.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2018 8:01 pm 
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winstep wrote:
Quote:
Vlad, not sure I can fix this in time for the next beta, since I'm in a hurry and I need more info.

Is the shift you are talking about the same shift that happens when you click and hold the button? How about a screenshot? :)


here are the screenshots: the normal version and the shifted one


Attachments:
fixed_buton_after_propr_close.PNG
fixed_buton_after_propr_close.PNG [ 980.89 KiB | Viewed 13381 times ]
shifted_button.PNG
shifted_button.PNG [ 812.07 KiB | Viewed 13381 times ]
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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2018 8:25 pm 
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Wow. Now THAT is an hotspot button. lol

And yeah, nothing to do with the pressed position. Any idea what triggers that shift?

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2018 9:58 pm 
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I think the Alarms Manager needs a Cancel button.

However, what should be cancelled when you press the Cancel button? Only the settings you changed OR ALSO any alarms you might have defined in the mean time?

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Thu May 24, 2018 11:36 pm 
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Ok, new (and final) beta released.

Note when testing the new NextSTART docks: if you assign a hotspot to an active dock that is not hidden on the screen edge and that dock is not set for activation to act as a toggle, apparently nothing will happen. In reality the dock is being brought to the foreground, just as if you had bumped the screen edge with the mouse pointer.

Check out the rain effect on the alarms and also the new overlays.

Also, you can now drag & drop files directly into the Media Player IC. If you pause it it will flash a pause symbol on the icon. Tooltips display name of song playing and name of playlist.

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2018 5:02 am 
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winstep wrote:


Quote:
Wow. Now THAT is an hotspot button. lol

And yeah, nothing to do with the pressed position. Any idea what triggers that shift?




Well, not big enough if your eyesight is that of a mole. Kidding, my eyesight is still good, only a beginning of Nearsightedness, but I still fight when it comes to wearing those pesky glasses....
Anyway, I have played with the settings and sizes of that button a lot, I have made it bigger for the screenshots.

As to what is causing that, my guess is that is related to some refresh actions. For example: now I have the Vivaldi browser window maximised, if I minimise that, the button will shift. Hard to say if only that is the cause of the problem. Currently I only have 1 monitor and thus forced to work with full screen windows most of the time and jump around virtual desktops and stuff... So I can not tell if others things are causing that also. One thing is certain: even if I keep the window maximised, jumping to another virtual desktop (just by win+ctrl+left/right arrows) it is enough to trigger the shift problem.


Btw, thank you for the update Jorge! :)


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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2018 10:34 am 
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ok, new bug, I think:


The first thing I did when I`ve initially installed winstep was to deactivate the NextStart taskbar (given that I was tired of the Windows look and I wanted something different). So trying to bring that in for some testing, I setup things so that I get that taskbar on the normal windows space (at the bottom). On the bottom I have a dock that I use instead of the taskbar. Did not wanted to hide that so I decided to offset the dock by 48 pixels, so it would come on top of the taskbar.


Problem: going to Dock Proprieties - Position Tab - offset slider, if you change the value to anything else then 0, you get the desired result on screen, it works ok when you click apply, but when you click ok to close the Proprieties windows, it resets to 0.


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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2018 11:01 am 
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Vlad wrote:
Problem: going to Dock Proprieties - Position Tab - offset slider, if you change the value to anything else then 0, you get the desired result on screen, it works ok when you click apply, but when you click ok to close the Proprieties windows, it resets to 0.


Fixed, thanks!

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2018 11:24 am 
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So I have played with the NextStart new dock activation feature as much as time permits at the moment. I think it is incredibly cool and also useful to activate docks via buttons. I only tested the desktop buttons btw.


I use for activation of docks, desktop buttons, with default icon and the dock title as label and tooltip.
All my docks are docked to the sides, and can be activated via shortcuts and are setup as togle on/off (as mentioned by you Jorge).


Problems:
- the same bug applies when it comes to icon and labels on the button, everything gets shifted to the left. One new info on that: to "fix" the alignment you right click EACH button (does not fix them all at the same time) choose "Button Proprieties" or "Proprieties" and then click ok to close the window. They are then aligned properly until next shift.
- If you change the name of a dock after you have created the hotspot, the hotspot does not pick up the new name, although it still works and activates the dock.
- The grouping does not seem to work, meaning: I have 2 diffent docks at the top, I have created the hotspots and linked them to the desktop buttons, 2 different buttons both in the same group named "Docks Top Side". As I understand from the description, clicking one button from the group will activate the coresponding dock and close any other from that group. It does not happen, both docks remain activated until the second press of the corresponding button.
- When I created the hotspots and linked them to the buttons, when I was clicking Apply or Ok, all the buttons got placed on top of one another every time I prest those buttons. But now this is no longer happening, clicking apply or ok keeps the existing buttons in place. They do not get disturbed not even if I create a new button, weird. I only mention this because there is a reason why this is happening and maybe it is something in the code related to the first time creation,session or whatever is going on in the "Matrix" :?


I will come back as soon as I have new info.


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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2018 12:10 pm 
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Vlad wrote:
I think it is incredibly cool and also useful to activate docks via buttons.


I think so too! And it ties everything neatly together - you can access NextSTART hotspots from WorkShelf and WorkShelf docks from NextSTART. :)

Vlad wrote:
- the same bug applies when it comes to icon and labels on the button, everything gets shifted to the left.


Ok, I think I fixed this. The code for hotspot buttons is VERY old, so it's held together with strings lol

Vlad wrote:
- If you change the name of a dock after you have created the hotspot, the hotspot does not pick up the new name, although it still works and activates the dock.


Dock names are purely cosmetic (and therefore so are the *labels* of the hotspot buttons, in fact, you can rename them to anything you want).

Behind the scenes, each dock has a unique ID, and that's what allows the hotspot button to identify the dock correctly at all times, regardless of name.

Vlad wrote:
- The grouping does not seem to work, meaning: I have 2 diffent docks at the top, I have created the hotspots and linked them to the desktop buttons, 2 different buttons both in the same group named "Docks Top Side". As I understand from the description, clicking one button from the group will activate the coresponding dock and close any other from that group. It does not happen, both docks remain activated until the second press of the corresponding button.


The grouping was intended for NextSTART menus only, never for docks.

Vlad wrote:
- When I created the hotspots and linked them to the buttons, when I was clicking Apply or Ok, all the buttons got placed on top of one another every time I prest those buttons. But now this is no longer happening, clicking apply or ok keeps the existing buttons in place. They do not get disturbed not even if I create a new button, weird. I only mention this because there is a reason why this is happening and maybe it is something in the code related to the first time creation,session or whatever is going on in the "Matrix" :?


Don't you just love issues that you can't reproduce reliably?

Can you please describe in detail the steps you took when creating those buttons?

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2018 12:27 pm 
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I haven't set up the new beta yet (will do later) but encountered a major problem yesterday.

I had to try out a whole lot (literally hundreds) of sound files, atarting them off both from within the shelf and from a separate file manager, and also had to move around a bunch of files, also from both the shelf and a file man. Near the end of this (intermittent) activity, everything suddenly seemed to freeze. The shelf, dock, everything Windows and all, and Ws was in overdrive on CPU activity. In the end, the only thing that still was responsive was Nextstart, so I was able to disable NS task management and get the Windows task man. up. I then was able to select WS and NS and end those tasks. But still Windows on the whole remained sluggish to respond to anything, so in the end did a restart and everything was fine again.

Don't know whether this really had anything to do with WS, or the beta, or whether this might have been a Windows (or Win10) problem. Personally, I think it's a case of IBM - I Blame Microsoft, and Win10! ;)

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nexter - so, what's next?

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 Post subject: Re: So, what's next after v18.3?
PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2018 12:30 pm 
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Oh, and I still have this problem with the battery mod not showing its bar, and also it and the mail mod and the moon mod having their text smaller than normal on first start up but all coming right after changing themes. (This started before the last beta.)

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