Huddled Masses
February 7th, 2006 | 
Author: DeskOps is my latest home experiment … it’s a desktop application that allows you to view multiple folders as “bands” on the desktop, but it doesn’t force you to go to the desktop to access these bands. You can use it as a desktop, as an app launcher, for quick access to downloaded files, or to project folders that you’re working on … Think of it as a desktop, but with organization and quick hotkey access.
Just to be clear, this is a standalone app, and although it’s based a litte bit on the geoShell look, it’s actually a .NET application which requires the .NET 2 Framework…
That said, the big deal is my attempt to rethink what I want in “fast access” to files. DeskOps lets me temporarily add the build folder for the project I’m working on as a pane on my desktop, right alongside my existing application launching bands, and my download band. I can have some bands in large icon mode and some in list or details modes….
The screenshot just doesn’t do it justice, so if you’re curious, you should download DeskOps, and then come back here and peruse the feature list. As a side note: remember, this is beta software, there’s no installer (just unzip somewhere appropriate), and no uninstaller (don’t forget to delete the config file), and especially: not much tech support (feel free to post suggestions and comments on this post 
)
Here’s a partial list of what it does:
DeskOps Features:
- Creates “Bands” containing ListViews (Large Icon view, small icon view, list, details … )
- Uses Plugins to populate the lists
- Currently (only) includes folder plugin
- Lets you drag-and-drop files from one pane to another (or to/from your filemanager)
- Lets you launch applications, folders, or files from the pane
- Lets you drag-and-drop files from one pane to another (or to/from your filemanager)
Panes:
- snap to each other and to the screen edges
- have a roll-up feature
- have a hide button
- optionally animate in and out
- hide/show from a main panel
Main Panel:
- Has a hotkey for focus (Win+`), and is completely keyboard navigable
- Lets you create new panes (Ctrl+O)
- Has a “bring all panes to front and hide everything else” mode (Win+Alt+`)
- Lets you hide/show panes one at a time (focus, then press a number, or the first letter)
- Can bring up the config (F1) NOTE: Currently just opens the file — you need to have .config files associated with a text editor
Future Plans:
- DeskOps 1 Beta 2
- Done Major: Config for folders
- Done Minor: Default settings
- Done Minor: Save panel positions
- Done Major: Resizeable panels
- Done Minor: Hotkeys
- Done Minor: Full Screen Focus View
- DeskOps 1 Beta 3
- Done Major: Details View
- Done Minor: Small Icons View
- Done Minor: List View
- DeskOps 1 Beta 4
- Major: Skin bands
- Major: Custom paint ListView ( transparent background, opaque icons )
- Minor: Additional details for details view (eg: emulate the default explorer view: file type, size, modified)
- Minor: Tool Tips
- Minor: Enable Grouping (on any of the details columns)
- DeskOps 1 Beta 5
- Major: RSS Links List plugin
- Major: Rateable Links List plugin (for my AI project)
- DeskOps 1 FINAL!
- All of the above, but working all at once
- A control panel for settings instead of editing the XML file
- Beyond that …
- Tasks List plugin (with thumbnails) (using grouping)
- Even Bigger Icons?
- Icon-ized Rollups (eg: show as large PNG icon when rolled up)
Posted in Uncategorized | 
Tags: 
I had a bit of spare time to download and run it on my home computer (where I’ve got .NET 2 installed already). It runs fine and the UI is fairly intuitive. Solid work in progress and there’s a lot of potential. In particular, the RSS plugin will be nice to have. Is it possible to set the folders to ‘detail’ view so that long file names don’t get cut off (as they do in large icon view)?
I downloadsd the app last night and didn’t have too much time to play with it, but is seems good. I like the snap to feature. How do you configure it? I know it is supposed to be F1 but when I go there i get a message telling me where the config file is and when I go and look for it it isn’t there.
eikonos: yeah, set “Details” as the “ViewAs” value in the config file, but there’s no details to view right now… You can do “List” or “SmallIcon” though.
Dallows: I think you haven’t discovered the right-click menu on the bar. As far as the config … I made a tactical error and assumed that .config files would be associated with something. The simplest solution at this point is to create a text file on your desktop and change it’s extension to .config, then double click it (Windows will ask you what app to open it in: pick notepad or some other text editor). Once you’ve done that, you can try F1 again (or the right-click menu option). I’ll fix that in the next release.
Each time I restart and start Deskops I have to resize the dropdown. It doesn’t remember my previous setting. Kinda annoying, but overall a very useful app. Maybee you can fix this in your next release
Jaykul, nice beginning!
I find it annoying that, when the band loses focus, it becomes a medium gray (OK) with medium gray title (impossible to read). To read the title, I have to click on the band.
I think the title should be readable when not focussed, and that mouseover should highlight the band to the same colours (white on blue) as when it has focus.
It would also be nice if the bands could be auto-hidden to left or right screen edge, but with a fly-out title on mouseover.
(I have acheived something with geOShell bars)
- Jeff
Hi Jaykul!
Looks you have created a nice and useful application. Unfortunately I was unable to test it. I downloaded today .NET 2 Framework from M$ site and the version is 2.0.50215. DeskOps is requesting version 2.0.50727 and will not run. The available file in M$ is called Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package (x86), the file is dotnetfx.exe, release date is 3/22/2006 and size is 22.4 MB.
I googled for the correct version and had no luck. Can you drop a hint on where I can find it? Many thanks in advance, I surely would like to give DeskOps a try and offer my comments.
Hector
Hi,
Here are my suggestions:
- Add the options for the panes to be ‘Always on bottom’. That is, that the panes can be covered by other applications, but not from the desktop, so that hitting Win+D does not hide them. – Add right click drag and drop feature. Now dragging and dropping a file to a pannel copies the file to the pannel and I would like to see the “Copy here, Move here, Create shotcut, ...” menu. – Add right click support in panes.
And a ‘bug’: – Dragging and dropping a file from a folder to the same folder pane generates the following message:
“Error HRSULT E_FAIL has been returned from a call to a COM component”
Regards,
Fran