Thanx Cosmin,
That's sounds like a workable idea! In any case Microsoft has
released information about Vista, their next release, that shows it's really
going to be integrated with the Web, NET and xml, including an active
desktop that can provide access to everything on or off-line or on a private
network. Just like I had done with my pet project, The Keep", they've now
set it up so that it gives you virtual Category folders in which it's
everything you can access will be stored as links. I'd been working on this
idea since Win95, but I don't believe they have gotten around to providing
better abilities from the individual shortcut links as I did. When I first
heard about this plan I got really bummed out because it's just too close to
what my app is, but I'm going to put out the 1st "real" release this fall
anyway because it'll be a long while before everyone upgrades their OS,
especially with XP running so well!
Some of these same features and abilities will be going into this
new project as well, and as such it might be a good starting point for the
next version, but only if I can make it web-centric like Vista!
from: Robert Meek at: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
dba "Tangentals Design" home of "PoBoy"
freeware Windows apps and utilities
located at: www.TangentalsDesign.com
Proud to be a moderator for the
"Delphi Programming Lists" at: elists.org
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf
Of Cosmin Prund
Sent: Friday, October 28, 2005 8:24 AM
To: Borland's Delphi Discussion List
Subject: Re: D2005 and the desktop for XP
Robert Meek wrote:
> That was one of the first things I considered because if I'm not
> mistaken the new Windows will be using something like an active
> Server Page anyway, and in it this may be a moot problem altogether!
I don't know what the new Windows will do to the desktop, but Microsoft have
been playing with the idea of a web page as the desktop for a while: It has
been around in Win98, and I think it was kind-of "the norm" in Windows Me
(remamber how you got a message about Active Desktop being disabled in place
of your normal desktop picture whenever the system failed?). This "web page
desktop" probably required a bit of extra work because it was no longer
forced on us with win XP, but it's steel there and I think it's actually a
good idea.
> I couldn't find anyway to restrict access to the desktop anywhere but
> even that isn't crucial to my way of thinking because if the Taskbar
> remains enabled then one would still have to set up directory and
> file per missions for each user anyway! But I guess you know how
> illogical clients can be, and they always have a friend that they say
> told them about something that can or should be done. In this case
> he was evidently told that having the desktop remain beneath whatever
> I do for him would simply be eating up a lot of additional resources!
> My ONLY concern is the z-order because I don't want anything getting
> lost behind it and that can sometimes be a hairy problem in a normal
> Windows app as it is!
If you're certain your only problem would be the z-order, you might want to
try something else: create a border-less delphi form with
CreateParented(GetDesktopWindow). This would put your form INTO the desktop
window, just as a panel is placed into it's parent form window. Just gave
this a try and it works, all you need to do is make sure you get rid of it's
taskbar button.
Sample code:
Create a blank application, add two forms to it (Form1 and Form2), customize
form2 a bit (I just made it's Color clGreen) and a a buttton to Form1. In
it's OnClick do something like this:
procedure TForm1.Button1Click(Sender: TObject);
var F2:TForm2;
begin
F2 := TForm2.CreateParented(GetDesktopWindow);
F2.Top := 0;
F2.Left := 0;
F2.Visible := True;
end;
>
> from: Robert Meek at: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> dba "Tangentals Design" home of "PoBoy"
> freeware Windows apps and utilities
> located at: www.TangentalsDesign.com
> Proud to be a moderator for the
> "Delphi Programming Lists" at: elists.org
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On
> Behalf Of Cosmin Prund
> Sent: Friday, October 28, 2005 4:15 AM
> To: Borland's Delphi Discussion List
> Subject: Re: D2005 and the desktop for XP
>
> 1) Take a look at Active Desktop. Can't it fix the problem right
> away? Set it up to show a web page that's refreshed perodically. Mabe
> you can get away
>
> with setting it up to show a page from a UNC share, not a real http
> server (also you can easily turn any of the XP's into an intranet
> http server using
>
> MS's http server or Apache). You might be able to also disable
> desktop icons
>
> and have those incorporated into this Active Desktop somehow...
>
> 2) Take a look at all those settings in Local Security Policy, mabe
> there's a way to stop the user from changing the desktop (also this
> would require all those user to have non-Administrator accounts). I
> don't really know what's in there...
>
> Robert Meek wrote:
>> Does anyone know if, or have worked with, a way of not allowing a
>> personal desktop to be started up or simply stopped? One of my few
>> major clients called me last night to ask how I was coming with an
>> app I was working on for him in Delphi, which as it turns out I just
>> finished but haven't yet had the chance install and try on his LAN.
>> In the process of discussing how this app was going to work he asked
>> if I could personalize his desktops on all XP Pro based machines so
>> that they have a common look, ability, and accessibilities. After
>> giving this some thought I am considering trying to use something
>> like an html -based local browser page that would be loaded at
>> startup. It would incorporate their business name, insignia, and
>> other marketing information, and like a regular web page would
>> provide links into various sections of the server-based data. For
>> example, they have an image catalog which is updated continuously
>> from all over the world...a contract I'd love to get but I don't
>> believe I'm ready to tackle yet...and others for each functioning
>> role at the company. He really needs an Intranet I think but at this
>> time he doesn't want to go even that far!
>> So the way I envision a solution is to use a Web or even a windows
>> form application that runs as a client on each machine and updates
>> it's desktop replacement page automatically each morning when the LAN
>> is started. Whomever gets the job of keeping it up to date will have
>> it pretty easy because the links it would require haven't changed at
>> all in the last year, so all that might be required is a face-lift
>> once in-awhile unless or until he wants to add additional services
>> thru it. All the Links the page would provide would either be to
>> local applications or documentation and database access thru the
>> local network, but each computer would display exactly the same page
>> and have the same links.
>> The problem is that I would rather not just have a browser instance
>> fired up and loaded and kept on screen all day over the top of the
>> desktops! I want the Taskbar, Start menu entries, and Tray area to
>> remain untouched but nothing else would be required. And HE doesn't
>> want any of his employees to be able to access the desktop by
>> minimizing this out of the way. He wants it to be the ONLY view of
>> the system! So is it possible to actually get rid of or disable the
>> user's desktop...remembering that there could possibly be multiple
>> user logon names and passwords, each one already opening up to their
>> own personal desktop. Once shut down or disabled my app or Web page
>> would then be created full screen and around the taskbar. I'd set it
>> up so that it couldn't be shut down and replaced by the desktop
>> again. Once the app was closed it would either nag for a restart, do
>> it automatically, or shut the system down. And one of the other
>> concerns is that I think I would need some way to make it always stay
>> at the bottom of the z-order wouldn't I? Otherwise an app or dialog
>> could potentially get lost behind it! Any ideas, considerations or
>> solutions appreciated!
>>
>> from: Robert Meek at: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> dba "Tangentals Design" home of "PoBoy"
>> freeware Windows apps and utilities
>> located at: www.TangentalsDesign.com
>> Proud to be a moderator for the
>> "Delphi Programming Lists" at: elists.org
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Delphi mailing list -> [email protected]
>> http://www.elists.org/mailman/listinfo/delphi
>
> _______________________________________________
> Delphi mailing list -> [email protected]
> http://www.elists.org/mailman/listinfo/delphi
>
> _______________________________________________
> Delphi mailing list -> [email protected]
> http://www.elists.org/mailman/listinfo/delphi
_______________________________________________
Delphi mailing list -> [email protected]
http://www.elists.org/mailman/listinfo/delphi
_______________________________________________
Delphi mailing list -> [email protected]
http://www.elists.org/mailman/listinfo/delphi
