elmanad@leland.Stanford.EDU (Adam Elman) (04/03/91)
Here's an idea for a Windows programming project that I'm surprised hasn't been attempted yet. One of my biggest gripes with Windows is that the Program Manager only has one level of menuing -- groups and icons within groups. What I would like is a Program Manager which allows me to put groups within groups. I know there are programs like Usher and Backmenu that allow me to create custom menus, but I really like the graphical interface of Progman. This program, to be REALLY nice, BTW, would have the following features: Compatibility with the existing .ico format for icons (and of course embedded icons and .dll libraries.). The ability to assign .ico files to groups as well as programs. The same general look and feel as Progman, perhaps, but with the addition of groups within groups and maybe even icons in the main window without a group. If somebody were REALLY ambitious, some File manager features would be nice to have as well, but this is just a suggestion. I just think this is a nice idea and would do it myself if I had the expertise (and I don't. :-) I also bet that this would be nice for network managers who need to make network menus and cannot because progman only has one layer. Like I said, this is just a suggestion. BTW, if there is already a program around with this functionality, PLEASE let me know... Thanks, Adam Elman elmanad@leland.stanford.edu
mccashin@unixg.ubc.ca (Brian McCashin) (04/05/91)
In article <1991Apr3.071441.28618@leland.Stanford.EDU> elmanad@leland.Stanford.EDU (Adam Elman) writes: >Here's an idea for a Windows programming project that I'm surprised >hasn't been attempted yet. One of my biggest gripes with Windows is >that the Program Manager only has one level of menuing -- groups and >icons within groups. What I would like is a Program Manager which >allows me to put groups within groups. I know there are programs like >Usher and Backmenu that allow me to create custom menus, but I really >like the graphical interface of Progman. > Deleted stuff.. >Like I said, this is just a suggestion. BTW, if there is already a >program around with this functionality, PLEASE let me know... > >Thanks, >Adam Elman >elmanad@leland.stanford.edu Try Aporia 1.4 It completely replaces ProgMan and FileMgr and has an object oriented interface. On cica.cica.indiana.edu the file name is /pub/pc/win3/util/aporia14.zip NewTools POB 3269 Church Street Station N.Y., N.Y. 10008-3269 Phone 718-789-5980 -- Brian McCashin Internet: mccashin@unixg.ubc.ca Senior Programmer/Analyst Bitnet: USERJAZZ@UBCMTSG Centre For Health Services and Policy Research University of British Columbia, Vancouver CANADA
elmanad@leland.Stanford.EDU (Adam Elman) (04/05/91)
Thanks to all those who e-mailed me and told me about several solutions to the problem I described in the initial post (the need for a tree-menuable interface like Progman) Most people told me to try "folders2.zip", which is available on cica in the /pub/pc/win3/util directory. I did try it. It seems to do it, but it's a little slower than ideal for what I wanted, and for some reason it seems to have a fairly limited choice for icons within its folders , and I was apparently unable to use my 500+ icon collection with it. Otherwise, it seemed to work ok...Not that I gave it particularly huge testing, just a quick look. I have tried Aporia, another suggestion I received, in the past -- I didn't really like it all that much, but I've been considering giving it a try for a few days rather than the 10 minutes or so I actually gave it last time... :-) Finally, the one program that was suggested to me that I really liked was the PubTech File Manager. This nifty program looks a lot like a Mac, but the icons are apparently customizable. But it has directory windows with icons for each file, point-and-click file renaming, etc. Unfortunately, the program was a crippled demo version and the actual software costs $99.95, which is more than my budget can handle right now. But if anyone needs a file manager like this, it did look useful and pleasant to look at. You might try the demo -- it's also on cica in the same directory as folders2.zip and aporia14.zip as "pubtech.zip". Again, thanks to those who e-mailed me and posted, and if anyone has any more ideas, please let me know! Adam Elman elmanad@leland.stanford.edu