Stardock DesktopX is a program that is
designed to allow users to put useful and interesting things on their Windows
desktop. By default, Windows only supports putting little static pictures called
"icons" that act at "short-cuts" to other things. DesktopX allows you to
add desktop objects to your Windows desktop that can do almost anything one can
imagine. These objects can be combined together to create mini programs or
used to create an entirely new desktop.
When the content that one makes with
DesktopX is exported, it can come in the form of a DesktopX object pack, a
DesktopX widget, or as a .Desktop file (for replacing the desktop).
This Quick Start guide is designed to walk
users through the basic elements of DesktopX.
The DesktopX User Interface
When you load DesktopX you are presented
with this user interface. If you are using the DesktopX Client, the last
option "Create" will not appear.
The Widgets option allows user to
load up DesktopX content that was exported as a mini-program called a widget.
Widgets live on your desktop but behave like small Windows programs. They tend
to take up less memory than a normal Windows program and do things like provide
system information, grab data over the net, perform simple utility services.
But in truth, a widget can pretty much do whatever the person who makes it can
imagine. But think of widgets as "mini programs". These are .EXE files.
The Load Objects option is designed
to import a desktop object onto your existing Windows desktop. Things exported
as objects tend to be more along the lines as "super icons". Things that do more
than your Windows icons but aren't really applications. A "Recycle bin"
object that tells you how many items are in the recycle bin would be an example
of a desktop object. Or an Internet Explorer "icon" that changes its size
and shape when the mouse moves over it would be another. These are .DXPack
files.
The Load Desktop option is designed
for users who want to load an entirely new desktop created by someone else. Your
existing Windows desktop probably has the "Start bar" at the bottom of the
screen and a number of icons on it. People from around the world have
their own ideas on how the Windows desktop should look and work and have used
DesktopX to create them and then export them. These are .Desktop files or .DXThemes
files.
Using Widgets
When you
choose load widgets, the DesktopX Widget Manager is run. This is a simple
program that resides in your system tray to make it easy for you to access and
manage any running widgets. You don't need it to load widgets, it just makes it
convenient to organize what's running.
Widgets are designed to exist on your desktop but they
have also been designed not to clutter it up. You can assign hot-keys to your
widgets that will make them show or hide. They default to F9 (to activate a
widget) and F10 (to toggle showing or hiding them). Note that you may have to
change these defaults as other programs may be reserving them (such as Multiplicity which reserves F10
for switching desktops).
Widgets also have a properties dialog. Right click on any
widget and you can access its properties dialog.
Typically, a widget has at least two tabs on its
properties dialog: Appearance and General Settings. The appearance tab
lets you control how the widget looks. The General Settings lets you
control what hot keys will activate it. Some widgets have a "Preferences" tab
that is widget specific.
Using Objects
Quick Tip:
If you want DesktopX's development environment to be the default
DesktopX mode when you import objects or load desktops, choose "Create"
to load up the DesktopX development environment and then go to the
"Preferences" tab and click on the "Make DesktopX Builder the default
program for loading .dxpacks and .desktops"
When you use to load an object on to your desktop, it
will open up your objects directory. Double click on the object you want and
it'll add it to your desktop. At that point, if you are not running DesktopX, it
will load up the DesktopX run-time (client). DesktopX client allows users
to remove objects or set the target of the object. But to do more than that,
users need to go into the DesktopX development environment (by choosing the
"Create" option).
Using Desktops
Using a desktop created by another person can be quite an
experience. Most people who make desktops create them for themselves that
they happen to make available on sites such as
www.wincustomize.com for others to
use.
That means that they tend to be resolution specific
(common resolutions being 1280x1024 for instance). If you're not running
at the resolution specified by the author of the desktop, you will probably run
into problems.
Many desktops are resolution independent. But when
downloading desktops, just be sure you look to see if it specifies a particular
resolution. If the desktop hides your Start bar and desktop icons you can
access your key options by right-clicking on the Windows desktop.
Creating or modifying objects, widgets, and desktops
Creating or modifying things in DesktopX is quite easy.
However, it goes beyond the scope of this Quick Start Guide. A few tips
though for that:
Holding down the CTRL key while left clicking on a
given item will allow you to move it around (Ctrl-left click dragging).
Holding the CTRL key is also the default key for
interacting with ActiveX controls.
You can also hold down the CTRL key to select
multiple objects.
If drag selecting multiple objects has stopped
working, odds are some other program has hooked the mouse during that time.
To enable DesktopX to re-hook the mouse, restart it by right clicking on the
DesktopX icon in your system try and choosing "Restart DesktopX".
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