I don't even know if it's possible, but I had an idea that I thought wat pretty cool.
You could make a taskbar, like the windows taskbar, where the PA logo is like the vista start-logo, and when you hit it, it opens up the menu. Now, This is the part I don't know if it's possible, but it you could minimize the applications running from the same drive as the PATaskbar, it could minimize those applications to that taskbar.
It could look like This.
Even harder would be making those little icons beside the clock, only for the ones that run like that from the drive, like Winpenguins, or FlashBin.
I don't know any languages, so I couldn't do it, but if anyone would want to do it...
What do you think?
this is actually not one of the stupider ideas someone has said. i really like this idea!
what do you think john? (waits for 6 years for a reply :D)
in the mean time we should thing of prototype looks. keep skinability in mind.
Zoop
Hey Skate6566,
It's me thibeaz from userbars website and also ChristianAlliance I kind of like this idea too but there could be something that says this wouldn't work. The fact that there is already a taskbar would confilict with this one, second of all if it were to succeed you would have to have it like blackbox for windows where it takes over windows explorer for this idea to succeed.
your friendly neighbourhood moderator Zach Thibeau
what he is saying is a new taskbar 100% specific to the Portable Apps Menu and that would only work with Portable apps. a simple fix for conflicts would be to mod each program to detect the PTaskbar and only minimise to that and to design the ptaskbar only to accept portable apps.
Zoop
Or, as I said below, you could have the PA taskbar detect which applications are running from the same drive as the Portable Apps Task bar and minimize those apps to it.
Your way is probably more plausible to do, though. I don't know how these sort of things work.
--Skate6566
Take a look at these two:
http://www.lee-soft.com/viglance/
http://www.geoshell.com/
Now i know these arent perfect but it shows that both the taskbar and start menu can both be replaced. I tried geo shell in .paf format and it def needs some work doin on it. Its not bad tho.
Viglance does a better job imho but doesnt do start menu. Although there is a seperate start menu on this site.
Live for an ideal and leave no place in the mind for anything else.
I also think it could be a good idea, but I don't see how it could be implemented without reducing usability. I agree that having the choice between the system tray or a taskbar with the PortableApps logo as the Start Menu button would be nice, as long as it doesn't interfere with the normal taskbar.
... That it could be used alongside the WinTaskbar. You could have an option to Auto-hide it, and choose where it goes "E.g. UP at the top top of your screen" and then it could find which apps are running from the same drive as the Portable Apps taskbar and minimize those to that taskbar.
It's definitely possible to minimize like that; ObjectDock can do it.
--Skate6566
you have the people like me who have their desktop icons on the side, Windows taskbar at the top, and Rocket/Object/whatever dock at the bottom...
!!
It's not exactly what you want, but Laurent22300 is working on something that could be adapted:
https://portableapps.com/node/15390
Why not attempt to create a specific desktop environment for the PortableApps project? There are several GPL-licensed project that we could use to build something.
( http://osswin.sourceforge.net/#desktop_environments )
I know that nu2menu could be used as an alternate PortableApps taskbar (if programmed correctly), but I would preferably go to a GPL-compliant project to have some hope to see it hosted on the PortableApps page.
EDIT: I'm currently doing some tests under LiteStep.
Just to give an idea of what I was working on, this is a small attempt at programming in LiteStep since yesterday. The menu is not functionnal, I'm trying to get the taskbar to work properly. As you can see, I haven't managed yet to get the taskbar to not overlay the underlying windows, but I should get it to work with enough research and patience
Pre-alpha Screenshot
Hmm... That looks awesome!
--Skate6566
You're kidding right? Wow. Do you have any idea of how to hide them on the main taskbar?
cowsay Moo
cowthink 'Dude, why are you staring at me.'
I don't think it would be possible or a good idea to interact with the original Windows taskbar at this point.
Off topic: what XP skin are you using?
thats cool 8). you should move it to Portable App Development section.
"It's just an online installer. It's not going to mug you.", JTH
"The shell is the key to unlock Linux's greatest advantages."
Instead of a top of the screen taskbar that would interfere with the titlebar of applications or the start menu why not something more along the lines of rocket dock or awn manager in linux. I think a side pane would be more in order with a transperency and autohide option included in the autorun.inf file.
Why not just have a portable apps menu that is shaped differently?
Maybe I'm missing the point in this discussion?
Jim
neutron1132 (at) usa (dot) com
I'm always open to improvements. I'll try to evaluate that possibility.
EDIT: Currently trying to get the xDeskWorkArea to work properly.
I'm working on a little app which does something similar. It basically creates a window which looks like a taskbar on top of the real one. I've only had this for personal use but I might post it somewhere after I've added some functions and cleaned up the code.
Current features:
* 2 'Start' buttons (One for the regular start menu and another for the PA menu)
* A clock in the corner
* Taskbar icons (System tray icons?, Not working perfectly yet)
* Skinnable (Buttons and background)
Things I'm working on:
* Ability to add shortcuts on it (Like Quick Launch)
* Better taskbar icon support
* Ability to use it for other menus
* Ability to position it manually
* Option to not overlap the taskbar icons and clock
* Better skinning support (It's messy right now)
* Some sort of draggable window which contains fake desktop icons
* A new name (Any suggestions?)
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how about MMATT? (Mr. Magical's Awsome Tray/Toolbar)
But there’s no sense crying over every mistake,
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.
Haha, maybe. I'll prepare some screenshots so I can post these tomorrow.
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or post it as a beta...
That seriously sounds awesome.
How about...
PAT? (PortableAppsTaskbar)
PATask?
PATaskB?
PAB? (PA bar)
PQLB? (PortableQuickLaunchBar)
MinimizePortable
PortableWindowMinimizer
PortableWindowManager
Window manager portable
window minimizer portable
Task'r Portable
All stupid ideas, I bet
--Skate6566
PTask!
!!
MagicBar
MagicTaskBar
I actually like PAT, which I think is already suggested.
TAP (PAT backwards, and you tap it)
PortaBar
Bar None (because it is the best, bar none!)
Local Bar
none too good, I suppose.
I am not my signature.
How about PATrick? (Portable Apps Taskbar is Really Insanely Cool oK?)
But there’s no sense crying over every mistake,
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.
Portable Apps Taskbar Really Is Cool, oK?
I am not my signature.
I've found a major bug. It monitors a folder for shortcuts and when I added a shortcut while it was running it began to duplicate the shortcut extremely fast until I ran out of disk space. I'll clean up and fix the code so I can post a screenshot tomorrow. I dual boot with a Linux system but it'll take a while to delete 51GB of shortcuts.
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uh?
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡:·S!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think it will be cool but it would be cooler if we could some how make PADE (portable apps desktop environment).
"It's just an online installer. It's not going to mug you.", JTH
"The shell is the key to unlock Linux's greatest advantages."
I'm sorry for not posting any screenshots yet but I'm still adding some features.
I've added transparency support and the ability to position any part of it anywhere on the screen (By specifying a percentage, pixel value or using an expression. Variables for the real taskbar height, screen width and height are avaliable). This makes it possible to mimic the Vista start orb.
The skinning support it much better now and both the font, colors and background image can be specified. 'Hover' and 'Pressed' styles can be added.
I've also added something I call 'shortcut areas' which can be a number of floating shortcut icons. These can be placed on the taskbar itself (Quick launch-ish) or on the rest of the desktop to look like real icons.
There's also an option to automatically move or hide the real desktop icons so they don't overlap.
The buttons on it can also work exactly like shortcuts now but they also have options for opening the PA menu or Start menu.
A simple 'Run' dialog has been included. It can also add a tiny text field on the taskbar where you can simply type the command and press enter to launch it.
I'll probably have a working and redistributable alpha release soon (The current code contains a few hard-coded variables). I'll will be licensed as GPL and the source code will be included.
I'd like to know if anyone will use this and what features you want/don't want.
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How about the ability to change the background and/or theme of the windows desktop. I really like this concept and I think it has the potential to become a mobile desktop. I'm not sure what kind of rights this would require, but if this were implemented along with PortableFileAssociator it would be well on it's way to a mobile desktop.
In order for this to work with PFA, I think it should have the ability to auto launch programs on startup and shutdown as well as a command line input, so the file associations could be automatically added when the taskbar starts up, and they could be automatically removed when the taskbar shuts down.
I'm really trying to integrate with the system as much as I dare to while making sure that it can still undo it on exit.
Custom backgrounds can now be set as the actual wallpaper on the host system or with a special background element which disappears when the app exits.
Theming window borders is hard but I'll include it if I ever find out how to do that.
Autolaunch of specific apps on start and exit is on the way and I'll add a lot of presets for common apps (Like PFA).
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Wow, sounds great!
I know I'll definitely be using it!
Some features... Autohide?
--Skate6566
Autohide is now implemented.
I'm working on an group based configuration system.
For example, all docked or undocked elements can be configured at once. The groups are also split into element types (backgrounds, buttons etc.).
It's starting to look like a widget program, lol.
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...Sounding really awesome. Can't wait to test out some form of Alpha.
--Skate6566
I'm still tweaking, debugging and adding.
I'm also working on a special menu plug-in which can be used to create your own simple menus. I might have a working test release next week if I can fix most of the bugs.
I probably won't release it if it still causes a lot of error messages while preforming common tasks.
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How's it coming along?
--Skate6566
I'm currently testing it in my workplace.
We've been distributing usb sticks with PA.com software preloaded to employees for a while. We've also created an automatic system for installing, updating and syncing/creating backups. Almost 200 people also receive hand picked pre-release software when they update, like this one.
I'm sorry for not posting any releases here but it's so much faster to test it here.
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why not post your releases anyway? just so we can play with it
Zoop
I'd be happy to assist in testing this out as well, it sounds like a highly useful app!
Sounds good. I'll be waiting
--Skate6566
How about a program that emulates the windows with a taskbar and it's own desktop. Similar idea's have been had but, not quite what I was thinking. I wish I had the artistic ability's to just show my idea's but, that's sadly never going to happen. Anyway if a program like this was made then a 'fake' registry editor could also be added at some point to give better support for programs with lots of registry's. A not-so-light version might even replace the need for other portable apps but, that would probably be going overboard.
In short, create a program that simulates the windows environment so that a desktop, taskbar, and explore could be supported on a portable environment. Then create a supped up version that emulates the registry editor and installation ability's of a regular PC.
(Sorry for being longwinded)
i thought the same thang. that wou;d be cool
"It's just an online installer. It's not going to mug you.", JTH
"The shell is the key to unlock Linux's greatest advantages."
lets just stick to mastering the portable taskbar, then we will move on to bigger and badder things.
Zoop
for doing that, you could try to portabilize DesktopX(search in the forums, neorame suggested it). Its for emulating a better desktop enviroment, & for the PAtaskbar, someone could make a widget. I have portabilized it with portableappscreator & goes well on a Wvista & 2 different XP partitions on the same machine(including the one I portablized it)
I don't want to see such a great idea go fade away.
so i posted to remind you people to get back to work on this and make an alpha version already.see this post is just to bring this back on development.
ok so...... WHERES THE ALPHA ALREADY!!
Sorry for not writing for a while but I've been extremely busy lately.
I've been extending my taskbar clone to include its own menu which can be skinned and customized. It's now using eXpresso or Xenon file associations when opening files.
An advanced 'Run' dialog has also been added for people who like to use that.
Current bugs:
* Does not detect all the tray icons
* Loading shortcuts from a folder crashes the app sometimes
* The clock does not calculate the time correctly if a different time zone is used than the on the host system
* If the chosen icon size is not present for a file, it displays no icon
* App refuses to start on 9x systems, a compatibility mode will be added which will also allow running in Wine
* Quitting the process from the task manager corrupts the settings files
* Some special protocol URLs are not correctly handled in some cases (ftp etc.)
* Random crashes and grapical bugs
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I'm guessing this is a dropped idea / not possible?
--Skate6566
LEts hope not. This and Cafe Mod are two apps that could really enhance the portableapps experience IMO.
PortableApps.com Advocate
Hello Is this project still going. I know its old but is there anything
Probably not.
I don't think Mr. Magical has been active in the forums much.
Considering I prefer rather spartan interfaces, I am taken aback that I actually like this idea. With the little knowledge I have, I doubt we'd have the functionality of having it take over the window's task bar's function, but I believe it would still be beneficial, and possible in some respects.
I use Pidgin Portable and I have it dock to the side of my screen, and maximized windows do not cover it. Couldn't this be implemented in a PA bar? I personally have my win task bar on the side, and that preference makes it a minor inconvenience to move my PA menu whenever I come back to my home terminal. If this PA bar located the current windows bar and just set along side of it, that would be really impressive and convenient. Instead of showing the currently running PA applications, it could show the most used applications on it, like the quick launch bar.
These are just some of my thoughts. I think it is a really nifty idea.
Limits are for people with no imagination.
Is there any way to get the PA taskbar to go over the windows taskbar, or hide the windows taskbar? like you could make a button that unhides it when needed.
Not really a taskbar, more like an alternative to the PortableApps.com Menu but... you could take a look at PortableDock. It is compatible with all PortableApps.com programs and launchers. It runs like Rocket Launcher does. You can get more information here -> http://www.mystercrowley.com/sw_portabledock_en.php
I am unsure if it will run in a portable environment, such as installation on your flash drive, but you could give it a shot.
Litestep portable can do what you describe, with a bit of customizing. I don't work on it anymore, but someone else could easily take it over and turn it into this.
This is the best idea ive heard the whole time ive been on portable apps
I Still Like XP better even though I've got Windows 7
I might be able to work on something like this, but before i do, i want to know what people's priorities are. Speed while running? Startup speed? Customizability?
The first option i have is to customize litestep to do this, i think that it is possible without recompiling modules. However, this will be slower to start up, since it has to load an entire application, parse rc files, and then load the modules (likely about 5-30 seconds depending on several factors). The other catch with this method is that explorer.exe (the shell) would have to be killed, so you could not have the normal taskbar and this taskbar (although you could skin a litestep taskbar to be almost indistinguishable to the casual viewer). Of course, killing explorer also means that we loose our explorer desktop, although there is a litestep module that emulates it almost perfectly, clickonic. Using that, we could also allow users to have a portable desktop (thus implementing this idea).
The second option is to make our own taskbar, manually filtering names to be included. This will require significantly more work, and likely won't be as customizable, but will be a smaller install, smaller memory footprint, and faster startup time. The biggest hurdle here is somehow getting the windows to not be shown on the normal taskbar, likely involving some messing around with WM_ styles, maintaining an internal list of portableapps windows, and polling every so often. Also a problem is that there isn't any way to change the window order though windows API calls any more, since applications were stealing focus from users. I'd have to look at how litestep manages this...
Thoughts? Ideas?
I like the idea that someone gave for a complete desktop replacement in the Portable Apps format. But this should be FULLY CUSTOMIZABLE. This should replace the current PAP Menu, Win Start Menu, Win Task Bar, The complete Windows Shell if possible.
So basically you're left with a fully customizable and portable desktop.
Live for an ideal and leave no place in the mind for anything else.
The xtaskbar module allows for creating multiple taskbars and specifying which apps are shown on which taskbar. It does it by class or window name I think, so as long as you only run the portable versions of apps it should work. If you ran a local version though with the same class name it would appear on your "portable" bar.
I've been using jetToolBar for years, but it's a bit buggy for my liking, so I'm using KeyLink at the moment, until I can find something better, which seems to be an impossibility ...
Doesn't look like anyone's developing jetToolBar at the moment, but it's still available for download. See http://www.jetaudio.com/products/jettoolbar/ for a description.
KeyLink is rather nifty: You can do everything with the keyboard and you don't have to be very specific either. See http://www.strgwin.de/ for a description.
Would be nice if a developer or two could have a look at these two apps. Maybe we can get some ideas there?
If you can't enjoy yourself, enjoy somebody else ...
I found this cool app created by mzzt of the portable apps community a while back and it looks just like what you want. I have been wanting something like this for a long time as well. If this could overcome .net dependancies and become integrated into the platform I would be overjoyed.
Portable Taskbar
http://www.mzzt.net/files/
Make the world portable! Please.