Latest Forum Posts
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SharpE 0.8 RC1 Feedback (Latest Beta Release) | Billi Berserker | 5735 | 84 | HomerSp Sun Sep 05 2010, 03:01PM |
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Windows Live Messenger issue (Feedback) | Russ | 213 | 4 | Justin93 Sat Sep 04 2010, 10:11PM |
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Window selection (Feedback) | Jabu | 239 | 9 | Jabu Thu Sep 02 2010, 05:34AM |
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A few questions.. (SharpE - General Topics) | psyko12 | 225 | 7 | Billi Berserker Mon Aug 30 2010, 11:33AM |
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Go back to DWM? (General - Chatter) | Soharuda | 133 | 1 | HomerSp Sun Aug 29 2010, 05:51AM |
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SharpE 0.8 Release Candidate 1 Released
04 Jul 10 - 22:55
We are proud to announce the public release of the release candidate 1 for SharpE 0.8. Things went better than expected so we decided to skip another private test. So here it is, SharpE 0.8 RC1 unleashed to the public!
Please keep in mind that this is a release candidate, meaning that it's still a beta version!
The goal of the release candidate is to determine if the build is ready for a real release of SharpE 0.8 as stable version.
Please also note that due to several huge changes it is not possible to overwrite an already existing SharpE release or to use the settings of an older release! You have to do a fresh install!
The biggest difference to any previous release is that SharpE 0.8 RC1 comes with an easy to use installer and uninstaller. In addition download as .zip for advanced users is also available
Download: SharpE 0.8 RC1
Post Feedback (Bug Reports, Feature Requests) into this forum thread: Feedback Thread
The changelog is so huge again that I can't go into detail about every single change, here are some of the changes:
Icon Sets:
The icon sets have finally been reworked to a more modern structure. Besides more icons being included the sets are no longer based on .ico files. With the new icon sets being based on multiple .png files it should be a lot easier for users to create and share their own icon sets. A downside of this is that we had to say goodbye to the old CubeIX icon sets and that we currently only have 3 working icon sets in the release. However we hope that with the png changes users will put together more great icon sets quickly!
SharpCenter:
Again we have invested enormous work in fixing and improving SharpCenter. The changelog contains over 30 items just related to SharpCenter, and those are just the changes where we didn't forget adding them to the changelog. Overall SharpCenter is a lot more stable and faster now, in fact we fixed so many things that we consider SharpCenter to be fully stable now. Of course there might still be a few crashes - but those are just there so that we have something to fix until the final release of SharpE 0.8
Settings:
Regarding how the settings are saved two major changes have been made. The first is that it's now possible to store all your SharpE settings in the computers ApplicationData directory (where all other applications store their settings). The advantage of this is that you can now install SharpE in UAC protected directories (e.g. Program Files) on Windows Vista and 7 and that you can easily use the same settings between different/future releases of SharpE (any SharpE install on your computer will access the same settings in the AppData directory). But of course using it the old way where the settings are saved directly in the SharpE directory is also still possible (you can change which way you prefer it in the installer).
The second change is that we started implementing a more secure way of how all settings file are accessed, meaning that the annoying "File is already used by another process" error should be fixed now!
Besides this so many other things changed all over the shell that the Changelog is the longest we ever had.
Click "read the rest" to knock yourself out!
[ Read the rest ... ]
Please keep in mind that this is a release candidate, meaning that it's still a beta version!
The goal of the release candidate is to determine if the build is ready for a real release of SharpE 0.8 as stable version.
Please also note that due to several huge changes it is not possible to overwrite an already existing SharpE release or to use the settings of an older release! You have to do a fresh install!
The biggest difference to any previous release is that SharpE 0.8 RC1 comes with an easy to use installer and uninstaller. In addition download as .zip for advanced users is also available
Download: SharpE 0.8 RC1
Post Feedback (Bug Reports, Feature Requests) into this forum thread: Feedback Thread
The changelog is so huge again that I can't go into detail about every single change, here are some of the changes:
Icon Sets:
The icon sets have finally been reworked to a more modern structure. Besides more icons being included the sets are no longer based on .ico files. With the new icon sets being based on multiple .png files it should be a lot easier for users to create and share their own icon sets. A downside of this is that we had to say goodbye to the old CubeIX icon sets and that we currently only have 3 working icon sets in the release. However we hope that with the png changes users will put together more great icon sets quickly!
SharpCenter:
Again we have invested enormous work in fixing and improving SharpCenter. The changelog contains over 30 items just related to SharpCenter, and those are just the changes where we didn't forget adding them to the changelog. Overall SharpCenter is a lot more stable and faster now, in fact we fixed so many things that we consider SharpCenter to be fully stable now. Of course there might still be a few crashes - but those are just there so that we have something to fix until the final release of SharpE 0.8
Settings:
Regarding how the settings are saved two major changes have been made. The first is that it's now possible to store all your SharpE settings in the computers ApplicationData directory (where all other applications store their settings). The advantage of this is that you can now install SharpE in UAC protected directories (e.g. Program Files) on Windows Vista and 7 and that you can easily use the same settings between different/future releases of SharpE (any SharpE install on your computer will access the same settings in the AppData directory). But of course using it the old way where the settings are saved directly in the SharpE directory is also still possible (you can change which way you prefer it in the installer).
The second change is that we started implementing a more secure way of how all settings file are accessed, meaning that the annoying "File is already used by another process" error should be fixed now!
Besides this so many other things changed all over the shell that the Changelog is the longest we ever had.
Click "read the rest" to knock yourself out!
[ Read the rest ... ]
0.8 RC1 Status Update
01 Jul 10 - 23:37
Sorry for it being a little quiet lately, but real life for the developers has been very busy lately so we haven't had as much time to work on SharpE as planned.
I just want to give a quick status update:
About a month ago the first private test release of the next SharpE Version (0.8 RC1) has been released to our brave testers. We received a lot of feedback and most of the bugs are now fixed, meaning that we will send a second test version of 0.8 RC1 to the testers this weekend. Hopefully if everything goes well then 0.8 RC1 can be made public within 2 to 3 weeks.
Stay tuned, it's near!
I just want to give a quick status update:
About a month ago the first private test release of the next SharpE Version (0.8 RC1) has been released to our brave testers. We received a lot of feedback and most of the bugs are now fixed, meaning that we will send a second test version of 0.8 RC1 to the testers this weekend. Hopefully if everything goes well then 0.8 RC1 can be made public within 2 to 3 weeks.
Stay tuned, it's near!
Call for Testers
21 May 10 - 16:26
The next release of SharpE will be Version 0.8 RC1. This means that we will leave the testing day versions and that we will go on to an official stable release which will include an installer.
Because of the many changes since TD6 and because of the installer we decided to not publicly release 0.8 RC1 quite yet. Instead we will be having a private testing phase for 2 to 4 weeks where selected testers will receive a copy of the 0.8 RC1 installer. Their job then is it to test the shell and the installer and report any major problems back to us. After this private testing phase we will then release 0.8 RC1 to the general public.
Currently we are gathering testers for the private release, so if you are interested to receive an early copy of 0.8 RC1 and if you are willing to work with us in improving everything to create a stable release which can be released to the public then please contact us. Once we have gathered a fair amount of testers the release will be e-mailed to everyone in approximately one week.
What you will have to do:
* Send an e-mail to "martin at sharpenviro dot com" with the subject: "[SharpE RC1 PT]", if you can please include your IRC or Forum nickname. Your e-mail will then be placed on our internal list of testers.
* Wait until you receive an e-mail with a download link and further instructions (in 5 to 10 days).
* When you received the release report any major problems with a detailed description back to us
If everything goes well and without too many problems then we can release 0.8 RC1 within a month
Update 27 May 2010:
We have gathered 21 testers so far, thanks a lot for the big participation!
Joining the testing team is still open for a couple of days, so hurry if you want to be part of it!
The release will most likely be e-mailed to everyone by the beginning of next week.
Update 31 May 2010:
The release has now been send to the testers!
Because of the many changes since TD6 and because of the installer we decided to not publicly release 0.8 RC1 quite yet. Instead we will be having a private testing phase for 2 to 4 weeks where selected testers will receive a copy of the 0.8 RC1 installer. Their job then is it to test the shell and the installer and report any major problems back to us. After this private testing phase we will then release 0.8 RC1 to the general public.
Currently we are gathering testers for the private release, so if you are interested to receive an early copy of 0.8 RC1 and if you are willing to work with us in improving everything to create a stable release which can be released to the public then please contact us. Once we have gathered a fair amount of testers the release will be e-mailed to everyone in approximately one week.
What you will have to do:
* Wait until you receive an e-mail with a download link and further instructions (in 5 to 10 days).
* When you received the release report any major problems with a detailed description back to us
If everything goes well and without too many problems then we can release 0.8 RC1 within a month
Update 27 May 2010:
We have gathered 21 testers so far, thanks a lot for the big participation!
Joining the testing team is still open for a couple of days, so hurry if you want to be part of it!
The release will most likely be e-mailed to everyone by the beginning of next week.
Update 31 May 2010:
The release has now been send to the testers!
Site News
24 Apr 10 - 10:26
For the last few months have taken a back seat in development and concentrated on getting our new site up and ready, otherwise we would have been stuck with this old site forever. I am happy to say that the new reinvention of our image will launch for 0.8 and here is a little preview of what the new forum looks like below.
Simplicity is a key with the new site, with a lot of the interaction drawn to the forum. One of the decisions we have made is to remove the chat box, so that all support is handled in the right place.
Look forward to unveiling the new site over the next couple of months...
Simplicity is a key with the new site, with a lot of the interaction drawn to the forum. One of the decisions we have made is to remove the chat box, so that all support is handled in the right place.
Look forward to unveiling the new site over the next couple of months...
Latest News
21 Apr 10 - 17:49
Just a quick news to keep you updated on the recent developments.
The development team has been very busy during the past months. With the release of TD6R5 we created a huge to-do list with things that needed fixing and improvements. I'm very happy to report that this to-do list is nearly empty now and that we are near another release. We of course can't give you a data, it might be 2 weeks or maybe 4. But it really isn't that far out.
The best part about the next release is that it most likely won't be TD6R6 and it will also not be TD7. If everything goes according to what we have planned then the next release will indeed be SharpE 0.8 RC1. We are actually already working on an installer for it!
So stay tuned, it's nearly there!
In the mean time, knock yourself out with the Changelog
The development team has been very busy during the past months. With the release of TD6R5 we created a huge to-do list with things that needed fixing and improvements. I'm very happy to report that this to-do list is nearly empty now and that we are near another release. We of course can't give you a data, it might be 2 weeks or maybe 4. But it really isn't that far out.
The best part about the next release is that it most likely won't be TD6R6 and it will also not be TD7. If everything goes according to what we have planned then the next release will indeed be SharpE 0.8 RC1. We are actually already working on an installer for it!
So stay tuned, it's nearly there!
In the mean time, knock yourself out with the Changelog
TD6R5 Released!
13 Feb 10 - 23:44
Again 4 months have passed since the last release. After a lot of work and many changes we are really proud to release SharpE TD6R5 - the next major step towards the final release of Version 0.8.
This time the changelog is bigger than ever and the team has worked hard to fix many problems and implement some amazing new features. So what took us so long again?
Explorer Desktop
Besides some improvements in SharpDesk regarding stability with full screen applications (such as games) it is now possible to use the explorer desktop with SharpE. The desktop config has a checkbox where you can select which desktop to use - SharpDesk or Explorer Desktop. This feature is available on all supported windows systems from XP to Windows 7. A nice side effect of this is that the windows desktop widgets will work again on Vista and Windows 7. The advanced wallpaper features of SharpE, such as different wallpapers for multi monitor setups or the wallpaper effects, are still available with the explorer desktop (when the SharpE wallpaper configuration is used).
Taskbar
Many long known bugs have finally been fixed in the taskbar and application bar modules. It's now possible to close windows with a middle mouse click even when the window is part of a multi window application (such as firefox). Besides this overall stability, compatibility with stubborn applications and multi monitor support have been further improved.
SharpCenter
A lot of work has been invested in improving the stability and speed of SharpCenter and the configs. In addition, to just making it faster and more stable, many bugs such as non working arrow keys and a messed up tab order have been fixed. Overall SharpCenter should be a lot more stable!
New Stuff (Modules,Skins,...)
One issue we still had was that the previously released Number 8 skin was too big for non high resolution or normal dpi displays. At the same time the older skins such as sunken or minimal where too small for those high resolution displays. To fix this gab a new "Simple" skin has been added to the release, which is a mixture of the minimal and Number 8 skins. This release also contains three brand new modules for the SharpBar. Those modules are an Alarm Clock, Recycle Bin Monitor and a RSS Reader module.
Everything else
The changelog is so big that it's impossible to list everything in this news post. However there are still two other improvements which I want to point out: An option has been added to the VWM to also move tool windows (gimp or instant messenger windows) between virtual monitors. Besides this the long missing auto complete feature has been added back to the miniscmd module.
Last but not least I want to personally thank both James (brum74) and Mathias (HomerSp) for their ongoing support, without them this release wouldn't have been possible.
Enjoy this release!
Please post feedback into this forum thread
Download
click "Read the rest... " for the complete changelog.
[ Read the rest ... ]
This time the changelog is bigger than ever and the team has worked hard to fix many problems and implement some amazing new features. So what took us so long again?
Explorer Desktop
Besides some improvements in SharpDesk regarding stability with full screen applications (such as games) it is now possible to use the explorer desktop with SharpE. The desktop config has a checkbox where you can select which desktop to use - SharpDesk or Explorer Desktop. This feature is available on all supported windows systems from XP to Windows 7. A nice side effect of this is that the windows desktop widgets will work again on Vista and Windows 7. The advanced wallpaper features of SharpE, such as different wallpapers for multi monitor setups or the wallpaper effects, are still available with the explorer desktop (when the SharpE wallpaper configuration is used).
Taskbar
Many long known bugs have finally been fixed in the taskbar and application bar modules. It's now possible to close windows with a middle mouse click even when the window is part of a multi window application (such as firefox). Besides this overall stability, compatibility with stubborn applications and multi monitor support have been further improved.
SharpCenter
A lot of work has been invested in improving the stability and speed of SharpCenter and the configs. In addition, to just making it faster and more stable, many bugs such as non working arrow keys and a messed up tab order have been fixed. Overall SharpCenter should be a lot more stable!
New Stuff (Modules,Skins,...)
One issue we still had was that the previously released Number 8 skin was too big for non high resolution or normal dpi displays. At the same time the older skins such as sunken or minimal where too small for those high resolution displays. To fix this gab a new "Simple" skin has been added to the release, which is a mixture of the minimal and Number 8 skins. This release also contains three brand new modules for the SharpBar. Those modules are an Alarm Clock, Recycle Bin Monitor and a RSS Reader module.
Everything else
The changelog is so big that it's impossible to list everything in this news post. However there are still two other improvements which I want to point out: An option has been added to the VWM to also move tool windows (gimp or instant messenger windows) between virtual monitors. Besides this the long missing auto complete feature has been added back to the miniscmd module.
Last but not least I want to personally thank both James (brum74) and Mathias (HomerSp) for their ongoing support, without them this release wouldn't have been possible.
Enjoy this release!
Please post feedback into this forum thread
Download
click "Read the rest... " for the complete changelog.
[ Read the rest ... ]
News update
30 Nov 09 - 14:53
Firstly the past six months I have been relatively inactive development wise due to a variety of reasons, some good, some bad. Fortunately due the overwhelming support we have been receiving, we now have more developers to help improve the shell, and we have not suffered too much :P The project continues stronger than ever...
- We welcomed HomerSp to the team last month, as for the last few months he has committed several worthy additions to the shell, and continues to do so
- The next release already has bags of bug fixes and improvements TD6R5 Changelog
- The move back to SourceForge has been most succesfull, with us even in the top 100 for a few days Remember to use the trackers to submit bug and feature requests!
- The site replacement is actively being worked on...
TD6R4 Released!
02 Oct 09 - 21:25
Took a little longer than we had hoped for. Here it finally is, the next release - TD6R4.
Besides several bug fixes of some major bugs (like the link launcher not working when SharpE was unpacked in a directory which contained spaces) there is also a lot of new stuff included. For example there is a "new" skin, "Number 8" which basically is a very much improved version of "Number 7". But this new skin makes use of two new features in the application bar. The hover and highlight blending effects are now using the colors of the icon which is assigned to the application bar item. And the multiple window overlay is now displayed as a number instead of the new white squares. Both features are skin specific and currently only supported by the new Number 8 skin. Besides this there are some nice new features in the cursor service (thanks to our user HomerSp).
Another change compared to the previous releases is that the download is now again hosted on sf.net. Bug and feature trackers will follow in a few days.
Please post feedback into this forum thread
Download
click "Read the rest... " for the complete changelog.
[ Read the rest ... ]
Besides several bug fixes of some major bugs (like the link launcher not working when SharpE was unpacked in a directory which contained spaces) there is also a lot of new stuff included. For example there is a "new" skin, "Number 8" which basically is a very much improved version of "Number 7". But this new skin makes use of two new features in the application bar. The hover and highlight blending effects are now using the colors of the icon which is assigned to the application bar item. And the multiple window overlay is now displayed as a number instead of the new white squares. Both features are skin specific and currently only supported by the new Number 8 skin. Besides this there are some nice new features in the cursor service (thanks to our user HomerSp).
Another change compared to the previous releases is that the download is now again hosted on sf.net. Bug and feature trackers will follow in a few days.
Please post feedback into this forum thread
Download
click "Read the rest... " for the complete changelog.
[ Read the rest ... ]
TD6R3 Released!
05 Sep 09 - 20:08
It took (as usual) longer than expected. But here it is! The next release of SharpE! TD6R3!
The changelog is freaking huge and as usual incomplete. But it should cover most changes.
One important change is the optional usage of NET 3.5. In order to provide better support for 64bit operating systems we developed two new small SharpE applications in C#. Those two applications are the shell service object launcher which is responsible for the system icons in the tray and a link launcher which will fix issues with .lnk files on 64bit operating systems. Both applications will automatically be used by the shell if the NET 3.5 Framework is installed, if not then the old methods will be used (which will cause minor issues on 64bit systems). If you do not wish to use those NET components although you have the NET 3.5 framework installed then just delete or rename SharpLinkLauncherNET.exe and SharpShellServicesNET.exe and everything will work just as before. But we highly recommend to use the NET components.
As mentioned before the new taskbar and applicationbar feature of showing task previews are only available on Vista and Windows 7 with the Home Premium versions or above. Basically all versions featuring Aero. Operating systems not supporting Aero (such as XP or Home Basic) will use the popup menu from the previous version of SharpE.
We hope you like this new release. Looking forward for feedback of any kind.
Changelog
Please post feedback into this forum thread
Download
The changelog is freaking huge and as usual incomplete. But it should cover most changes.
One important change is the optional usage of NET 3.5. In order to provide better support for 64bit operating systems we developed two new small SharpE applications in C#. Those two applications are the shell service object launcher which is responsible for the system icons in the tray and a link launcher which will fix issues with .lnk files on 64bit operating systems. Both applications will automatically be used by the shell if the NET 3.5 Framework is installed, if not then the old methods will be used (which will cause minor issues on 64bit systems). If you do not wish to use those NET components although you have the NET 3.5 framework installed then just delete or rename SharpLinkLauncherNET.exe and SharpShellServicesNET.exe and everything will work just as before. But we highly recommend to use the NET components.
As mentioned before the new taskbar and applicationbar feature of showing task previews are only available on Vista and Windows 7 with the Home Premium versions or above. Basically all versions featuring Aero. Operating systems not supporting Aero (such as XP or Home Basic) will use the popup menu from the previous version of SharpE.
We hope you like this new release. Looking forward for feedback of any kind.
Changelog
Please post feedback into this forum thread
Download
Quick Update
03 Jul 09 - 01:02
The release of TD6R3 (or maybe TD7) is coming closer, so here is a quick update on what's going on.
Development has lately concentrated on getting the shell to be able to compete against windows 7. With Win7 many very powerfull features are added to the explorer shell and we feel that users switching to SharpE from windows 7 will miss some of those features. With the application bar module we already have one of the most important Win7 taskbar features integrated into SharpE, but it was time to add more new stuff.
With the next release the two most important new features are
1) Support for larger Skins
A lot of work has been done on the skin system to allow the creation of larger skins. All our current skins are pretty small and limited in height and icon sizes. With the latest changes it's no problem to have skins with icon sizes up to 32x32 and bar heights over 40 pixels. To demonstrate this a new skin has been created.
2) Task Previews
For users using Vista and Win7 versions which are supporting Aero Effects (Home Premium++) the taskbar and application bar modules will now show preview windows when hovering over the items with the mouse. These preview windows are using the DWM api, meaning that they are very fast and updated live. Of course we are taking this further than just implementing what windows7 taskbar does. New features for the application bar include stacking of multiple preview windows and the possibility to interact with several previews (restore or close several windows at the same time by left/middle clicking their preview while holding down the shift key).
Those new features are demonstrated best in a little screenshot
In addition we are working on fixing the remaining tray problems on Vista and on making it ready for Win7. The annoying crashing bug when closing SharpCenter on XP should also be fixed in the next release.
Development has lately concentrated on getting the shell to be able to compete against windows 7. With Win7 many very powerfull features are added to the explorer shell and we feel that users switching to SharpE from windows 7 will miss some of those features. With the application bar module we already have one of the most important Win7 taskbar features integrated into SharpE, but it was time to add more new stuff.
With the next release the two most important new features are
1) Support for larger Skins
A lot of work has been done on the skin system to allow the creation of larger skins. All our current skins are pretty small and limited in height and icon sizes. With the latest changes it's no problem to have skins with icon sizes up to 32x32 and bar heights over 40 pixels. To demonstrate this a new skin has been created.
2) Task Previews
For users using Vista and Win7 versions which are supporting Aero Effects (Home Premium++) the taskbar and application bar modules will now show preview windows when hovering over the items with the mouse. These preview windows are using the DWM api, meaning that they are very fast and updated live. Of course we are taking this further than just implementing what windows7 taskbar does. New features for the application bar include stacking of multiple preview windows and the possibility to interact with several previews (restore or close several windows at the same time by left/middle clicking their preview while holding down the shift key).
Those new features are demonstrated best in a little screenshot
In addition we are working on fixing the remaining tray problems on Vista and on making it ready for Win7. The annoying crashing bug when closing SharpCenter on XP should also be fixed in the next release.