Summary
Windows Sizer 1.0

Introducing Windows Sizer

Menu Commands (right click the Windows Sizer window to popou the menu)

Move

Size

Actions

Refresh

Setup

Help

Exit

Legal information

Technical Notes

Know Bugs and Limitations

The Autor


Introducing Windows Sizer

Windows Sizer is an utility to arrange windows.

It gives you much more control then the standard “Tile” and “Cascade” options available in Windows.

With Windows Sizer you can move any window to 5 predefined positions on the screen, size it to 10 dimensions suitable to all screen resolution, minimize, maximize, restore and close any window without activate it. And spent more time working with yours applications instead of sizing and moving them.

Window Sizer remeber its size and position, helping you to find a place without trouble for you applications, and can be immediatly restored with a personalizable “hotkey”.

Why Windows Sizer ?

Today PCs have fast processors and high amount of RAM, giving the user the ability to run multiple application at the same time. On the other side, a tipical user still own a 14”-15” monitor, and use a screen resolution of 800x600 pixels.

This often drive to a full-of-window, muddled desktop.

Today tipical video boards fits 1-2 Mbyte of video memory, allowing resolutions up to 1024x768 and 1600x1200 respectively (the above resolution are calculated at 256 colors). These resolution outperfom the capabilities of a 14” monitor. But the price of a suitable one can be more then 2000$. That’s because many video board manifacturer produce “virtual desktop” video drivers.

With a virtual desktop you can use a screen resolution of i.e. 1240x1024 with a monitor capable of i.e. 800x600.

Of course you can see only 800x600 pixels at one time, but if the mouse cursor reach the border of the screen and you keep moving it, the screen scrolls with it. In this example you have a viewport of 800x600 pixels moveable over a desktop of 1240x1024.

Virtual desktops can really improve your ability to work with multiple applications. But usually make more difficult to have a clear and ordered windows displacement.


Pixel

Short for "Picture Element".

A single coloured spot of a TV or computer monitor image.


Resolution

The number of pixels which make a TV or computer monitor image.

800x600 means there are 800 pixels across the width and 600 pixels across the height of the monitor. This mean the entire screen image is made up of 800x600=480.000 pixels.


Move menu

This item display a submenu, where you can select a location for the window currently selected (if any) in the windows list.


Size menu

This item display a submenu, where you can select a size for the window currently selected (if any) in the windows list.

640x480, 800x600 and 1024x768 are commonly used resolution. These let you enlarge your windows to the cover all the screen, the so called “maximize” already availble in Windows® (In Windows95® you have to press the button [image]) and trough the actions menu in Windows Sizer. Using “maximize” can make your window larger then you can see with virtual desktops, so use the Size menu instead.

620x460, 780x580, 1004x748 let you  maximize your windows leaving a 20 pixels border  to  see  the  desktop, shortcut icons, application bar and so on.

380x280 and 400x300 size your window to ¼ of screen size at 800x600 (with or without the 20 pixels border). This way you can order your applications in a “Tile” style.

492x364 and 512x384 size your window to ¼ of screen size at 1024x768 (with or without the 20 pixels border). This way you can order your applications in a “Tile” style.


Actions menu

This item display a submenu, where you can select some command for the window currently selected (if any) in the windows list.

“To front” move the selected windows (if any) to the top of the windows stack, making it visible if actually covered by another windows.

All the others commands are already availble trough the standard Windows® interface, and are here for comodity only, allowing faster resizing/closing of mulitple windows.


Refresh command

Windows Sizer automatically tracks windows creation and destruction, updating the windows list whitout user interaction.

Anyhow, some windows are not detected by Windows Sizer.

To force a relist of the existing windows use this command.


Setup dialog

This dialog box let you :

1.	Set an hot key. An hot key is a combination of keys you can use to immediatly activate Windows Sizer.

Click on the edit box labeled “hot key” and press one or more keys. The edit box display the name of the keys you have pressed. Avoid using combiination already used by others application or by Windows®, or  simply characters alone (always use the Ctrl or Alt or Shift key too). Press the OK button to store and activate the hot key. The hot key is immediatly active. It’s deactivated when you exit Windows Sizer and restored on restart.

1.	Keep the Windows Sizer window on top of other windows.

Checking the “Always on top” box, you force Windows Sizer to remain over others windows. This way Windows Sizer is always visible and you need no more an hot key.


Know limitation
Know bugs and limitations

1.	Some windows creation/destruction is not detected correctly. This mean sometimes the windows list is not correctly updated. You can :

•	Startup another application. When an application that’s correctly detected start, the entire windows list is refreshed.

•	Use the “Refresh” command.

1.	With some virtual desktops the last position of the Windows Sizer windows is not correctly restored when you restart the application. There are not troubles with window size.

Please report any trouble to the author.


The Author

 Ok, here he’s who you can blame for what’s going wrong ! My name is Corrado Labinaz, and I’m an Italian computer programmer, so avoid blame me because the grammar of this help is not like Shakespare could do ! ! The most part of my job is to develope custom database application. For this I use mainly Borland® Delphi®. Anyhow, Windows Sizer is NOT written in Delphi®. Take a look at technical notes if you want to know more about. You can reach me at clab@gpnet.it (You must have Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer properly installed before to click this link ! !)


Technical notes

Windows Sizer is been developed with Microsoft® Visual C++ 4.0, using MFC 4.0.

You need MFC40.DLL to run Windows Sizer.

It use a window hook to detect windows creation/destruction (but it doesn’t work everytime. Any idea ?).

It need Windows95® or WindowsNT® 3.51 or above (it’s not been tested under Win32s).

This help file is been created with RoboHelp95®.

Program files :

file name	purpose

HookDll.dll	system hook

Inetwh32.dll	send internet e-mail from windows help

SetBrowse.exe	utility for Inetwh32.dll

WSizer.exe	main executable

WSizer.gid	help related file

WSizer.hlp	help file

Readme.txt	general information

Registry :

Windows Sizer store setup information under the following registry key :

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Clab\WSizer\1.0


Legal information

This software is freeware.

You have the right to copy and distribute it freely, and you are encouraged to do it.

You must distribute the entire setup file “WSizer.zip”, without modification.

You must charge nothing for distributing this software, other then a shipping and handling fee.

This software is provvided “as is”.

The author spent a long time to develope and test it, and belive it will work like described in this help file.

Anyhow, YOU USE THIS SOFTWARE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

The author will not be responsable for any damage or data loss caused by proper or improper use of this sotware.