CodeTek VirtualDesktop™ 1.4.1

Welcome To CodeTek VirtualDesktop!

CodeTek VirtualDesktop extends Mac OS X to behave as if it has up to 100 separate monitors attached to it. Using the virtual desktop Pager GUI, you can switch between your virtual desktops and even drag windows around between them. CodeTek VirtualDesktop greatly increases your available screen space and allows you to use a different desktop for different parts of your workflow!

CodeTek VirtualDesktop provides the following benefits: 

•  Unclutters your screen for easier workflow
•  Allows you to dedicate a desktop to each specific task you are working on
•  Organizes your applications' windows for maximum efficiency

CodeTek VirtualDesktop has many features, including the following: 

•  You can create up to 100 desktops
•  Windows may be dragged between virtual desktops
•  HotKey support for rapid switching between desktops
•  HotKey support for activating/deactivating features, quitting the application or opening the preferences
•  Desktops can have individual names
•  A menubar tool to allow you to navigate your desktops
•  A virtual desktop Pager GUI to manage your desktops
•  Skinnable Pager interface
•  The virtual desktop Pager interface is fully configurable
•  The virtual desktop Pager interface can be hidden so it does not take up valuable screen space

What's New in Version 1.4.1

Bug Fixes:

- Fixed bug in unregistered version where a user could not click on an alert panel
- Fixed the bug causing Windows to move around on their own
- Clicking on a menu and moving your mouse to the edge of the screen no longer causes a desktop switch
- Finder selections that contact the edge of the screen no longer cause a desktop switch
- Panels now move with a window that is clicked on when switching desktops
- 'Enable HotKeys' preference button now keeps track of its setting when the application is quit
- 1x2 layouts now work in unregistered installations
- Properly implemented floating palettes no longer appear in the GUI
- Fixed crash with DevonThink and other applications
- Fixed a hang when shifting desktops with the mouse and with a HotKey at about the same time
- Fixed crash with Eudora
- Fixed spurious hang in unregistered installations
- Menu no longer causes hang in unregistered installations
- Visual holes in drop shadows on GUI no longer appear
- Selections in the finder no longer appear as windows in the GUI

New Features:

- The "Small Deggy" skin is now the default skin (Thanks Mark Degg!)
- Current desktop name now appears in the menu bar
- Preference toggle has been added to show the V icon, the desktop name or both in the menu bar
- Improved load time and other performance improvements
- Sliders in preferences are now continuous which allows realtime resizing of the Pager and Pager transparency changes
- Window titles in the menu are now limited to 40 characters
- CodeTek VirtualDesktop is now ready for localization

Install

To install the CodeTek VirtualDesktop application, simply copy or drag it's icon to the desired folder (usually /Applications). You do not need Administrator rights to run CodeTek VirtualDesktop, so you may place it in any directory. If you have previously installed CodeTek VirtualDesktop, you will need to log out and log back in for all changes to take place.

Uninstall

To uninstall the CodeTek VirtualDesktop, simply drag the application to the trash. You will need to log out and back in before you can empty the trash.

Using CodeTek VirtualDesktop

There are two main ways of interacting with CodeTek VirtualDesktop: the Pager window and the menu bar tool.

The Pager Window

When you launch CodeTek VirtualDesktop for the first time, the Pager window will appear on your desktop, floating above all the other windows on your screen. The Pager displays all of your virtual desktops along with mini-window rectangles that represent your applications' windows on your system. The Pager in Figure 1 below has four desktops in a 2 row by 2 column layout. You may switch to a desktop by clicking on the desktop in the Pager. If you click on a mini-window, you will switch to that desktop and that window will come to the front of your screen and will accept keyboard input.  You may also move windows between virtual desktops by dragging their mini-window representations from their current Pager location to the desired desktop in the Pager. Windows may also be dragged between desktops by dragging them to the edge of the screen and through to the next consecutive desktop. You can also carry windows to a new desktop by clicking and holding the title bar of the window and pressing a HotKey sequence to change desktops.

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Figure 1: The Pager

There are two buttons on the Pager: a red "Quit" button in the upper left hand corner and a blue "Preferences" button in the bottom center of the Pager. Clicking on the red button will exit CodeTek VirtualDesktop and clicking on the blue will bring up the Preferences window discussed below.

You may choose to hide the Pager, so that it is not visible. Either choose the "Hide Pager" option from the menu bar tool or hit the "Toggle Pager Visibility" HotKey sequence (option-home by default). You can also start CodeTek VirtualDesktop with the Pager hidden; simply uncheck the "Pager Visible at Startup" preference in the Pager Config tab of the Preferences window, as discussed below. You can make the Pager visible on startup by checking this checkbox. While the Pager is hidden, CodeTek VirtualDesktop consumes far less CPU resources; this can be useful on systems where performance is critical.

The Menu Bar Tool

When you launch CodeTek VirtualDesktop for the first time, the menu bar tool will appear in the right side of the menu bar. Figure 2 shows the menu bar tool with the menu activated that corresponds to the Pager in Figure 1.

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The menu bar tool consists of a V icon and the current desktop name by default. You may choose to display only the V icon or only the desktop name; these options are discussed below in the "Appearance" tab section of the Preferences discussion. As you change desktops, the current desktop name will always be shown. Renaming the desktop will also change the menu bar tool's label.

The top portion of the menu lists all of the desktops and the windows that are on each desktop, by window title. You may change desktops by selecting the desktop's name, or switch to any of the windows by selecting the appropriate title. The V icon in the menu list designates the current desktop. Window titles are truncated to 40 characters to ensure that the menu remains a reasonable size.

The bottom portion of the menu lists three actions that you can select: Preferences, Show/Hide Pager (as appropriate) and Quit. Selecting "Preferences" will show the Preferences window, which is discussed below. Show/Hide Pager will show or hide the Pager window; if the Pager is hidden, the menu will have a "Show Pager" entry and if it is visible, it will have a "Hide Pager" entry. Selecting "Quit" will exit CodeTek VirtualDesktop.

You may disable the menu bar tool by unchecking the "Enable Menu Bar Tool" checkbox on the "Appearance" tab of the Preferences window. You can re-enable it by checking this checkbox.

Customizing CodeTek VirtualDesktop's Appearance and Behavior

To modify your preferences, click on the blue preferences button on the Pager, select the "Preferences" entry from the menu bar tool's menu or press the "Show Preferences" HotKey sequence (control-option-; by default). This will bring up the preferences window described below.

The Pager Config Tab

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The Pager Config tab will allow you to change the over-all Pager size, as well as the number of virtual desktops you would like to have. You may select any style layout of desktops from 1x1 to 10x10, giving you anywhere from 1 desktop to 100 desktops.

The "Applications Virtual Desktop Moves To Every Desktop" list allows you to drag and drop applications onto the window from the Finder that you would like to exist on every virtual desktop, effectively ignoring the virtual desktop. You may remove an application from the list by selecting an application and pressing the delete key (on a Mac keyboard) or the backspace key (on a PC keyboard). Changes to the list only take effect after the Pager is restarted.

The "Change Desktops using Mouse" checkbox will activate or deactivate the feature which allows you to switch between desktops by placing the mouse on the extreme edges of your screen. The "Mouse Change Delay" slider allows you to customize how long to wait before a desktop is changed when the mouse pointer is in the extreme edge of the screen. The "Only Change Desktops with Mouse if Dragging a Window" checkbox gives you finer control over this feature. If checked, CodeTek VirtualDesktop will only switch desktops with the mouse if you are dragging a window. Mouse desktop switches are also tied to the pager update timer. To reduce the time between mouse desktops shifts, set both sliders fully to the left.

The "Show Name of Desktop under Mouse Pointer in Pager" checkbox allows you to control whether the desktop name is displayed in the Pager window. The "Show Application Name for Window under Mouse Pointer in Pager" checkbox allows you to control whether the application for the mini-window under the mouse pointer is displayed in the Pager. 

The "Pager Visible at Startup" checkbox allows you to hide the Pager when CodeTek VirtualDesktop starts up.

The "Pager Update Delay" slider allows you to determine how often the Pager window gets refreshed. The longer the delay, the less CPU time is taken up by CodeTek VirtualDesktop (although the window placement in the Pager window may be inaccurate until another update occurs). Use this slider to reduce the CPU usage by setting the slider closer to the "Seldom" end.

The Appearance  Tab

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The Appearance tab allows you to modify the look of CodeTek VirtualDesktop windows. You may select a new skin for your Pager, change the transparency of the Pager, set colors for the various portions of the inner Pager window, and change the look and behavior of the desktop change notification window. Skins will be released both by CodeTek Studios, and other third parties; press the "Open Skins Homepage" button to see what skins are available. This will change the skin wrapped around the Pager. You may always switch back to the default "Small Deggy" skin by pressing the "Default Skin" button. The "Small Deggy" skin was created by Mark Degg; thanks, Mark! You may find other skins at the following web site:

http://www.codetek.com/php/virtual_skins.php

If you wish to make a new skin, you may download the skin creation tool at:

http://www.codetek.com/VirtualSkinTool.sit

Included in that package is a document that discusses skin creation and an application that will create the skin in a format that can be read by versions 1.0 through 1.4 of CodeTek VirtualDesktop. If you create a skin, you may submit it for inclusion on the website discussed above by emailing the skin file to support@codetek.com.

The grid lines, window name pop-up, active desktop highlight and mini-window border colors are all customizable. Click on the color well next to the color you wish to change, select a new color and close the color panel to change a color.

The transparency of the Pager may be changed with the "Window Transparency" slider, making it blend with your desktop or stand out.

The menu bar tool may be customized on this tab. You can disable the menu bar tool by unchecking the "Enable Menu Bar Tool" checkbox and enable the menu bar tool by checking it. You can display the V icon, the desktop name or both in the menu bar by selecting the appropriate entry of the radio button list on the right hand side of the "Menu Bar Tool" section.

The Desktop Change Popup window may also be customized on this tab. You can disable the desktop change popup by unchecking the "Enable Desktop Change Pop-up Window" checkbox. The time the pop-up is displayed on your screen can be changed through the "Pop-up Dissolve Speed" slider. You can remove the grey background of the Desktop Change popup by unchecking the "Enable Grey Background" checkbox. The color of the text in the Desktop Change pop-up may be set through the "Pop-up Text Color" color well, just as described above for the grid lines, window name pop-up, active desktop highlight and mini-window border colors.

The HotKeys Tab

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HotKeys allow you to interact with CodeTek VirtualDesktop by pressing customizable key combinations. The following features may be accessed through HotKeys:

• Move between the virtual desktops  (option-arrow keys are the default HotKeys)
• Show or hide the Pager GUI with the "Toggle Pager Visibility" HotKey (option-home by default)
• Access the preferences window (control-option-semicolon by default)
• Quit CodeTek VirtualDesktop (control-option-end by default)
• Activate/deactivate the "mouse shifting between desktops" feature (control-option-escape by default)

These HotKey sequences are completely configurable by you through the Pager GUI preferences interface.  To change a HotKey, simply highlight the desired action in the list and click the "Change HotKey" button or double-click in the "HotKey Sequence"  column of that action. A sheet will drop down, requesting you to press the desired key sequence. By pressing the "Accept" button on that sheet, your HotKey sequence is changed. If you change your mind, simply press the "Cancel" button on the sheet and no change will be made. If you wish to restore the default HotKey sequences, simply press the "Restore Default HotKeys" button and confirm your choice.

The Desktop Names Tab

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You may customize the names of your desktops or associate HotKeys to switch to a particular desktop through the Names tab. To change the name of a desktop, double-click on the desktop you wish to rename, type its name and hit return. This will automatically advance you to the next desktop's name, which you can change immediately if you wish (if not, just click somewhere else in the window or hit return).

You may associate a HotKey with a specific desktop, allowing you to quickly jump to one of your desktops. Also, windows may be carried directly to a new desktop using a desktop HotKey; simply click and hold on the titlebar of a window and hit the desktop HotKey for the desktop you wish to switch to.

No desktop HotKeys are assigned when you first install CodeTek VirtualDesktop. To assign a desktop HotKey, simply select the desktop name from the list and press the "Set HotKey" button in the bottom right of the window, or double-click on the HotKey column of that desktop.  A sheet will drop down, requesting you to press the desired key sequence. By pressing the "Accept" button on that sheet, your desktop HotKey sequence is assigned. If you change your mind, simply press the "Cancel" button on the sheet and no change will be made. Later, if you wish to change your HotKey sequence, simply highlight the desired desktop's name and press the "Set HotKey" button (or double-click in the HotKey column), make your change and press the "Accept" button on the sheet. If you wish to remove an assigned desktop HotKey, highlight the desktop name and press the "Clear HotKey" button and the HotKey sequence will be deactivated and removed.

By selecting a desktop in the "Select Starting Desktop" drop-down list, you may set the desktop that you wish to have active upon starting CodeTek VirtualDesktop. The default starting desktop is "Desktop 1", which is always the leftmost, topmost desktop.

The Registration Tab

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The Registration tab contains the CodeTek VirtualDesktop license in the textbox on the top of the window. You must read through this license and select the "I Agree" radio button to use CodeTek VirtualDesktop in either registered or unregistered form. An unregistered copy of CodeTek VirtualDesktop will allow you to have access of all features, but only for two desktops. This will allow you to try CodeTek VirtualDesktop and double your current screen space.

When you are ready to unlock the full functionality of CodeTek VirtualDesktop, you can register your copy. By clicking on the "Obtain Registration Code" button you will be taken to CodeTek Studio's Web Site where you may purchase a license. A registration code will be displayed as part of the checkout procedure; print this page to a PDF or a printer to save your transaction information. Any registration information you provide to CodeTek Studios will NEVER be given out to anyone outside of CodeTek. After you receive your registration code, type, drag or paste it into the "Enter Registration Code" field. If you drag or paste it into the field, please make sure that no spaces are before, after or in the registration code; those spaces will be considered part of the registration code, and may make the code invalid.

To send CodeTek feedback, please press the "Send Feedback" button, or send us an email at support@codetek.com.  We appreciate receiving your suggestions and comments!

By clicking the "Check For Product Update" button while you are connected to the internet, the CodeTek Studios website will be queried for any updates to CodeTek VirtualDesktop. When you purchase a registration code for a product from CodeTek Studios, Inc., all updates to that product are free!

Enjoy!

CodeTek Studios, Inc.
codetek@codetek.com

CodeTek VirtualDesktop is a registered trademark of CodeTek Studios, Inc.  All rights reserved.  ©2002, CodeTek Studios, Inc.