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There's a lot of power available to you on this page, so prepare for a lengthy explanation! Z-order If an object is set to Desktop, it will function at the same level as icons, and other Desktop objects. When this is the case, where two Desktop level objects overlap, the one most recently selected will be on top. Desktop level objects will however, always appear beneath Normal level objects, which function like regular application Windows. That is, the most recently clicked objects will appear at the top of the z-order and above other objects and windows. If you use Windows 2000 or XP, then you can specify objects to appear 'always on top'. This means that they will always be visible to you and all objects and windows will appear underneath them. Where several 'always on top' level objects overlap, the most recently selected will be on top. |
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Movement
Normally you can just click and drag an object to the location you want. This
is handy, apart from the fact that you may accidentally move objects that you
don't want to. To stop this happening you can specify 'Locked' here, which means
you can't accidentally move this object out of position. If you want you move
a 'locked' object you must hold down CTRL while you drag the object. If you
set the option to 'normal' you can drag an object without CTRL.
The 'Default' option means that whether the object is locked or not depends on what has been set by the user as their preference in the DesktopX configuration panel.
Activation
You will have given the object a class. If this is a class that performs a function
(i.e. not a layer), then you will want to 'activate' the object in order to
perform that function. A 'default' option can be set in the DesktopX configuration,
but you can specify the way that each object is activated.
Rectangular area: Anywhere in a rectangular area defined by the height
and width of the object
Visible area: Any area of the object that can be seen will activate it
X pixels from visible area: The object can be activated within a specified
distance of the object
None: The object cannot be activated
Start with
You don't have to double-click an object to activate it. The 'default' method
for activating objects is set in the DesktopX configuration. You can however
specify how any given object is activated.
You can activate the object on either a single or double click. Alternatively the object can be activated simply by moving the mouse over it, or when the mouse button is pressed down (i.e. not a full click).
Adjust position
on different screen size
A properly designed theme will be truly resolution independent. These settings
will allow you to specify for both the x and y axis how the object will be repositioned
on a resolution change. I strongly suggest you start with 'automatic' settings
as they will give you a good start. From this you can easily work out which
objects don't reposition well and use the other options to get it just perfect.
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Groups To group objects you select the objects you want to group and then right click to get the option you see on the right. You can then give the group a name, or add the objects to an existing group. To select multiple objects you can either drag a rectangle on your desktop, which will select all the objects completely in the area. You can also hold down CTRL and click several objects to select them all. |
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When an object is part of a group, they will move as a whole when dragged. However, if you hold down SHIFT and drag an object within a group you can move it independently. All objects within a group will have one z-order setting, and will move together. You can however, move an object's z-order within the group. To do this right click on it and shift it's position in the z-order using the 'Move up' and 'Move down' options you see on the left. |
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Popups
One of the classes you can set for an object is to manipulate a 'popup'. This
controlling object can determine whether a popup object or group is displayed
or hidden. In order for an object to be accessible to one of these controlling
objects, you must configure it to be a popup and this is where you do it. Note
that if you configure one object in a group to be a popup, the entire group
becomes a popup.
There are several
types of popup:
Static: When this popup is first made visible it remains visible
Toggle: The popup switches between being visible and hidden each time
the controller object is clicked
Menu: Once the popup is visible, it is hidden again as soon as it, or
any other object is activated
Volatile (closed when a popup opens): This is similar to a menu popup,
but only closes if another popup object is displayed
Volatile (closed when a popup opens, no toggle): This is the same as
above, but the popup cannot be hidden again by clicking the controller object.
The final option you have for popups is 'Initially visible'. By checking this you can specify that the popup will initially be visible when the theme is loaded.
