We need topbar plugins/modules

[abalaban]

Currently through, i see no top-bar dockys which reacts exactly as i want (or as any other casual newbe can expect)

yes that's what I'm saying since the start: docky is currently an underused concept in AmigaOS4.

Its not about me in end, its about having by default nice panel at top of screen (be it docky or whatever), where some necessary parts are placed (keymap indication, volume control, etc). Because no newbe will read any documentation (some one may found its interesting, but most are not, and they will think that os suck because by default they need to "read amidock docs").

No you didn't understood me what I was saying was that you were dismissing AmiDock because you are unfamiliar with all its concepts (and you are probably not alone, see my answer above .

Is there any big-fat and normally done article about amidocks and all of their features, ideas, concepts, apis, examples , info about how to write top-bar dockys (i am sure we need to write such article if we didn't have it, specially with point about top-bar docks) ?

Not that I'm aware of. Maybe it's an idea for the wiki

Can coder do with amidock that right now:

User boot amigaos , and have dock at screenbar, without dbl-clicking on anything, and without running anything else from anywhere. It is already in background and depending on what user press, that docky change the look.

Yes, two ways, either it's just a feedback of a system state then a standalone docky is best suited, either it requires an application (ex your keymap switcher) and this application has to be started from somewhere else (WBStartup for example).

You can add standalone dockies once and then they will be reloaded each time by AmiDock, for application dockies it's the application that displays it so the application has to be started.

Then, if user click on that "flag" docky, he have a menu where he can choice some keymap and settings. Not run it, but it already resident, and by dbl-clicking it spawn a necessary stuff. Also , if user click by left mouse button, he will have some other option or menu. It is possible ? I.e. like this:





It is possible already or more improvements to amidock should be done ?

i'm not sure left click is catchable by dockies, double-clic and right clicks definitively are right now.

Currently, there is 3 BZ about which i heard in those 2 related topics:

BZ #1: easy one: Add option to make dock jump on the current screen all the time.
BZ #2: harder one: Improve folding mechanism: now it can be only hidden or displayed, need to improve it by adding automatic and selective (to BZ also add graphics example of folding )
BZ #3: dunno hard or easy one: Add ability to spawn a menu just by "right click over docky in dock". Because currently, you first have to left click the icon, and then right click for the menu, its annoying , and as far as i get code can be done like this : if mouse cursor are over the docky, then handle rmb/lbm differently.

I agree.

[kas1e]

@Abalaban
2 more BZs:

BZ #4: If we choice to "Place AppDockies in: topbardock", and then run let's say AmiUpdate, then, animation icon jump to the top-bar docky in big size, broken layout of docky, and when you exit from, then top-bar docky just move away from original position. And settings "locked" does not help. Check it plz, maybe you can find a way how to stick it, or how to make amidock's icon jump into the amidock panel, and be of the same size as the top-bar docky size.

BZ #5: If we set "always in background" for top-bar docky, then, if we use PREFS:WbPattern / Test of any new backdrop, then docky just disappear and not visibly anymore. Dunno if it bug of wbpattern or amidock ..

[abalaban]

@kas1e

BZ #4: yes we probably require a way to categorize docks, and a way so that dockies can require (or not) to be displayed in a given category.

BZ #5: never noticed that, I'll try to reproduce this. To me it looks like a bug rather than an enhancement request...

[jaokim]

BZ #4: If we choice to "Place AppDockies in: topbardock", and then run let's say AmiUpdate, then, animation icon jump to the top-bar docky in big size, broken layout of docky

BZ #4: yes we probably require a way to categorize docks, and a way so that dockies can require (or not) to be displayed in a given category.

The thing I have against adding a category, is that; 1) existing applications wouldn't benefit from this new feature, and 2) developers woudl have to choose, what really should be a user decision.

How about the user just being able to move the application docky to another dock? And AmiDock should of course save this setting. So instead of the only option "Place AppDockies here", you can decide to put YAM in one dock, and AmiUpdate in another.

Perhaps also being able to disable the application docky's own dock icon graphics, with your own. Basically, instead of getting AmiUpdates nice 64x64 circulating icon, you could chose to have a static small icon. It would be silly to do it for TuneNet, but you would still get the menu and the double click action.
Given AmiDock's API, I think it would just be a matter of either not sending the specific events to render the dock area, or simply ignoring it (i.e. render to NIL:).

[abalaban]

@joakim

The thing I have against adding a category, is that; 1) existing applications wouldn't benefit from this new feature, and 2) developers woudl have to choose, what really should be a user decision.

But we are speaking about tray icons here, to my knowledge there is no docky currently designed with that in mind. For the very few existing dockies we have currently the majority are only another kind of AppIcon nothing more. Thus when you acknowledge the application must be designed specifically you'll agree that such docky must be displayed in appropriate dock: you don't want classic application dockies to mess with your "tray icon" dockies nor you do want them to break your application launcher docks layout... Under Windows do you choose if an application is displayed in task bar or in the tray notication zone? No it's the application programmer that choose (he may even choose to let you choose) because the application has to be designed accordingly.

[kas1e]

@jaokim / Abalaban

I still don't quite get about BZ#4 and what we need to do there. Seems it should be spitted on more BZs as well as some can be AmiUpdate itself related (but i can be wrong of course).

I mean, why when i set my tray-bar kind dock to be "Layout/Snap to : Locked", and "Layout/Place AppDockies in: topbardock", then when i run amiupdate, then animation icon is placed for first not in dock, but under, and for second it fat and big:



Why it not in dock, why it bigger ? it is possible to change that ? Or if not, then one BZ should be like "add control of AppDockyIcons via settings: size, scale factors and co" ?

Another moment, is why when i set my tray-bar kind dock to be "Layout/Snap to : Locked", and "Layout/Place AppDockies in: topbardock" again (as in first case), then run amiupdate for scan, and then quit from, then my whole top-bar-dock which is "locked" by settings, jump on the place where big icon from amiupdate was placed ?:



Did it mean AmiUpdate "bug" on exit, or feature, or just AmiDock itself do something sucky and another BZ should be done like "when docky is placed appdockicon and then remove it, whole dock panel which was locked , jump on the place where appdockicon was ?"

@Abalaban

Did you mean, that we need another few BZs for improvement which mean:

1. Categories AppDockies on 2: 1). standard usual appdocky 2) tray-bar docky. Programmer should for yourself choice what kind of docky is (default is stadnard, with special flag : tray-bar)

2. Rename "Place AppDockies in:" option to "Place Stadard AppDockies in:" and add one more "Place Tray AppDockies in:".

PS. All, we need to find out the most good ways + to make less work on it , so it will be possible that we can convince someone to do so (i can even pay 100-200$ from myself a bit for to programmer from dev team who can help us with it).

[Raziel]

I mean, why when i set my tray-bar kind dock to be "Layout/Snap to : Locked", and "Layout/Place AppDockies in: topbardock", then when i run amiupdate, then animation icon is placed for first not in dock, but under, and for second it fat and big:

Why it not in dock, why it bigger ? it is possible to change that ? Or if not, then one BZ should be like "add control of AppDockyIcons via settings: size, scale factors and co" ?

I can help with the size problem and maybe the "placed under the dock" problem.

The first one is a limitation of AmiDock
The support for resizing "animated docky icons" was added pretty lately after i had the very same problem and complained about

Now, the problem is that it works...BUT only if you place the animated docky icon into the very first (called "main dock") Dock".
I already mentioned that too in my original thread, but it seems everyone was happy with the way it worked, never heard anything of this specific problem again

The second problem is because the "dimensions" of your dock is limited to those two docky icons and every added dock will be placed to the next free space available (in your case, underneath)

You can check the dimensions of your dock by turning the borders on.
I solved it by setting the Layout/Orientation to darg bar right or left, that way all added docks will get added respectively to the left or right.
You should also use Placement: Normal, but i don't know if this is related.
Another problem could be (but that i don't know), is, if you resize the dock dimensions with the little red arrow when hovering with the mouse over a border edge (for some reasons it seems that AmiDock will save that as default size and won't resize the dock accordingly anymore

I like AmiDock, iyou can already do lots of things, it could be a little bit easier to set up and could need some addons, but it's already great to work with

[kas1e]

@Raziel

The first one is a limitation of AmiDock
The support for resizing "animated docky icons" was added pretty lately after i had the very same problem and complained about
Now, the problem is that it works...BUT only if you place the animated docky icon into the very first (called "main dock") Dock".

Hmm.. There something weird for sure (something with settings or so). For now i just try to put it to maindock, and found that it works _only_ when i use Icon Scale Factor. Then, i after try to put it just to top-bar docky, and it start to works .. wtf :



Also what is one more BZ, is that : previous position of dock anyway change the position (a little, but still) after i quite amiupdate, even if "Snap to: Locked". I.e. its anyway not looks like "locked" normally, while (imho) if i choice "locked" dock should be locked does not matter what. But now it jumps by position when AppDockIcon of amiupdate placed in, and also on another position when i quite from AmiUpdate and it remove AppDockIcon from.

The second problem is because the "dimensions" of your dock is limited to those two docky icons and every added dock will be placed to the next free space available (in your case, underneath)

Right ! What lead to another BZ: If dock is limited , and appicon want to be in the dock, then expand the dock by additional space and allow to be appdock in, and not underneath or so. Also, if dock is close to right end of screen,then not only add a necessary space to the dock, but also shift the whole dock to the left, so all graphics will fits on the same choords by X.

[jaokim]

So, basically,if the icon scale factor could be set to fixed value (i.e. the option "Always enforce minimum size" should appliy to icons that are scaled), we'd have exactly what is requested?

The main dock is the toplevel bar.
1. Move it up to top position.
2. Put all you application dockies there.
3. Set your icon minimum size, and the icon scale factor appropriately.
4. Move all the "normal icons" to another dock, that you put on the bottom (if you still want that).

Done.

No need to add an extra flag saying that an application dockie is a toplevel dockie.

If we also add the possibility to move certain application dockies to another docky, we'd cover almost all possible user demands.

[kas1e]

@jaokim

No need to add an extra flag saying that an application dockie is a toplevel dockie.

Sure, but then appicondockies can be not only for tray, but for another docks by any of reasons (tray ones for sure will have some moments which need to follow when make appicondokcies for tray bars).

And still there is some problems with that "scaling" of appicons. They sometimes scales well, sometimes not. Sometime works in main dock, sometime works in another docks, some time didn't in another and didn't in main one. Most of time its because of no free space on the doc itself =>so auto align is need it.

As well as dock just "jumpy" and when appicon in, and when its out (but i assume it is because need some "100% right scaling settings").

If we also add the possibility to move certain application dockies to another docky, we'd cover almost all possible user demands.

One more BZ then ?