Tiling various windows?

[terrypin]

Does anyone have or know of a macro(s) that could help me achieve something I do a lot, like the following example.

 

Suppose on my taskbar I have this typical mixture:

- Browser

- Text editor

- A 'group' representing 3 JPG photo images from say IrfanView. (I have 'Group similar taskbar buttons' checked in Properties.)

- Email program

 

I'm composing a message about the photos in my email program, which therefore currently has the focus. If I look around or use Alt-Tab I can see one of the images, which was opened recently and not mimimised. I now briefly want to see all 3 images, plus my text editor document, vertically or horizontally tiled, at a single view. There appears to be no way to do that simply within XP.

 

I can't even reliably see the 3 IrfanView images. Although r-clicking the grouped taskbar item displays a menu including 'Tile Vertically', it doesn't do so unless you use 'Minimize Group' first. Otherwise you get a mix of the images and whatever window last had focus. (Presumably a Windows design flaw or bug?)

 

What I'm after in this example is to identify each of those 4 windows (probably just the text window and the grouped item), click or apply a hotkey, and have all 4 immediately tiled across the full screen. Click or hotkey again, (or Alt-Tab) and I want to be back to my email program.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions please?

 

--

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Cory]

What if you create a list of Windows using the Repeat With Windows command and give the user a multiple choice dialog box. There they can select the desired windows and ME could then restore them and, based on the number of windows, determine the size and position of each with a little math.

[terrypin]

What if you create a list of Windows using the Repeat With Windows command and give the user a multiple choice dialog box. There they can select the desired windows and ME could then restore them and, based on the number of windows, determine the size and position of each with a little math.

 

Thanks Cory, that looks promising - I'll experiment along those lines. Nothing like that around already, I suppose?

 

--

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Cory]

Not exactly, it never occurred to me to use the cursor. I have several macros that edge detect. The latest continually scans the progress bar indicator are for IE7 and holds the macro up until it's been clear for a set amount of time. This was necessary because pages using ASP, JSP or other active content will cause IE to report they are done then start doing something else! I've also done ones that would at first blush 'find' all the buttons and bits I wanted to interact with so when the macro was distributed to different machines they would remember these mouse move positions which were saved in the registry.

[terrypin]

That raises all sorts of other possibilities in my mind. You're clearly way ahead of me on this. Is there a general way to work reliably with the taskbar entries? For example, how could I click on a particular entry? Even if I could assume it was present in the taskbar, it changes position/size as others are added or removed. Are the current names and positions accessible in the XP registry perhaps?

 

--

Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Cory]

Mmmmm.... Not sure I follow. I wouldn't use the taskbar but rather use the windows manipulation commands. Use the Repeat With Windows to generate a list with my Multiple Choice trick then when the user selects the various items restore those windows and resize by name. You can find all those in the "Windows/Programs" category in ME3.

 

So make a list and give it to the user. Let's say he picks 4 windows. If we want them vertical tiled on the left half I would find the screen width and cut it in half, and the height and divide that by the number of windows. Oh, and of course you would have to count the number of selections. Now repeat 4 times, once with each window title and set the width and position of each. For the vertical value start with one and add the height of a window each time for the next position. Pretty simple really.

[terrypin]

Mmmmm.... Not sure I follow. I wouldn't use the taskbar but rather use the windows manipulation commands. Use the Repeat With Windows to generate a list with my Multiple Choice trick then when the user selects the various items restore those windows and resize by name. You can find all those in the "Windows/Programs" category in ME3.

 

So make a list and give it to the user. Let's say he picks 4 windows. If we want them vertical tiled on the left half I would find the screen width and cut it in half, and the height and divide that by the number of windows. Oh, and of course you would have to count the number of selections. Now repeat 4 times, once with each window title and set the width and position of each. For the vertical value start with one and add the height of a window each time for the next position. Pretty simple really.

 

OK, thanks, I'll try that approach.

 

--

Terry, East Grinstead, UK