Filer window backgrounds
GavinWraith (26) 1563 posts |
Jim Nagel has suggested to me that it might be easier to read context quicker if all filer windows could have user defined backgrounds, not just pinboard for the root $. An alternative would be user-defined title-bar colours. |
GavinWraith (26) 1563 posts |
The cleanest way to have user-defined filer window background colours would require extending the Filer_OpenDir_Accept data structure by an extra byte DCB “bg=bgcolour/S”, with extra words dirreq_bgcol and fopendir_bgcol, and extra code for setting the workspace background colour in the new window block. The templates file would require a colour picker and the newdir dialog would need an extra button for opening it. |
nemo (145) 2529 posts |
I wrote a module a long time ago to do this, it was called FilerColour. It coloured any filer window (identified by path) and could optionally fade the backgrounds of children relative to their depth. It must be floating round somewhere. It doesn’t need anything extending, it is easily implemented via a Filter on the Filer’s redraw request. |
nemo (145) 2529 posts |
Or maybe it was ColourFiler. Anyway, I’ve found the source. |
Adam (47) 40 posts |
Hi nemo, sounds useful :) A google search got me nowhere. Do you still have a copy of the module? Cheers, Adam |
nemo (145) 2529 posts |
The module is here: http://20000.org/wimp/colourfiler.zip |
Chris Terran (97) 7 posts |
nemo: This does sound very useful; thanks. Unfortunately on RO5.13 the filer crashes as soon as a redraw is needed. I haven’t put it in the boot sequence—is that necessary? I’m reluctant to try that if it’s not suited for an Iyonix. I’m using Fred Graute’s Wimp, if that’s relevant. |
GavinWraith (26) 1563 posts |
I put the module in !Boot.Choices.Boot.Predesk and rebooted (RO 5.13). No crash, but no colours appearing either. The *Filer_Colour command dutifully showed what directories I had set colour and fade parameters for, but the colours were not being displayed. I am using PhotoFiler. I wonder if that could be clashing? I also use a patched filer to display “Delete” commands in red, but that should hardly affect anything. |
Adam (47) 40 posts |
Same here – I’ve put it in “PreDesk” and it responds OK to setting options etc, but doesn’t seem to actually change anything. I don’t have any other patches installed, that I recall. I’m using RO Adjust. Adam |
GavinWraith (26) 1563 posts |
Just checked with no PhotoFiler. I get the same phenomenon as Adam, on RO 5.13. |
Fred Graute (114) 645 posts |
According to the ReadMe ColourFiler should detect the Filer starting, but the service handler doesn’t seem to do this. As a result the required filters aren’t installed and hence nothing happens. The obvious solution is to alter the service handler so that service call ‘Started_Filer’ is acted upon. Until that’s done you’ll need to issue a ‘RMReInit ColourFiler’ from the desktop to get it working. |
James Lampard (51) 120 posts |
I’ve found it works prefectly on RO4.02, even when the RO5 filer and wimp are softloaded. I have noticed that I have to manually re-draw the desktop, after entering each filer_colour command. I haven’t tried putting the module in predesk yet. |
James Lampard (51) 120 posts |
I have now… and it doesn’t work. It does work if you put in tasks instead. The supplied readme file just says that “it integrates with boot”, it doesn’t say that it must be put in predesk. I’ve also now successfully tested it with RO6.06 and with Photofiler on RO4.02 |
Martin Avison (27) 1491 posts |
ColourFiler works a treat for me … but on nemo’s website he writes…
… and I agree. As others have commented, it means that it is best to stick to pastel colours close to grey so the name backgrounds do not look too nasty. Does anyone have any idea if or how the Wimp could be changed to avoid this? Or what the changes were in RO5 that caused this effect? |
Jeffrey Lee (213) 6048 posts |
Possibly something that could be fixed with WimpVisualFlags? (see this thread for some related info) |
John Williams (567) 768 posts |
Yes, WimpVisualFlags -RemoveIconBoxes does it! |
John Williams (567) 768 posts |
Whoops – sorry, copied down the wrong one. The switch should be: -NoIconBoxesInTransWindows |
Martin Avison (27) 1491 posts |
Brilliant! Thanks Jeffrey for the pointer to that thread … which I see I started! However, there seems to be something odd here. If I do… But if I do (as Paul Vigay’s Misc setup may well do)… Anyone else see this? |
Martin Avison (27) 1491 posts |
I have done some more experiments, using RO5.20, trying all combinations of setting *WimpVisualFlags for Icons and Trans windows, and noting whether there was a box behind the icon text:
This looks odd to me, as there seems to be some strange effect on ColourFiler as I would expect it to be affected the same as the Pinboard, but the asterisked ones are the opposite of what I would expect! It means that there seems to be no setting which removes the boxes for all 3 cases …. unless anyone knows different! |
Rick Murray (539) 13806 posts |
You might find this useful: https://www.riscosopen.org/forum/forums/4/topics/2046#posts-24608 |
Martin Avison (27) 1491 posts |
How does the link help explain my observations? I was setting the flags using the *WimpVisualFlags command. |
Dave Symes (425) 156 posts |
I’ve just run my RPCEmu install of 5.21 and the suggested fix works from my colour config Obey file. RMEnsure ColourFiler 0.06 RMLoad System:modules.ColourFile Etc… However, this doesn’t work on the SARPC running RO 6.20 I wonder why? |
Martin Avison (27) 1491 posts |
Dave: yes, but I think your suggestion still leaves text+sprite icons in normal windows with a grey box round them? This can be fixes by adding -RemoveIconBoxes (possibly only obvious if you have Textured Window Backgrounds set!)… but that screws up ColourFiler! |
Dave Symes (425) 156 posts |
Yes that worked, and after I’d set Textured Window Background Off, indeed the remote shares had lost the grey box around the text. Considering that this SARPC 6.20 is the machine I use the most, I think Textured Window Background will be set On, and I’ll put up with the grey background around the remote filer texts. |
Steve Revill (20) 1361 posts |
See our new bounty here. |