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Topic: «Transparency settings , Transparency delay after losing focus » on forum: Feature Requests   Views: 10158
 
tphiau
Guest
 
Posted: 11/14/2005 22:07:29
 
 
 I am using XP and tweakui Xmouse feature. What this does is give focus to the window under the cursor, and bring it to the top.
I have set AWM transparency on certain windows to 80%, which means that in conjunction with the Xmouse setting in tweakui, when they lose focus, they become quite transparent.
Problem is, that it happens too fast. I can set the ms in tweakui for how quickly sometihng gains focus, but I cannot set how quickly it loses it, or how rapidly AWM applies transparency once a window has lost focus.
Would it be possible to have a setting for this option that allowed an amount of time before the window became transparent? Perhaps a user adjustable time setting in ms?
Its just too ugly to use like it is now because the changeover is too rapid.
On the same lines, I notice when winamp applies transparency when it loses focus, that it actually fades. Pretty cool. A fade on the transparency would be so neat. Not so abrupt.
Thanks
t
 
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Tobiel Sayre
Registered user

home user/amateur skinner
 
 Posts: 37
Joined: 07/14/2005
Posted: 11/19/2005 01:30:46
 
 
 Had also suggested some effects that might compare to what you want a bit earlier. Currently use a special additional tool for that, but it is heavy on my GPU and RAM, so I dont always keep it activated and resident until I can afford to improve my hardware. Name of tool is windowFX by Stardock. Free version only good enough to see what it will do after registering which is about $20 (by the way, I earn nothing by saying so).

This allows for customized fading in and out. HOWEVER neither your suggestion regarding ActWinMan nor this other tool I use change when YOUR REAL FOCUS status is switched in either direction. These things only show windows instructed by you differently. Changing of focus itself, and thus when the whole fading you customize starts and stops, can sometimes be altered with programs for macros or task managers. Or inside the settings of the different programs to which each window happens to belong.

(just additional thoughts of an amateur not belonging to the actualtools staff at all) ;)  

SATYROBE/TAXIFUNK/Tobiel Sayre registered user; non-staff
 
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tphiau
Guest
 
Posted: 11/19/2005 01:38:00
 
 
 I'll give windowsFx a go. I have some stardock stuff (objectdock, cursorXP etc), and  the objectdock is so hard on the CPU that it really is not worth running. No matter how pretty it is. and I have an amd 3500+!
if FX is the same, then that's a pity.
I came across another program called AlphaXP which does fade stuff. But it is no longer developed, and the window rules are not good. Especially compared to ActualWindowManager.
The focus thing can be solved inside TweakUI. It has an Xmouse mode, which can be set to change the focus on mouse hover.
If that was combined with a fade out when a window lost focus, it is real cool. Especially if that feature was combined with the power of Actual Window manager, so I could specify windows that this did, or did not happen to.
How would we know if a feature such as this might become available?
T
 
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Tobiel Sayre
Registered user

home user/amateur skinner
 
 Posts: 37
Joined: 07/14/2005
Posted: 11/19/2005 01:47:22
 
 
 WindowFX has in/exclusion settings for applications. Note what I really meant was not CPU, but GPU (graphics processor unit), that is what is not good in my laptop. You really want 64bit graphics card and some RAM and no shared mem in the GPU for this to work in the future or present, if all effects are to work fast and well. The fading even works now for me, unless I add too many other effects to my poor configuration.

Forcing of focuses is something I doctor inside macros with KEYTEXT by MJMsoft (free version rather good, again, I dont work for them either), but inside manual procedures your solutions sound better. Had also mentioned the mouseover options here once under suggestions, of course if all our suggestions came true, it would almost be crazy and expensive, unless everybody could select things in a modular upgrade system. Speaking of object dock, the new OBJECT DOCK PLUS which is not free seems awesome according to free demo video by Stardock, even old free version had good mouseover feat. So did Sysmetrix, agree though, we want this to work for EVERY PROGRAM WINDOW

The fact that your Stardock tools dont work well on such good hardware can either be improved with a Startup optimizer like AbsoluteStartup 5.1 or by your considering a different graphic card, because those things work fine on much more inferior configurations in some arrangements, even mine - in opposite to some WindowFX effects like window swaying while dragging etc.

SATYROBE/TAXIFUNK/Tobiel Sayre registered user; non-staff
 
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tphiau
Guest
 
Posted: 11/22/2005 10:24:10
 
 
 I tried WindowFX, and while it has in/exclusion for apps, it does not provide the fade effect when a window loses focus like the alphaXP does (and I hope AWM will do in the future).
I have Ojectdock Plus. Its interesting. My graphics card is a Nvidia 6600GT. Probably effected by running two screens off it. Still, its not the GPU which seems to suffer. The CPU can sometimes run very high. Especially when you use those nice objectdock animation features. If you turn the animation off, its not too bad on CPU. But I don't run it now.
Back to my feature request though:
You can see that (currently) transparency per window or windowclass can be set in AWM by the user. And if the window loses focus, that transparency cuts in. That's what it does already. Its just rather sudden. So that's why I was hoping a fadeout was possible, and not too difficult.
Maybe this all makes more sense when thinking about multiple monitors with a lot more screen real estate. Its good to have several things open and arranged on the screens all at once. But actually quite good on your eyes if the ones that are not in focus are somewhat faded-out or transparent. You get to see through them, and if your background/wallpaper is dark, its gentler on your eyes. Then if you want those windows, you mouseover, work on the window, maybe a cut or paste, then back to some other app or doco. And with the buttons and menu options already in AWM, you can remove the transparency for a bit if you want them all opaque.
I imagine that most of what is required to do this feature is already in AWM, and it would require a fadeout option added to the tranparency options/tab. With a slider for amount of time. And of course, the coding to make that work.
Hope its not too hard to do. But then what do I know. I am a writer.
T :D  
 
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Alexey Fadeyev
Administrator

Moderator
 
 Posts: 1427
Joined: 09/30/2005
Posted: 11/24/2005 06:52:09
 
 
 Thanks for the interesting discussion, guys.  :D

We'll investigate the possibility and labor-intensiveness of fade-in/out implementation and, in good case, include this feature in 4.0 release. And, of course, same for the deactivation transparency delay, if there no side effecs arise.
 
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Alexey Fadeyev
Administrator

Moderator
 
 Posts: 1427
Joined: 09/30/2005
Posted: 01/18/2008 07:52:53
 
 
 The fade-in/out effects were implemented in the version 4.4 of Actual Tools.
 
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