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Version 1.3
Copyright © 1999 Massimiliano Origgi


Introduction
WorkspaceSwitcher is a Deskbar replicant which adds the following useful functionalities to the Deskbar itself:

  • shows the number of the current workspace;
  • has a popup menu to quickly switch workspaces;
  • can quickly cycle through workspaces with a click of your mouse button;
  • acts as a Deskbar activator when you move your mouse pointer to one of the external edges of the Deskbar window;
  • the delay for Deskbar activation is configurable;
  • the hot area for activating the Deskbar is configurable;
  • the Deskbar can be forced to be always on top of all other windows (NEW);
  • the Deskbar can be automatically brought to back when the mouse pointer leaves the window (NEW);
  • the images it shows on the Deskbar are customizable;
  • offers a full set of command line options;
  • it can be reconfigured while in use.
WorkspaceSwitcher 1.3 requires BeOS R4.5 Intel (BeOS R4.5.2 highly recommended).

Installation
Installing WorkspaceSwitcher is quite easy.
You can launch it directly from its icon and it will install itself on the Deskbar, but probably you want to automatically launch it at startup.
Just open the file /boot/home/config/boot/UserBootscript, or create it if it does not exist yet, and add the following line:
<your_path>/WorkspaceSwitcher &
where you will replace <your_path> with the path of the directory containing the WorkspaceSwitcher executable.
Moreover WorkspaceSwitcher offers several command line options to customize its behaviour, just call it from a Terminal with the option --help for a full list.
Here is a description of the available options:
--image=yourimage: use a custom image for the WorkspaceSwitcher icon in the Deskbar(more below).
--deskbardelay=delay: the delay, expressed in tenth of seconds, for activating the Deskbar.(default 0)
--titleonly: see the Usage section below.(default off)
--corneronly: see the Usage section below.(default off)
--alwaysontop: see the Usage section below.(default off)
--autoback: see the Usage section below.(default off)
You can change the options while WorkspaceSwitcher is running by calling it with the new options without quitting it first.
You can quit WorkspaceSwitcher by simply calling it with no options.
You can find a file with the default image used by WorkspaceSwitcher in this archive in the directory Images, just edit it with your preferred paint application.
The image must be 16 pixels high and 512 pixels wide, that is it contains 32(16x16 pixels) icons representing the 32 possible workspaces available on the BeOS, as shown below.



A new external image is now available, use the --image option to enable it.



IMPORTANT: delete any older version of WorkspaceSwitcher you have installed on your system, otherwise the Deskbar will load and use the oldest version you have installed due to the way BeOS searches for applications.


Usage
Press the primary mouse button over the WorkspaceSwitcher icon on the Deskbar to switch to the next workspace, the secondary mouse button to popup a menu with a list of the currently available workspaces and the terziary mouse button to switch to the previous workspace.
If you move the mouse pointer to one of the external edges of the Deskbar window (that is an edge which is also at the edge of the screen), it will be brought to front and activated; this is especially useful when it is hidden behind other windows and there is no direct access to it.
If you use the --titleonly option, when the Deskbar is located at the top left or top right corner of the screen, it will be activated only when the mouse pointer is on the external edges of the top part of the Deskbar, the one containing the Be logo.
If you use the --corneronly option, the Deskbar will be activated only if you move the mouse pointer to the screen corner where the Deskbar is located.
If you use the --alwaysontop option, the Deskbar will be always on top of any other window.
If you use the --autoback option, the Deskbar will be brought to back when the mouse pointer leaves the Deskbar window frame and the last active window will be reactivated. (This option has no effect if --alwaysontop is active)

Contact
Visit our web site at http://www.intuiware.com for up to date informations and new versions of WorkspaceSwitcher and write us at ws@intuiware.com if you have any ideas, comments or bug reports.

Disclaimer
This software is copyrighted and it is freely redistributable as long as the archive and its content are left unchanged and no other files are added to the archive.
In using this software, you understand and agree that this software is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind.
The entire risk as to the results and performance of using this software lies entirely with you, the user.
The author does not make any warranties, either expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to this software.
In no event shall the author be liable for any consequential, incidental, or special damages whatsoever (including without limitation damages for loss of critical data, loss of profits, interruption of business, and the like) arising out of the use or inability to use this software.
All trademarks and registered trademakrs are the property of their respective owners.

History
Version 1.0 (1999/3/4)
  • First public release

Version 1.0.1 (1999/4/16)
  • Fixed a bug which could crash the Deskbar on exit under some rare circumstances
  • Improved and cleaned up several parts of the code

version 1.1 (1999/7/1)
  • Cleaned up and optimized for R4.5
  • Launching WorkspaceSwitcher when it's already present in the Deskbar, now removes it

version 1.2 (1999/10/4)
  • Added command line options
  • Configurable delay for Deskbar activation
  • Configurable hot area for Deskbar activation
  • Miscellaneous code changes and improvements.

version 1.3 (1999/11/21)
  • Added option to move the the Deskbar window to the back when the mouse pointer leaves the Deskbar window
  • Added option to keep the Deskbar window always on top
  • A new image has been added to the distribution