ObjectDock Plus – Editing Tabbed Docks 102
This mini tutorial is designed for beginners who want to understand the steps involved in adding entries to tabbed docks using ObjectDock Plus, as well as a few additional features available via the tabbed dock context menu.
An assumption has been made that users have already installed ObjectDock Plus, so please do so before using the procedures in this tutorial (note – make sure that any free version of ObjectDock has been uninstalled previous to installing ObjectDock Plus). If you have any content files that you have downloaded for use with the free version, it is recommended that you copy these files to a temporary folder on your computer before uninstalling the free version of ObjectDock.
If you have not already done so, please create a tabbed dock to work with. For a mini tutorial on creating a tabbed dock, you can go here http://corkyo.wincustomize.com/Articles.aspx?AID=98641
This mini tutorial has been created using the default Windows XP installation and settings.
ADDING AN ENTRY TO A TABBED DOCK
You can create a new dock entry (icon) using either the context (right-click) menu, or using the "drag-n-drop" method. Both of which are illustrated below.
Context Menu Method
1 - Right-click on a tab > mouse-over the "Add Entry" option > select a new entry type to add to dock (in this case, a "New Shortcut") as shown in the image below:
Please notice that the context menu is divided into groups, with new links and system related entries in the top group, with Docklets in the lower section, and at the bottom you will see the "My Docks" option (which invokes the current dock listing dialog).
This will place a purple ‘question mark’ icon on the dock, and invoke the Dock Entry Properties dialog as shown in the image below:
2 - The "Title" text box at the top of the dialog contains the text that will display on mouse-over of the dock entry (the "Title" text can be set to different behaviors as follows: (1) Show no labels, (2) Show on mouse-over, and (3) Show below each entry). Note - to assign the text behavior, you must go to the Dock Settings dialog > Size & Appearance category > select a behavior from the "Entry Names" drop-down list.
3 – Assign a link for the new dock entry (if you did not drag-n-drop the entry to the dock) by using one of the following methods: (1) use the preset drop-down list, (2) use the Browse button to locate an "executable" file, or (3) type or paste the address to a folder or file in the "Link" text box. In this case, we will select "My Documents" from the preset drop-down list as shown in the image below:
Note - the "Arguments" text box is for command specific actions, and is beyond the scope of this mini tutorial.
4 – Select an image for your entry by clicking the "Change Image" button as shown in the image below:
This will invoke the Choose Image dialog, which is a basic explorer window allowing you to select a folder in the left pane, and then an image from the selected folder in the main pane as shown below:
Alternatively, you can use the "Browse" button to navigate to any ".ico" or ".png" file. Note – for editing and designing a theme which you intend to distribute, it is recommended that you keep all files in the ObjectDock sub-directory. This will make your theme more likely to be compatible with another users’ computer.
DRAG-N-DROP METHOD
On your keyboard, hold down the "Windows" key (key with flying window symbol), and immediately press the "E" key – to invoke "Explorer". Alternatively, you can open "My Computer" and click the "Folders" button on the toolbar. You can then drag-n-drop any icon from either the left pane, or main pane onto the dock – as illustrated by the result of dragging the "My Computer" icon onto the dock, in the image below:
1 – Right-click the dock entry and then select "Dock Entry Properties" to invoke the properties dialog, as shown in the image below:
Note – use the Dock Entry Properties dialog to change the text and image the same way indicated for the context menu method.
DOCKLETS
You can also add a docklet to the dock by right-clicking the dock tab > selecting "Add Entry" > clicking on Weather Docklet in the list as show in the image below:
To set the weather location to be displayed, simply click the weather docklet to invoke the update dialog – and then enter a zip code (if in the USA), or a country code, as shown in the image below:
Note – to find the country code, you can go to http://www.weather.com and fill in the city and country information to display the weather for the selected location. Once the correct weather is displayed in your browser, copy and paste the "Alpha-Numeric" characters at, or near the end of the site address (this is the country code). Example – Hamburg, Germany code = GMXX0049
VIEW OPTIONS
Icon sizes can be quickly changed to one of four presets: Small Icons [32 pixels], Icons [48 pixels], Large Icons [96 pixels], and Names. The image below shows the "Large Icons" being selected:
And the result:
To move the dock, you can simply click on a tab, and drag the dock to the desired location, as shown in the image below:
LOCKING FEATURES
There are two lock features: Lock Icon Dragging (prevents any dragging of icons, on or off of the dock), and Lock Dock Position (locks the dock in place either on the desktop, or can be used to hold the dock alignment on an edge – yet still allow "drawer" action). These options are toggled on or off via the "Context menu > View > ‘Lock option’ selected" as shown in the image below:
Note – lock dock position feature must be deselected to drag the dock.
Okay, one last helpful hint.
Using any web browser that displays a small icon in the address field to the left of the site address, go to a site you frequent and simply drag the icon to the dock as shown in the image below:
Note – the icon to drag is indicated by the "finger" cursor in the image.
Well, that is all for this lesson, which is a bit longer than normal for me.
I hope you found this mini tutorial useful. Until next time, have fun and "Keep On Customizing".