Contents

Welcome to Dropper, a program launcher for Windows 3.1.

Introduction

Installation

Using Dropper

Using Dropper as the Shell

Setting the Icon for DOS Programs

Known Problems and Limitations

Planned Improvements

Revision History

Contacting the Author


Introduction

Dropper is a small program which allows you to perform drag and drop to the Windows desktop. It is similar in many ways to the NeXT style icon dock programs around at the moment. Rather than requiring that drag and drop is performed to a strip along one side of the screen however, Dropper allows any part of the desktop to be used as a target. Dropper requires Windows 3.1.

Dropper is free to all personal users. It may be distributed to anyone that takes your fancy, as long as only reasonable distribution costs are charged. Commercial, governmental or other institutions who wish to make use of Dropper should contact the author for licensing details. Source code is also available from the author on request.

Dropper is supplied as is with no warranty of any kind. The author has done his best to make sure the program is bug free and works as intended, but if it trashes your hard disc, that's your problem (it is free after all).

Installation

Using Dropper


Installation

Dropper comes in two versions, drop16.exe and drop16e.exe. The 16 stands for 16-bit (NT versions of Dropper will be known as drop32.exe) and the e for Experimental. The two versions differ only in the technique they use to detect files being dropped on the desktop.

The first uses a technique known as subclassing, the only technique used by Dropper prior to version 0.4. This approach has a number of diadvantages, not least that it wont work under Windows/NT. As a result, the experimental version uses an alternative technique  overlaying a transparent window over the desktop. As its name suggests, the experimental version has not been tested as thoroughly as the older version of Dropper, however I suggest that this is the version you use unless you experience any problems with it. As usual, if you do discover any problems with it, Id love to hear about them!

To install drop16.exe, simply copy it together with the file dropper.hlp to your hard disc. Dropper does not need to be on the path. You may, if you wish, install Dropper in Program Manager in the usual way. You will probably want to place the program in either the Load= or Run= lines in win.ini or in Program Manager's startup group.

The Experimental version of Dropper requires an additional file, drop_dll.dll which should be copied to the same directory, or to a directory on the path. Apart from that, installation is identical.

Deinstallation

Known Problems and Limitations


Using Dropper

When Dropper starts up, nothing apparently happens. Dropper does not display an icon on the desktop and as a result does not appear in the Windows task list. Go into File Manager, select an executable (e.g. notepad.exe) and drag it onto the desktop. You should get a small window containing the Notepad icon with a raised border. This window may be moved by dragging it using the left mouse button. Double clicking on it will result in Notepad executing in the usual way.

Now select a text file (e.g. c:\autoexec.bat) and drop it onto the newly created window. You should get a copy of Notepad running with autoexec.bat loaded. Notice that you need not drop files onto the programs they are associated with  you may, for instance, drop a Windows Write (.wri) file onto a Word for Windows icon.

To kill Dropper, run the program for a second time and click on the Kill Dropper button.

As well as programs, you can also drop files onto the desktop. The icon displayed will be the icon of the program associated with that file (with a slightly different border to show that it won't accept dropped files). Double clicking on the icon results in the relevant program starting with that file loaded.

Dropper can also print files - double clicking on an icon with the control key held down will print the file. Note that to do this, the file must be registered in the Windows registration database and must have a print command defined.

The Global Dialog Box

The Properties Dialog Box


Using Dropper as the Shell

Dropper includes limited support for being used as the Windows shell. To install Dropper as the shell, edit the shell= line in system.ini. If Dropper detects that it is running as the shell, it will parse the run= and load= lines in win.ini, running the files here in the same manner as the Program Manager. The only other difference is that killing Dropper will result in Windows exiting (the Kill Dropper button in the global dialog box is renamed Exit Windows to reflect this).


Setting the Icon for DOS Programs

Early versions of Dropper didn't set the icon for DOS programs. This was because the API for doing so requires the data in one format, and the function for extracting icons from executables provides the data in another. Needless to say, there is no function to translate from one to the other. I've got the translation worked out for some systems (it seems to be video driver dependent), however this code will cause a protection violation on those systems on which it doesn't work (as many users of Dropper version 0.3 will tell you). As a result, this is feature is disabled by default.

This version of Dropper can use any one of three techniques to set the icon for a DOS program. To select one you should place the line

HorribleHack=n

in the [General] section of the dropper.ini file (which may be found in your Windows directory), where n is a number between 0 and 3.

0.	Icon will not be set.

1.	This uses the technique present in earlier versions of Dropper.

2.	This is the most general technique  if you have tried this feature in earlier versions of Dropper without success, I suggest that you try again with HorribleHack=2.

3.	This technique was suggested by a user of Dropper. I havent personally found a computer on which this works, but it might be worth trying if neither of the above work for you.


Known Problems and Limitations

•	As the normal version of Dropper subclasses the desktop window, it may conflict with other programs which do the same. For example, Dropper is known to work with BackMenu, however depending on the order in which the programs are started, shutting down Dropper may disable BackMenu and vice-versa.

•	There is a bug or feature (depending on your point of view) in File Manager tha means that it is possible to drop files through applications which dont accept dropped files when running the normal version of Dropper. This will not occur with the experimental version.

•	As the experimental version of Dropper overlays a transparent window over the desktop, it needs to forward any messages that the desktop window might be interested in to the desktop (e.g. a double click so it can bring up the task manager). I have had one report of incompatibilities which I believe are related to this problem, but I have not yet had a chance to look into them.

•	Dropper does not store icons from invocation to invocation. Therefore, if the file from which the icon is extracted is deleted, Dropper will not be able to find the icon next time it starts.

•	There is a problem if you're using Dropper as the shell - it's possible to get yourself into a situation where you can't call up Dropper's control panel (e.g. closing all programs and Dropper icons) and therefore you can't exit Windows, nor can you run any other program. I'm not sure what to do about this, or even whether I should do anything about this. Suggestions, as always, are most welcome.

•	Windows places a limit on the length of a command line, which means that there is a limit to the number of files that you may drop on a Dropper icon. This may be relieved to some extent by switching off the Full Pathnames option, but a permenant solution rather depends on Microsoft!


Planned Improvements

•	I still havent got hold of the October release of NT. When I do, the NT version of Dropper should be released fairly soon.

•	Support for Program Manager Startup group.

•	Support for DDE and possibly OLE.


Revision History
Revison History

0.1	First released version

0.2	The following new features were added;

•	Option to lock icons.

•	Differentiation between executables and files.

•	Optional captions.

•	Setting the caption and working directory for non-Windows programs.

•	Working directory from dropped file.

•	Display of the hourglass cursor while a program is starting up.

•	Misc. bug fixes.

0.3	The following new features were added;

•	Default captions.

•	Explicit accepts dropped files option.

•	Slight changes to the icon borders to make them more visible on high-resolution screens.

•	Faster handling of Windows exit.

•	Better shell support including parsing of run= and load= lines in win.ini and Exit Windows button.

•	Support for printing files.

•	Snap to grid option.

•	Stay in background option.

•	Snap to edge option.

•	Save settings on exit option and save now button.

•	Single click launching.

•	Icon arrangement.

•	Setting of icon for DOS apps.

•	Misc. bug fixes.

0.4	The following features were added;

•	Various internal limits were increased allowing both more icons and more arguments to programs.

•	Snap to grid and snap to edge were cleaned up.  The origin of the grid is now the corner given in the arrange field and snap to edge no longer overrides snap to grid.

•	Arrange now keeps your current arrangement as much as possible.

•	Run Once Only option added.

•	Stay in Background option deleted - Dropper now always stays in the background.

•	HorribleHack now defaults to off.

•	Misc. bug fixes (one day there will be a Dropper release which doesn't include any bug fixes).

1.0	Version 1 at last!

•	Fixed a couple of bugs in Snap to Grid and Snap to Edge which meant that they weren't consistent with Arrange.

•	Fixed a but in Snap to Grid which resulted in icons walking across the screen when clicked upon.

•	Finally put a keyboard interface into the dialogs (why didn't I do this ages ago?).

•	Introduced an About box.

•	Arrange now wraps round at the end of a column and won't overlay icons over others.

•	Double Click option.

•	Hide when Minimized option.

•	Full Pathnames option.

•	Browse button in the Run program dialog box.

•	Command line history in the Run program dialog box.

•	Stay in Background option reinstated by popular demand.

•	On-line help.

•	Work around for a Notepad feature which means that opening a file without an extension results in Notepad trying to open that file with .TXT appended.

•	More robust HorribleHack

•	Fixed a bug with the experimental version which resulted in screen savers not working and in Windows pausing every few seconds.

•	Misc. bug fixes (yes, yet more).

1.01 A maintenance release to cure a few serious bugs.

•	Fix the terrible speed problem when Stay in Background isnt selected.

•	Fix the grouping of radio buttons in the Arrange Icons secion of the global dialog box.

•	Make sure that Save Now really does!


Contacting the Author

The author may be contacted at:

Harlequin Ltd.

Barrington Hall

Barrington

Cambridge

CB2 5RG

Telephone number: (0223) 872522 or +44 223 872522 (international)

Fax: (0223) 872519 or +44 223 872519

E-mail: paulb@harlqn.co.uk


The Global Dialog Box

Running Dropper for a second time (or double clicking on Droppers icon if Hide When Minimized is not selected) will bring up the global properties dialog box. If you find yourself using this dialog box often, you might find it useful to either drag the dropper.exe file itself onto the desktop or deselect Hide When Minimized.

Snap To Grid

Snap To Edge

Single Click to Launch

Stay in Background

Hide When Minimized

Save Settings on Exit

Save Now

Reload

Hide When Minimized

Arranging Icons

Arrange Now

Lock All

UnlockAll

Run Program

Kill Dropper

Properties Dialog Box


Snap to Grid

Checking the Snap to Grid option forces Dropper's icons to be aligned to a grid, the size of which may be entered into the edit field. The grid is centred on the corner specified in the Arrange Icons box.

Note that it is the centre of a Dropper icon which is aligned with the grid.

Snap to Edge

Arranging Icons


Snap to Edge

Checking Snap to Edge forces Dropper's icons to be aligned to the edge of the screen if they are within a certain number of pixels (or hot zone) from the edge.

Snap to Grid

Arranging Icons


Single Click to Launch

Checking Single Click to Launch allows a single click on a Dropper icon to launch a program, rather than a double click.

Note that this option may be overridden for individual icons through the Double Click option


Stay in Background

Checking Stay in Background forces Dropper's icons to remain in the background, i.e. behind all other windows. If this option is not selected, then Droppers icons will display on top of other windows whenever a Dropper icon is clicked upon.


Hide When Minimized

Checking Hide When Minimized results in Dropper not displaying an icon while running. If this option is not selected, Dropper displays an icon in the same way as any other program. Consider deselecting this option as a convenient way of accessing the global dialog box.


Save Settings on Exit

Checking Save Settings on Exit instructs Dropper to save it's state when it exits. If this option is not selected, then any changes you have made during the current session will be lost when you exit Dropper.

Droppers settings may be saved at any time with the Save Now button


Save Now

Clicking on Save Now forces Dropper to save it's current settings immediately.

Reloading Settings

Save Settings On Exit


Reload

Clicking on Reload reloads Dropper's options, discarding any changes made during the current session.

Save Now

Save Settings on Exit


Arranging Icons

Droppers icons may be automatically arranged both horizontally and vertically, relative to any of the corners of the screen. Only unlocked icons are moved, and icons will not be moved so that they overlap other icons.

In the global dialog box, first select the corner relative to which icons should be arranged. The number of columns may also be selected together with the distance betwen icons (Delta). Then press the Arrange Now button. If there are enough icons to reach the end of the screen, Dropper will wrap round while arranging.

Snap to Grid

Snap to Edge

Locking Icons

Lock All

Unlock All


Arrange Now

Clicking on Arrange Now arranges all icons that aren't locked according to the parameters given in the Arrange Icons group.

Arranging Icons


Lock All

Cicking on Lock Al locks all Dropper's icons.

Locking Icons


Unlock All

Clicking on Unlock All unlocks all Dropper's icons.

Locking Icons


Run Program

Clicking on Run Program brings up a dialog box in which a command line may be entered to be executed. The last 20 command lines are remembered, and may be accessed by clicking on the down arrow. The Browse button opens up a file selection dialog box.


Kill Dropper

Clicking on Kill Dropper kills the current instance of Dropper.


The Properties Dialog Box

Clicking on a Dropper window with the right mouse button will bring up the properties dialog box.

Caption

Program

Arguments

Accept Dropped Files

Working Directory

Working Directory from Dropped File

Full Pathnames

Icon From

Run Minimized

Locking Icons

Run Once Only

Hide on Run

Double Click

Deleting Icons

Global Dialog Box


Caption

Checking Caption allows an optional caption to be displayed below the icon. In addition, if the icon represents a non-Windows program, this caption will be displayed under the icon representing the running program.


Program

The Program field shows the pathname of the executable or data file associated with the icon.


Arguments

The Arguments field allows you to optionally enter arguments for the program when it runs. A %s may be placed anywhere in this field to show where the names of any dropped files should appear.

Accept Dropped Files

Full Pathnames


Accept Files
Accept Dropped Files

Checking Accept Dropped Files to allow this icon to accept dropped files.

Arguments


Working Directory

The Working Directory field allows you to set the directory in which the program will be run. This may be overridden when files are dropped on an icon with the From Dropped Files option


Working Directory from Dropped File

Checking From dropped file (if any) will result in the working directory being set to the directory from which any file dropped onto the icon originates.

Working Directory


Full Pathnames

Windows places a limit on the length of a command line. As a result there is a limit on the number of files that may be successfully dropped on a Dropper icon. As a result, if the Working Directory from Dropped File option is selected, Dropper will not include the full pathnames of each file. This may be switched off by selecting the Full Pathnames option


Icon From

The Icon From field specifies the file from which the icon is to be extracted. Clicking on the Previous and Next buttons moves through the icons in this file.


Run Minimized

Checking Run Minimized results in the program being minimized when it is executed.


Locking Icons

Checking Locked prevents the icon from being moved or closed.

Lock All


Run Once Only

Checking Run Once Only prevents Dropper from running that application twice.

Hide on Run


Hide on Run

Checking Hide on Run hides Dropper's icon for a program while that program is executing.

Run Once Only


Double Click

Checking Double Click forces a double click to be used to start the program (useful if you have Single Click to Launch selected).


Deleting Icons

Clicking on the Delete button will delete the icon. Note that this button may be disabled by Locking the icon.


Deinstallation

Dropper may be deinstalled simply by deleting the files shipped with the program. There is only one extra file created by Dropper during execution, called dropper.ini, which can be found in your Windows directory.

If you have installed Dropper as your shell you will need to replace it with Program Manager, or another shell of your choice.

Finally, if you have Dropper set up to execute automatically (either through Program Managers startup group or the Run= or Load= lines of win.ini) then you should delete Droppers entry.