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QuikFlip! — Instantaneous Windows Program Switching

QuikFlip! is a program that enables you to see which programs you have running under Windows and to switch to them with a single mouse click.  It shows a  bar of icons—one for each application you are running.  Icons are added to the bar automatically when you start a program.  You can choose where on the screen this icon bar appears.

General Operation	Customizing QuikFlip!
Switching Programs	Ending QuikFlip!
Starting QuikFlip!
Telling What's Running Register the Trial Version CIS trial version - May, 1995	This figure shows the QuikFlip! icon bar with four programs running.


Starting QuikFlip
Starting QuikFlip!

Automatic Starting

Most of the time, you will want to have QuikFlip! started automatically when Windows [image] loads so that you have immediate access to it.  The easiest way to accomplish this is to place the QuikFlip! icon in the Windows Startup Group.  This is the window that contains any programs that Windows will start automatically when Windows loads.

You can also add QUIKFLIP.EXE (with path as needed) to the RUN command found in the [windows] section of the WIN.INI file.  The programs specified with the RUN command are always started, while programs in the Startup Group are started provided the user doesn't hold down the Shift key while Windows is starting.

Manual Starting

To start QuikFlip! manually, simply click on its icon in the Program Manager.  If  you do not have an icon for QuikFlip! (because you deleted it), you can choose File-Run from the Windows menu and enter the path and program name for QuikFlip! (the default is C:\QF\QUIKFLIP) into the Command line item in the resulting dialog.  Then press the OK button (or the Enter key) and QuikFlip! is started.


Switching Programs
Switching Programs With QuikFlip!

Switching to a different program using QuikFlip! is a simple matter.  You just point to the icon—on the QuikFlip! icon bar—that represents the program you want to activate and click once with the mouse.  QuikFlip! instantly switches control to the desired program.

DOS Programs

QuikFlip! can switch you into your DOS applications just the same as Windows applications.  However, if the DOS program is running in "full screen" mode, the QuikFlip! icon bar does not display on any part of the DOS application.  You will need to switch back to any Windows program by pressing Alt+Tab before you will see the QuikFlip! icon bar.  Once the icon bar is displayed, you can click on any icon to switch to that application.

Telling Which Programs Are Running


Customizing QuikFlip

You can customize the appearance of the QuikFlip! icon bar in several ways, determining its placement and direction on the screen, the size of icons it shows, the type of frames enclosing the icons, and whether or not its own window title is displayed. Click once on the gray horizontal bar in the upper left corner of the QuikFlip! window to display the options dialog.  If the QuikFlip! window title is not being displayed, click once on any icon in the QuikFlip! icon bar with the right mouse button to cause the title bar to be displayed. Customizing Options Getting to the Options Dialog	Click on any of the controls in the dialog shown below to get information about that option.


Horizontal - Align Left

Click the radio button into this position to align the QuikFlip! icon bar at the left side of the display screen.


Horizontal - Align Right

Click the radio button into this position to align the QuikFlip! icon bar at the right side of the display screen.


Horizontal Offset

This items permits you to specify a number value representing the number of pixels to position the QuikFlip! icon bar from the horizontal edge (left or right) of the screen.  From the right side, a value of 40 permits the two minimize/maximize buttons to remain visible on windows underneath.  From the left side, a value of 20 permits the window's menu block to remain visible.


Vertical - Align Bottom

Click the radio button into this position to align the QuikFlip! icon bar at the bottom edge of the display screen.


Vertical - Align Top

Click the radio button into this position to align the QuikFlip! icon bar at the top edge of the display screen.


Vertical Offset

This items permits you to specify a number value representing the number of pixels to position the QuikFlip! icon bar from the vertical edge (top or bottom) of the screen.


No Alignment

Click the radio button into this position to allow the QuikFlip! icon bar to display at any point that Windows positions it when started.  By setting either or both of the horizontal and vertical alignment controls to no align you can determine how the icon bar floats.  For example, if you set the controls to align right (horizontal alignment) and no vertical alignment, the QuikFlip! bar will appear at the right edge of the screen, but you can manually move it to any vertical location and it will remain in that location until/unless you move it.


Icon Height

This control lets  you specify a number value representing the number of pixels (square) to draw the icons which appear in the QuikFlip! icon bar.  Use this control to determine how much screen space is occupied by the icon bar.

Normal icons are 32 pixels (across and high) when drawn in the Program Manager display.  You can make the icons either smaller or larger than this size to suit your personal preference.  QuikFlip! will not permit you to make icons smaller than 5 pixels nor larger than 128 pixels.

The icons shown here are 32 pixels.


Show Window Caption At Startup

This check box lets you determine whether or not the window caption will display above the QuikFlip! icon bar when it starts.  Normally, the window title displays and shows the application name (QuikFlip! in this case).  To reduce the size of the QuikFlip! icon bar display, you can specify that the window caption is not to display.

After Starting ...

At any time while QuikFlip! is running, you can click anywhere on the QuikFlip! icon bar with the right mouse button to display or remove the QuikFlip! window caption.

Note: If the QuikFlip! window title is not being displayed—as in the figure below left—click once on any icon in the QuikFlip! icon bar with the right mouse button to cause the title bar to be displayed—as in the figure to the right.


Always On Top

This check box permits you to determine if the QuikFlip! icon bar is always displayed, resting on top of any other windows which are displayed.  This is the normal way to operate QuikFlip! and permits it to be accessed rapidly without the need for other keystrokes.


Vertical Bar

This check box permits you to have the QuikFlip! icon bar displayed vertically on the screen.  When this box is not checked—the default—the QuikFlip! icon bar is displayed horizontally.  Check this box to have the icon bar displayed vertically.


OK Button

Click on this button to leave the QuikFlip! options dialog.  QuikFlip! will automatically save any changes you have made.


Cancel Button

When you click on this button, you leave the QuikFlip! options dialog, however, any changes that you have made are not saved.


Show Caption Tips

You can choose whether QuikFlip! is to show caption tips when the mouse pointer is displayed over one of the icons in the QuikFlip! icon bar.  With this option enabled, the default, the caption tips appear a fraction of a second after the pointer comes to rest over an icon.

Experienced users can adjust this time by changing a value in the QUIKFLIP.INI file, which specifies the time to delay in milliseconds (thousandths of a second).


Frame Type

You can choose from four different ways that the QuikFlip! icon bar is displayed.  With the "none" option, no frame surrounds any of the icons on the bar.  This option takes the least amount of space on your display.  You can also choose from thin, medium and thick (the default) frames widths.

This shows the icon bar with no frame.	This shows the icon bar with the thick frame.


Customizing Options

You can customize the appearance of the QuikFlip! icon bar in several ways.  You can determine its [image] placement on the screen, relative to any of the corners of the screen, and you can determine the direction that the icons are arranged (across or down).  You can determine its overall size by specifying the size of the icons it contains, and whether or not its own window title is displayed.  You can also choose from several different styles for the frame drawn around each icon in the icon bar displayed by QuikFlip!

Icon Bar Placement	Icon Height Adjustment
Show Window Caption	Frame Type Adjustment


Icon Height Adjustment

This control lets you specify a numeric value representing the size (specified as a number of pixels) to draw the icons in the QuikFlip! icon bar.

Normal icons are 32 pixels (across and high) when drawn in the Program Manager display.  You can make the icons either smaller or larger than this size to suit your personal preference.

You can use this control to determine how much screen space is occupied by the icon bar.


Show Window Caption

The options check box labeled Show window caption at startup lets you determine whether or not the window caption will display above the QuikFlip! icon bar when the QuikFlip! software starts.  Normally, the window title displays and shows the application name (QuikFlip! in this case).  To reduce the size of the QuikFlip! icon bar display, you can specify that the window caption is not to display.

The icon bar with the caption showing.	The icon bar without the caption showing.
After Starting ...

At any time while QuikFlip! is running, you can click anywhere on the QuikFlip! icon bar with the right mouse button to display or remove the QuikFlip! window caption.


Frame Type Adjustment

You can choose from four different types of frames that QuikFlip! can use to display its icon bar.  With the none option, no frame surrounds any of the icons on the bar.  This option takes the least amount of space on your display.  You can also choose from thin, medium and thick (the default) frames.

The icon bar shown at the left appears with no frame.  The icon bar shown at the right is drawn with the "thick" frame.  The icon height is the same in both illustrations, so that you can see the difference in overall size between the two extreme options.


Icon Bar Placement

QuikFlip! permits you to locate its icon bar relative to any corner of the display screen.  Or you can allow the QuikFlip! icon bar to "float" on the screen with no particular alignment.  To specify the alignment that you want for the icon bar, you manipulate the controls for the horizontal and vertical alignment.  For example, to place the icon bar in the upper right corner of the screen, click the radio button Align right in the Horizontal alignment box and click the radio button Align top in the Vertical alignment box.  You can also place a numeric values in the box labeled Offset in either or both of the two alignment boxes to move the placement of the icon bar away from the corner.

You can also choose to have the icon bar display vertically.  The default is for it to display horizontally.  The paragraphs below describe the controls found on the QuikFlip! options dialog.

Horizontal Alignment The horizontal alignment controls permit you to position the icon bar relative to the left or the right of the display.  The "No Align" option permits the bar to "float" horizontally. The offset item permits you to specify a number value representing the number of pixels to position the QuikFlip! icon bar from the horizontal edge (left or right) of the screen.  From the right side, a value of 40 permits the two minimize/maximize buttons to remain visible on windows underneath (on VGA standard resolution).  From the left side, a value of 20 permits a maximized window's system menu block to remain visible (also assuming VGA resolution).	Vertical Alignment The vertical alignment controls permit you to position the icon bar relative to the top or the bottom of the display.  The "No Align" option permits the bar to "float" vertically. The vertical offset permits you to specify a number value representing the number of pixels to position the QuikFlip! icon bar from the vertical edge (top or bottom) of the screen.


Ending QuikFlip
Ending QuikFlip!

Most of the time you will not need to worry about ending the QuikFlip! program.  It terminates automatically when Windows exits.  If there is some other reason to end QuikFlip! before Windows ends, you can end it in the usual way that you would end any Windows program.  That is, you can click on the QuikFlip! window title (if present) to make it the top program and then press Alt+F4 to end it.

Note: If the QuikFlip! window title is not being displayed—as in the figure below left—click once on any icon in the QuikFlip! icon bar with the right mouse button to cause the title bar to be displayed—as in the figure to the right.  Then you can double-click on the menu button to end QuikFlip, or single click and choose Close from its menu.


General Operation

QuikFlip! is a program that visually shows which other programs are running in the Windows environment by displaying an icon bar.  You can switch to any of these programs with a single click on the icon for the desired program within the QuikFlip! icon bar. At any time, you can click anywhere on the QuikFlip! icon bar with the right mouse button to toggle its window title bar on and off of the display.	This figure shows the QuikFlip! icon bar with 5 programs running.  It shows the thick icon  frame and the window title bar is visible. Getting to the QuikFlip! Options Dialog Telling Which Programs Are Running Switching Programs Customizing QuikFlip!
As you start programs with Windows, their icons are automatically added to the icon bar.  When you exit from programs, their icon is automatically removed from the icon bar. QuikFlip! can be started automatically when you launch Windows.


Getting to the QuikFlip! Options Dialog

When its window "title bar" is [image] displayed, as shown in the display to the right, you can click on its upper left corner to display its command menu. The QuikFlip! command menu.	The figure above shows the QuikFlip! icon bar with four programs running.
	Using the QuikFlip! command menu, you can invoke the options dialog to make changes to the options that control QuikFlip's behavior and appearance.  You can also quit from the QuikFlip! software with the command menu. Telling Which Programs Are Running Switching Programs


Telling Which Programs Are Running

QuikFlip! makes it easy to find out which programs are running.  The icon bar provides a continuous view that shows the icons for the programs which are running.  But sometimes you may need more information or a reminder of what program an icon represents.  When you place the mouse pointer over an icon on the QuikFlip! icon bar—and leave it there—a box displays showing the name of the program and its file (if any).  The figure here illustrates, showing that the icon the mouse pointer is pointing to represents the Cardfile program and that it has the "editors" cardfile open.  The QuikFlip! icon bar is displaying with no "window title" bar and the "medium" width icon frame.


About QuikFlip!

QuikFlip! was designed and created by SunShine Software Company.

It is a utility program for Windows 3.1 and 3.11 and requires about 30K of permanent memory when running inside Windows.