WinXP Desktop Shell Replacement
A little while back I mentioned some annoyances with virtual desktop software under windows. It occurred to me that the only sane way to implement virtual desktops is to do away with the explorer shell and use something else.
This is not a new idea: GeoShell, LiteStep and BB4win all try to do this kind of thing, with varying degrees of success. I tried to use each of these and found that they all have their rough edges that just made them unusable for me.
So I was frustrated. Motivated by frustration and curiosity, I wrote my own shell replacement for WinXP. It features low resource consumption and a low-clutter interface that I suppose is somewhat similar to the OSX dock, even though that wasn't my original intention.
My shell, dubbed "WezDesk" for want of a better name (EvilDesk!?), implements the following features:
- Quicklaunch icon bar
- System Notification area (aka "Tray"), including tray bubbles
- Clock with day/date
- No classic taskbar, but "flashing" windows have their icons bounced to get your attention
- Light-weight icon-free start menu
- Kludge-free Workspace management; use up to 4 virtual desktops
- icon-free desktop
If you feel like a change from explorer will also do you some good, then feel free to download and test-drive my latest offering.
Disclaimer : the software is provided as-is in binary form only with no warranty. I am not liable for any bad mojo, be it mental, physical or meta-physical, that arises from its use. By downloading it, you assert that you will not decompile or reverse engineer the software in any way, and that you will not re-distribute it to any third party in any form without my express consent. All rights reserved; All liabilities disclaimed.
Caveat Emptor : when switching desktops, some naughty apps (notably gaim and the MSDN help browser) occasionally get "warped". Restarting the app is one solution, not switching desktops is another. (Running miranda instead of gaim saved several MB of RAM at runtime, runs faster and has no weird interactions that I know of).
Caveat Emptor 2 : tray "bubbles" sometimes miss updates to their text content.
Despite these niggles, I've been happily using the current build for over a month, >15 hours per day and it's been a pleasure to use.
Installation
Double click the .msi file to install. Note that installation is non-destructive; it simply installs the app into your start menu. You can then go into:
Start | Programs | Evil, as in Dr | Shell | Set Shell
to register it as your shell. You need to log out and log back in again to use it.
If you want to go back to explorer.exe, call up the start menu (right click on the desktop):
All Programs | Programs | Evil, as in Dr | Shell | Reset Shell
and log out and log back in again.
You'll also find the online docs available in the start menu; in there you'll find out about the various hotkeys available.
Wez Furlong in
Windows.
Would you like to work
with me?
I have positions open for server/infrastructure software development (C) and QA.
Cool tool!
Are you planning on making enhancements to it? For example, I'd like to be able to open folders within the My Documents tree by right or middle-clicking on the folder name. Would make sense to do the same on the All Programs menu too, so that you can edit the start menu.
Oddly enough...
Can't get it working. Right upon registering the shell the "quick launch" appears bottom right. Log off & on (or even restart) and Explorer is happily running...
Great Shell
But there is only 1 thing I dont like about it... It still consumes 10+ of my memory.
Misc Notes
Some people have had problems running it on XP Home Edition; sorry about that. I don't have time to fix that just yet.
Hal: yes, there is a plugin API for adding features, although there is currently no support for messing with the context menus. It's still early days; I have a few things to wrap up before I'm ready to publish that stuff.
Re: memory usage, most of the memory usage is due to the standard shell COM objects that are responsible for the network icons showing up in the tray area; those are loaded in-process, and there is nothing I can do about how much memory they use. Even so, my shell uses less than half the memory that explorer.exe used on my system; that's good enough for me.
they arm-wrestled... and explorer won :(
looks excellent!
however, i have the same experience as Ruud: set shell, then logoff/on, and explorer is still in charge.
using xp pro, sp 2.
bad bad explorer
As Ruud and autonome, Explorer won't let me free !!!!
Box : winXP Home SP1
Source?
Great shell! Any plans to release the source?
no source yet
Darrell: maybe one day, but not at this time.
That shell
i wonder, what's that terminal you are using on the screenshot, i looked all over for one to use under winxp.. just like i do in linux, but it seems there are non.
Well done sir...
I have to say that this is my new reason to use windows. I've been looking everywhere to find a way to make windows better and you just did it. One thing... if there is a way to make the clock analog instead of digital, that would be the best thing in the world. I don't know if there is a plugin or something that I could download instead but if you included a choice between analog and digital clocks, I would be in heaven. Again I say thank you sir.
Updated
For those people landing on this page, you might want to fly by the evildesk homepage (http://evildesk.netevil.org) for more up-to-date information.
help w/ putty reg key....
Hi, Great shell replacement; I really love the minimalism. I would really like to get the putty entry happening in the right click menu, but I seem to be too n00b to get it happening; I've enclosed a link to a screencap of my regedit entry - could you please tell me what I'm doing wrong: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=25538156&size=o
Thanks again for a great tool!
Graham Watson
putty
Graham: looks like you have too many backslashes and are using the wrong name for the value. The value name should be putty.exe (you're using the Default value), and the path should be a regular path as you'd type it to run putty.exe from the command prompt.
That just configures the location of the putty.exe binary, and the default setting matches the default install location from the putty installer, so you shouldn't need to change that part.
What you do need to change is the list of loaded modules:
Got it.
Thanks for the 'nudge', Wez; I've got it dialed in now. Kudos!
Graham
#
Less IS More. Excellent shell. Just started using it but so far so good::Thx
Frank
#
could u kindly advise where to find how much RAM i have left as well as : do quick lauch icons take up a lot of space. do desktop icons take up a lot? i find those two avenues very convenient, but my desktop keeps doing wierd things, so maybe it's because it's so crowded?!!!!!!
thanx
desperate
?
do desktop and quick lauch icons take up lots of memory? my desktop is quite crowded with icons but is now doing wierd things like turning from blue to white and icons moving around without my help.
thanx
desperate
?
do desktop and quick lauch icons take up lots of memory? my desktop is quite crowded with icons but is now doing wierd things like turning from blue to white and icons moving around without my help.
thanx
desperate
?
do desktop and quick lauch icons take up lots of memory? my desktop is quite crowded with icons but is now doing wierd things like turning from blue to white and icons moving around without my help.
thanx
desperate
Context Menu Configuration File
I cannot seem to locate the context menu configuration file. If I manually create this file, is there a reg entry that will point to it's location? Or does it have to be in %appdata%\evil or c:\EvilDesk
Thanks.
Shell
Good job & thanks for sharing.
I am using it for last few days and so far so good.
The only glitch I experienced was when i started it for the first time after installation and reboot. For some reason graphic cards color scheme was changed to 8 bit from 24. Other than that i have not seen any problems. shell is responsive and has good usability.
I also installed it on Vista ultimate and is working just fine.