SteamyDock
A VB6 GDI+ WoW64 dock for Reactos, XP, Win7, 8 and 10.
SteamyDock is a functional reproduction of the dock we all know and love - Rocketdock for Windows from Punklabs - which in turn was a clone of the Mac OS/X dock. Back in the Noughties, there were other docks too such as ObjectDock, all of them good, some commercial, some free. Our new dock, SteamyDock is also free, each allow you to create your own dock using your own personal style and any icons you choose to import from any location.
SteamyDock gets its name from the bundling of my own three dock utilities with my own self-created Steampunk icon sets, ie. SteamyDock is a dock and the icons are steamy... so there you have it.
SteamyDock is Alpha-grade software, under development, not yet ready to use on a production system - use at your own risk.
BUILD: The program runs without any Microsoft plugins.
Built using: VB6, MZ-TOOLS 3.0, VBAdvance, CodeHelp Core IDE Extender Framework 2.2 & Rubberduck 2.4.1
Links:
MZ-TOOLS https://www.mztools.com/
CodeHelp http://www.planetsourcecode.com/vb/scripts/ShowCode.asp?txtCodeId=62468&lngWId=1
Rubberduck http://rubberduckvba.com/
Rocketdock https://punklabs.com/
Registry code ALLAPI.COM
La Volpe http://www.planet-source-code.com/vb/scripts/ShowCode.asp?txtCodeId=67466&lngWId=1
PrivateExtractIcons code http://www.activevb.de/rubriken/
Persistent debug code http://www.vbforums.com/member.php?234143-Elroy
Open File common dialog code without dependent OCX - http://forums.codeguru.com/member.php?92278-rxbagain
VBAdvance
Fafalone for the enumerate Explorer windows code
Tested on :
ReactOS 0.4.14 32bit on virtualBox
Windows 7 Professional 32bit on Intel
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit on Intel
Windows 7 Professional 64bit on Intel
Windows XP SP3 32bit on Intel
Windows 10 Home 64bit on Intel
Windows 10 Home 64bit on AMD
Windows 11 64bit on Intel
Dependencies:
o A windows-alike o/s such as Windows XP, 7-11 or ReactOS.
o Microsoft VB6 IDE installed with its runtime components. The program runs without any additional Microsoft OCX components, just the basic controls that ship with VB6.
o GDI+
o Requires the SteamyDock program source code to be downloaded and available in an adjacent folder as some of the BAS modules are common and shared.
Example folder structure:
E:\VB6\steamydock ! this repo.
E:\VB6\docksettings ! from https://github.com/yereverluvinunclebert/dockSettings
E:\VB6\rocketdock ! from https://github.com/yereverluvinunclebert/rocketdock
o Requires a steamydock folder in C:\Users<user>\AppData\Roaming
eg: C:\Users<user>\AppData\Roaming\steamydock
Requires a docksettings.ini file to exist in C:\Users<user>\AppData\Roaming\PzEasteamydockrth
The above will be created automatically by the compiled program when run for the
first time.
o OLEEXP.TLB placed in sysWoW64 - required to obtain the explorer paths only during development. OLEEXP.TLB placed in sysWoW64 - required to obtain the explorer paths.
oleexp.tlb should typically be located in SysWow64 (or System32 on a 32-bit Windows install). You can register it manually using regtlib.exe on Win 7-10 systems or the newer utility on Win 11.
However, it should be sufficient to let VB6 register it for you. When you first try to run or compile it will come up with the project references utility. Point OLEEXP to the correct location (SysWoW64). You should only have one copy installed. Only needed during development as the types are compiled in. Once your project is compiled, the TLB is no longer used. It does not need to be present on end user machines.
From the command line, copy the tlb to a central location (system32 or wow64 folder) and register it.
COPY OLEEXP.TLB %SystemRoot%\System32
REGTLIB %SystemRoot%\System32\OLEEXP.TLB
In the VB6 IDE - project - references - browse - select the OLEEXP.tlb
Project References:
VisualBasic for Applications
VisualBasic Runtime Objects and Procedures
VisualBasic Objects and Procedures
OLE Automation - drag and drop
Microsoft Shell Controls and Automation
Microsoft scripting runtime - for the scripting dictionary usage
OLEEXP Modern Shell Interfaces for VB6, v5.1
Credits
I have really tried to maintain the credits as the project has progressed. If I have made a mistake and left someone out then do forgive me. I will make amends if anyone points out my mistake in leaving someone out.
MicroSoft in the 90s - MS built good, lean and useful tools in the late 90s and early 2000s. Thanks for VB6.
Peacemaker2000 Original idea for a GDI+ dock came from here: http://www.planetsourcecode.com/vb/scripts/ShowCode.asp?txtCodeId=55352&lngWId=1&fbclid=IwAR2FeR12CdaxyOoY-muw-b6_oDW-_19oLrt8syEL6BQSX4PMEfHyWpfqpzM
Olaf Schmidt - used some of Olafs code as examples of how to implement the handling of images using GDI+ and specifically used two routines, createScaledImg & ReadBytesFromFile.
Also critically, the idea of using the scripting dictionary as a repository for a collection of image bitmaps.
In addition, the easeing functions to do the bounce animation, I initially used a converted .js implementation but Olafs was better.
Spider Harper Is64bit() function.
Wayne Phillips Used a heavily modified version of his code to bring an external application window to the foreground https://www.everythingaccess.com/tutorials.asp?ID=Bring-an-external-application-window-to-the-foreground
www.thescarms.com Provided the code to enumerate through windows using a callback routine
dee-u Candon City, Ilocos Used a modified version of his code to obtain a window handle from a PID. https://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?561413-getting-hwnd-from-process
Shuja Ali @ codeguru for his settings.ini code.
An unknown, untraceable source, possibly on MSN - for the KillApp code
ALLAPI.COM For the registry reading code.
Elroy on VB forums for his Persistent debug window - no longer used but thanks anyway! http://www.vbforums.com/member.php?234143-Elroy
Rxbagain on codeguru for his Open File common dialog code without a dependent OCX http://forums.codeguru.com/member.php?92278-rxbagain
si_the_geek for his special folder code
Aaron Young for his code for registering a keypress system wide
Lots of GDI+ examples gleaned from here:
La Volpe Routine to check return value from any GDI++ function
Jacques Lebrun Function to Provide resolution of shortcuts https://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?445574-Reading-shortcut-information
Fafalone for the enumerate Explorer windows code: https://www.vbforums.com/showthread.php?818959-VB6-Get-extended-details-about-Explorer-windows-by-getting-their-IFolderView
Dragokas systray code
LICENCE AGREEMENTS:
Copyright 2023 Dean Beedell
In addition to the GNU General Public Licence please be aware that you may use any of my own imagery in your own creations but commercially only with my permission. In all other non-commercial cases I require a credit to the original artist using my name or one of my pseudonyms and a link to my site. With regard to the commercial use of incorporated images, permission and a licence would need to be obtained from the original owner and creator, ie. me.
Background:
I always loved Rocketdock for its ease of use, the fact that it was free to download but more importantly because it allowed each of your PCs to display a desktop with a look and feel that was unique to you. At the time Objectdock and Rocketdock were developed. customisation was the name of the game, everyone was doing it and Rocketdock made it easy and painless to do so. Then came the change in the form of Windows 8 and 10... and a drastic rework to Microsoft's corporate policies meant that customisation was frowned upon, companies such as MS and Apple now wanted all your systems to look and operate just like everyone else's, corresponding to a corporate style. Each recent change to the Windows operating system has made it more closed and more difficult to customise. Slowly but surely, due to these changes being accepted by users, Rocketdock and other customisation tools fell out of favour and as a result Rocketdock's developers Punklabs moved onto better things and Rocketdock is no longer supported by them, meaning no more updates to fix bugs and no new versions with improved functionality. This is a problem for me as I want to use it on the latest versions of Windows.
Increasingly, Microsoft has changed Windows in unexpected and unpleasant ways introducing little problems for Rocketdock and its remaining users. Despite this, perhaps surprisingly, Rocketdock still works today even on Windows 10, however, it is becoming increasingly difficult to configure and operate with reliability. Without support and in the absence of new versions, users can struggle to make the old program run in the easy manner that they were accustomed to under Windows XP. With that in mind I stepped into the breach (as Rocketdock's self-styled saviour) and I have created an open source version of something akin to RocketDock in both spirit and in design, this time named SteamyDock. Please note - SteamyDock hasn't used any of Rocketdock's code nor any of its resources, it has all been built from scratch.
I have been communicating with Skunkie from Punklabs and she has given me approval and encouragement to recreate Rocketdock in functionality and form, so that is what I have been doing. Instead of recreating Rocketdock as one monolithic tool I have instead decided to recreate it in three separate components, biting off what I can chew, as it were. First of all I have created the Icon Settings Tool, adding a lot more functionality than Rocketdock's original icon settings configuration tool. Secondly, I created the utility that replicates Rocketdock's Dock Settings configuration tool. Note that no code, nor resource has been taken from Punklabs nor Rocketdock, all the code, resources and icons shown are my own creation. All I have replicated is the functionality of Rocketdock and even then I have hopefully improved upon it and also upon the visual form.
SteamyDock is compatible with Rocketdock in many ways. It can use the same icons, the dock and icon configuration screens are very similar in operation so will be quite familiar to Rocketdock users. The main advantage of Steamydock over Rocketdock is that this new version is supported. In addition, it also has some new functionality and improvements. Fundamentally though, the design is limited to providing or enhancing what Rocketdock already provides. This will make the dock and its supporting utilities quite familiar to Rocketdock users. This program will be available in two flavours. The first is a VB6 version, this is the original. The second will be a VB.NET version, not yet available. The two will be functionally the same, in almost all respects. The choice of which version to use will be entirely up to you. The VB.NET version has yet to be completed but when done will future-proof this utility. Regardless, the VB6 version should work on Windows 10 for the 'foreseeable future' which means years and years yet to come as of 2021. Note that the VB6 version will also operate on ReactOS, a 32bit-only Windows clone when its WINE-inspired GDI+ layer is implemented
32bitness, I hear you say? - The VB6 version is of course 32 bit by default as that is all a VB6 application can ever be. VB6 is a 32bit language. Some see running 32bits as a limitation. It is not really, because of course, 32-bit applications run just fine on all versions of 64-bit Windows and this dock does not need 64bits to operate. This program has no need to use the main advantage of 64bit functionality - that being the ability to access more than 4gb of RAM. This utility does not require anywhere near the 4gigabytes maximum of RAM that 32bit applications can address. In fact it averages just 45mb of usage even with seventy-two 128x128 bit icons displayed.
If you really do care about the 64bit thing and won't run 32bit programs on a 64bit system for some personal reason, then wait until the TwinBasic version comes out.
