bLend v 0.0.0.1 - seamless transparency app

[Fosssi]

@markoz:

If you want only the taskbar to be transparent, use transbar. Just google for it. Can be found anywhere. Don't know if it works on Vista though for I'm on XP.

[pharoah]

Adding transparency to a single program one at a time.

Open blend preference look for (Global blending) click on conform to above list, you should see a + & - click on the plus. (Add/Modify blendicity) window will open. Now you'll see at the bottom

[ziptrx]

Nice program, but few bugs. The systray icon never appears for me, even with the option enabled. The tooltip, "Blend is running.....", constantly appears minimizing games. Any way to fix the later? I don't care for the icon.

[devrexster]

Yes there is a way!

But u cant do anything it has to be done by me

also this is wierd since tray icon is not loading and yet u see the tooltip ?!

i'll try to fix it !

[ actually busy with DExposE2 , expose for both xp and vista

try it at winmatrix ]

[thehkv]

Hi there, excellent app

After what Matonga said, is there a way that this app (in Vista) can do this ?

h**p://img390.imageshack.us/img390/3227/2glasstransfi3.jpg

rather than just this

h**p://img399.imageshack.us/img399/425/1meretransjw7.jpg

You see, the windows does bLend in, but it sometimes is inconvenient

[devrexster]

@thekv

glad u liked it

after doing bLend I have been asked this same question about the blur effect many times in many ways . I myself also have thought this many times . I now have the conclusion that is , this effect will require me to do a full desktop window manager . Tremendous workload and maybe not many takers Tho there maybe ways I dont Know of .....

For doing this kind of a project u need a full array of programmers . for example :- Compiz in linux

Vista has its own DWM which maybe I can use someday .

But the benefits of doing a new DWM are infact tremendous , thru which we can get the best effects of al OS'es , windows has been missing (eg: sticky windows in ubuntu etc.) But I alone with my limited knowledge can do nothing

[ps: I am not even a graduate still ]

[quadz0]

How can I make just the taskbar and start menu (plus contents) transparent. I know how to make the taskbar, but not the start menu. Thanks.

[devrexster]

How can I make just the taskbar and start menu (plus contents) transparent. I know how to make the taskbar, but not the start menu Thanks.

To make start menu transparent , add this window class to the list and adjust the transparency u need

" DV2ControlHost "

[p.s.- U may check the windowclass of startmenu (just google it) . As far as I know it is only this]

[quadz0]

Works. Thanks.

[mrwho]

MAN! BEST SOFTWARE FOR XP EVER!!!!

Thank you so much! only problem is: i'm using window blinds...

but just to be clear, if i drag the "Apple Update" Icon onto the Windows Frame of the Explorer window, it'll come up like "N_Frame" or something, right? and then i can adjust the transparency of the frame ONLY to my liking?

[Raginwald]

nice app!

works well, and a minute ago it actually worked a bit too well.. i accidentally set all windows to a 1% visibility..

even taskmanager!

luckily, with the help of the small previews of opened windows on vista, i managed to get to an earlier restore point.

so im just warning people to use this app very carefully, and be smarter than i am:)

[devrexster]

@mrwho

Yep! thats right

and glad that u liked it thanks

@Raginwald

some people reported this . I think i should have limited the avaiable transparency

Anyways thanks!!

[mrwho]

this is a fresh piece of software!

thanks for the clarification!

i might even ditch my vista theme on WB and go back to the plain ol' Media Center Electric Blue theme.

nicely done!

[firecracker6]

hey buddy~ your app has been featured on lifehacker:

http://lifehacker.com/382561/blend-sets-cu...es-for-programs

..let the google ad revenue begin!

[devrexster]

hey buddy~ your app has been featured on lifehacker:

http://lifehacker.com/382561/blend-sets-cu...es-for-programs

..let the google ad revenue begin!

@firecracker6

He! thats very nice of u to let me know Dont know why people are saying it needs installation ?!?!

But it sure feels good (Y)

And google ads are bull-shit . I got 4000 pageviews of my site in a month and all I have got is about $15 fu**ing bull-shit actually

offtopic to firecracker6 -> i am still waiting for tengshj to rep to my pm witout his help I cant put DExposE2 prob right

So I meant to say to u .... "sorry !!"

[firecracker6]

here's to crossing our fingers!

[MM1E]

I'm using this with Windowblinds. When I set transparency to all, it works seamlessly. However, I don't want transparency to all (it's annoying in a lot of apps, like photoshop, firefox, anything with large amounts of textual data), but I do want it in Windows explorer. However, if I set EXPLORER.EXE to transparency and turn off transparency for everything, the desktop wallpaper becomes transparent, some windows become transparent, but a lot of them become invisible, and trying to fix this often causes explorer to crash.

[devrexster]

U need to set the transparency of what u want acc to window class. Explorer.exe is basically everything that u see on ur dsktop . Do this : set "CabinetWClass" to transparency u want. That will have ur explorer windows transparent . Hope his helps

[MM1E]

Thanks. What's the class for control panel windows, popup/context menus etc?

It would be nice if there was documentation covering the classes of various aspects of the Windows GUI and how to apply them.

[devrexster]

U can manage to find the classes of virtuallly any thing using a tool called "Au3_Spy" by Land vermesser of our forums .

[michael13]

hey my friend, great job on this app! Listen, I have one question. I am on Vista Business SP1, usual specs for 2 yr old box.....I really like the way the app works but one thing. Somehow it is diverting focus? Like I'll be browsing a thread (like this) and click+hold scroll bar on the right to scroll down, blend steals focus for some reason, now I have to click again.

Another example is I have rotating time (in Windows) screensaver I use. It never comes on while blend is running. I disable blend and ss comes back. I'm thinking the focus stealing is interpreted as activity so ss doesn't get to set properly.

The only window I have set for blend to use is Explorer. Have you noticed this? It really is a great program.

[dcatcher]

Gave it a try, Great Work!

Even my remote desktop becomes transparent, Amazing！

One more feature request, sometime I want active windows not to be transparent, but when they lost focus they become transparent again.

[gamn44]

well this app makes the whole window transparent

and since I am still relatively new to window programming

maybe i dont know how to make the "titlebar only" transparent

( i am taking for granted that you have already used "True transparency"

or "Windowblinds" ) thanks anyway i will try

[Boda]

I want to thank you very much for that great software.You are an artist and a programmer at the same time.I am using vista ultimate and it is working just fine.

Best regards,

[Telerion]

Hey, I'm loving the program. Not sure if you still have anything to do with it this far down the track but there's one thing I've noticed with it. If I set a video as my windows background using VLC media player the programs cease to be transparent and are instead just darker, much like if you turned the contrast down on the screen. I just did a quick check and it also isn't transparent if its just a video playing in VLC, though windows media player has no problems. I'm running on Vista basic.