Object Desktop

Version: 
2.0
Release date: 
Thursday, 17 June, 2004
Price: 
$99.95, $39 (Object Desktop Professional users upgrade) , $69.95 (upgrade from previous version)

License:

Interface:

Authors/Port authors:

Object Desktop for OS/2 is an advanced desktop environment. It uses IBM's System Object Model (SOM) and the Workplace Shell (WPS) to add features, power, ease of use, and performance to the base operating system. Object Desktop is targeted at all users of OS/2, but particularly those on small networks and in the home. It has been the top selling OS/2 product world-wide since its inception. In fact, in some retail channels, its sales rival OS/2 itself.

Object Desktop provides the features that end users, corporate users, and reviewers have been asking for in OS/2 for a very long time. Object Desktop is like a third-party upgrade to OS/2.

Object Desktop is developed using IBM's SOM and Workplace Shell object classes and is not version dependent. When new versions of OS/2 are introduced to the market, Object Desktop will automatically inherit those new features and extend them as well.

While Object Desktop has been a tremendous success in the end user OS/2 market, corporate users have asked for features whose benefit are readily apparent. Features such as the ability to secure the desktop, read virtually any type of file format, robust backup, training cost reductions, and so on. To this end, Stardock began the project code-named "Milamber" (which many net users have heard discussed) which would address these needs. Object Desktop Professional is the result of this effort.

This software is distributed as compressed package. You have to download and manually install it; if prerequisites are required, you will have to manually install them too.

Manual installation

Self-installing package. Download the ZIP package to temporary directory and unpack. See below for download link(s).

Following ones are the download links for manual installation:

Object Desktop v. 1.5 & 2.0 (fixes for Object Desktop v1.5 & 2.0, 17/6/2004, Richard L Walsh) Readme/What's new
/***************************************************************************/ /* ODFIX - Copyright 2004 R.L. Walsh */ /***************************************************************************/ Overview ======== ODFix corrects problems with two Object Desktop components: o Zip Folders - enables Zip Folders to use recent versions of InfoZip's Unzip (>v5.32). Without this patch, the first letter of each filename in the archive is missing. This fix supports O.D. v1.52 and v2.01 or later. o Control Center - turns on the CPU meter when running Warp v4.5x and prevents WPS lockups when dragging over Control Center. This fix should work with any version of O.D. This package also includes a utility named OLDNEWBK.EXE which you can use elsewhere to unlock/replace/backup files. Unlike similar utils, it should work with any type of file. Run "oldnewbk /?" for more info. /***************************************************************************/ Install / Uninstall =================== Put the three main files (odfix.cmd, odccfix.dll, and oldnewbk.exe) in the directory containing your Object Desktop dlls, then run odfix.cmd. You'll be presented with a menu that lets you install or uninstall either or both fixes. After you make a selection, odfix will advise you of the results. If you run it from the WPS, its window won't close until you "press any key to continue", so you won't miss any of its messages. That's it! /***************************************************************************/ More Info ========= Zip Folder fix -------------- O.D.'s Zip Folders are hard-coded to expect that unzip's output will have three spaces before a filename. Versions after v5.32 only put two spaces there, causing Zip Folders to skip over the first letter of the filename. ODFix locates the byte in objdoarc.dll that says "skip 3" and changes it to "skip 2", solving the problem. ODFix supports three version of objdoarc.dll: v1.52 - v1.5 with FixKits 1 and 2 applied v2.01 - v2.0 with FixKit 1 or later applied (Stardock's FixKit 2 and the 3rd-party FixKits 3 & 4 didn't update this dll) v2.01 with revised icons - this is Christian Hennecke's package available from hobbes as od20_archview_icons.zip Even though ODFix will only patch these three versions, it has been tested with all 1.5 & 2.0 versions of objdoarc.dll to ensure that it doesn't patch versions it doesn't support. If you've never updated your copy of Object Desktop, the FixKits are still available from Stardock: http://www.stardock.com/support/os2/files/od15fk1e.zip http://www.stardock.com/support/os2/files/od15fk2e.zip http://www.stardock.com/support/os2/files/od20fk1e.zip http://www.stardock.com/support/os2/files/od20fk2.zip Control Center fix ------------------ ODFix corrects two separate problems with the Control Center but ties them together: The Control Center's CPU meter doesn't work under Warp v4.5x because it never issues the command required to enable this feature. Earlier versions of OS/2 didn't have this requirement. The ODCCFix WPS class will issue this command - but only if its other fix is in place. Dragging over the Control Center from any program other than the WPS will cause the Desktop to lock up. ODCCFix prevents this from happening by subclassing Control Center's windows and filtering drag messages sent to them. It blocks messages coming from other processes' drags but lets WPS drag messages through. For this fix to work, a Control Center object (which is just a WPS folder in disguise) must contain an ODCCFix object. When that Control Center's window opens, its ODCCFix object will be notified and will begin protecting that window. If you have more than one Control Center (e.g. v2's Object Netscan object), each one must have its own ODCCFix object - a shadow will not work. Since ODCCFix objects in other folders aren't notified when a Control Center window opens, they are useless. To avoid giving the impression that this fix is working when it really isn't, the ODCCFix class won't turn on the CPU meter until at least one of its objects has successfully installed its d&d message filter. ODCCFix objects are extremely easy to create because they're just plain datafiles named "ODCCFIX.RWY". To create one, use your text editor's Save As dialog to navigate to the Control Center directory that needs to be protected. Enter the name "ODCCFIX.RWY", then press Save. When the WPS finds a new file with this exact name, it will assign it to the ODCCFix class. Your new "object" will then protect the Control Center associated with that directory. Warning! Dragging over Control Center's *icon* from another program will also cause the Desktop to lockup. ODCCFix can not prevent this. /***************************************************************************/ Files in ODFIX.ZIP ================== 1. ODFIX.CMD June 17, 2004 01:00:00 2. ODFIX.TXT June 17, 2004 01:00:00 3. ODCCFIX.DLL June 17, 2004 01:00:00 4. OLDNEWBK.EXE June 17, 2004 01:00:00 /***************************************************************************/ Rich Walsh (rich@e-vertise.com) Ft Myers, FL June 17, 2004 /***************************************************************************/
 hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/system/patches/odfix.zip
Object Desktop v. 2.0 (Object Desktop 2.0 look for WIN-OS/2, 8/3/2001) Readme/What's new
08/03/2001 For people, like me, who really love Object Desktop from Stardock the withdrawal from the OS/2 market without at least making OD open source, is very, very sad. Nevertheless, OD is still a superb set of WPS extensions, and until XWorkplace can replace every aspect of it, I will keep it running, at least those parts that are working. One of the features of OD I really like, is the cool OD 2.0 look of the frame controls. So I decided to have this look for WIN-OS/2 also. And so here it is: Object Desktop 2.0 frame controls for WIN-OS/2. Once again: THIS IS NEITHER SUPPORTED BY STARDOCK, NOR BY IBM OR SCITECH. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Requirements: - A recent GRADD based video driver, for example SDD. Installation: 1. Close all WIN-OS/2 sessions (including hidden ones!) 2. Goto your WINOS2\SYSTEM directory and locate ISGDI2VM.DRV. 3. Copy it to ISGDI2VM.BAK (or so, hell, make a backup of it). 4. Copy the enclosed ISGDI2VM.DRV to your WINOS2\SYSTEM directory. 5. You are done. Start up your seamless WIN-OS/2 sessions and be happy! Additional considerations: - ISGDI2VM.DRV is from the latest GRADD components. - Controls for resolutions bigger than 800x600 don't look so well. How it was done: Pretty much the same way I did the private Object Desktop fix kits: Decompile ressources, modify them with an editor, (DLGEDIT on the OS/2 side, Borland Resource Workshop on the WIN-OS/2 side) and reattach them to the binaries. Theoretically, one cannot break the binary this way... OD Fixkit #3's OBJDOPKG.DLL showed the opposite... Basically any WIN-OS/2 look can be created this way (for every driver around, for every update... too much work, but GRADD components don't change that often.)
 hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/system/patches/od20wos2.zip
Object Desktop v. 2.0 (Object Desktop 2.0 FixKit 4, 4/3/2001, Stardock Systems Inc.) Readme/What's new
04/03/2001 OBject Desktop FixKit #4 Unlike previous fixkits #1 and #2, which were distributed by Stardock, this is a private fixkit (like fixkit #3 was). As Stardock does not do OS/2 anymore, I decided to release this to the public. Since Stardock did not release the source to the public, all modifications were directly made on the binaries (i.e. hacked), therefore things that can be done are very limited. Don't expect miracles, expect slightly enhanced usability of some components. Most important, none of the FP#13+ issues is solved. This is impossible without the source... THIS WORK IS IN NO WAY SUPPORTED BY STARDOCK! USE IT ON YOUR OWN RISK! PREREQUISITES: This fixkit needs Object Desktop 2.0.1 or 2.0.2 as a prerequisite. Private fixkit #3 is not a prerequisite for fixkit #4. NOTE: It is not possible to pirate a demo with this fixkit. If this is your intention, forget it. WHAT'S NEW IN FIXKIT #4 - Unfortunately, OBJDOPKG.DLL from private fixkit #3 was broken (Object packages could not be opened any more). Sorry, fixed. - More hardcoded fonts removed. - More Minimize and Close buttons added. - I did more testing than last time. - Added an INF file providing compiled information that was gathered from various sources about undocumented features and more in Object Desktop. INSTALLATION To install, simply boot to a command prompt, save the previous DLLs to a save directory (FixKit20.4), and copy the contents of this zipfile to the Object Desktop 2.0 installation directory. Put ODTIPS.INF in a directory in your BOOKSHELF path. Changed files: OBJDEDAT.DLL OBJDOBJU.DLL OBJDOPKG.DLL OBJDTAHK.DLL Fix List: Using a resolution bigger than 800 x 600 makes OS/2's 10.System Proportional really ugly and somewhat too big for many dialogues. The DLLs have been modified to use PM default fonts instead of 10.System Proportional. Enhanced Data File: ------------------- - Removed hardcoded 10.System Proportional font. Object Inspector: ----------------- - Redesigned Object Inspector dialogue in order to avoid overlapping controls. - Added Minimize- and Close-Button to the frame. Class Editor: ------------- - Added Minimize- and Close-Button to the frame. Task Manager: ------------- - Added Minimize- and Close-Button to frame of Task-List filter dialogue, removed hard coded 10.Helv from titlebar. That's all for now. To-Do-List: - I'd really like to fix that damn date in Control Center. 2-3-1 or similar looks quite silly...
 hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/system/patches/od20fk4.zip
Object Desktop v. 1.5 (Information and snapshots on Object Desktop 1.5, 10/6/1996, Stardock Systems Inc.) Readme/What's new
Object Desktop FAQ Learn more about the world's most advanced desktop environment that is available for OS/2! Summer 1996. Q: What is Object Desktop? A: Object Desktop is an advanced desktop environment designed to be the best productivity enhancement for OS/2 ever developed. It provides a set of new functions to the operating system and new interfaces for getting to your objects faster. Once installed , you can expect to make your system faster, easier, more powerful, and well, just plain nicer to work with. In essence, it adds the features OS/2 users have been asking for to the base OS. Q: Does it replace the Workplace Shell? A: No. It inherits from the Workplace Shell and adds new functionality to it. Q: So how much memory does it take? A: Very little. A total of about 1 megabyte is allocated (with very little of that actually resident). This is the true power that OS/2 brings to the table. OS/2 applications that inherit functions from the operating system can be small and fast. This sor t of benefit gives users a "sneak preview" of what OpenDoc could do. Fat bloated programs could be greatly reduced! Q: How much does it cost then? A: The Current list price is only $89.95. Better yet, you can find it at almost any place that sells OS/2 software for considerably less. Q: I have version 1.0, how do I get the NEW version? A: Contact Stardock directly. It costs $37 to upgrade plus $5 shipping and handling. After August 1, the upgrade price will be $45. You can reach Stardock via their website (if you live outside the USA) (http://www.stardock.com) or directly by phone (1-80 0-672-2338 or 313-453-0328). Q: So what REAL functionality am I getting for my money? A: Stardock has a history of providing software at extremely aggressive prices. Take the best-selling OS/2 Essentials. You get a full utility suite for under $40. Stardock continues this with Object Desktop. To even approach the features you get in Object Desktop, you'd have to pay many hundreds of dollars on other platforms. Below are some bread and butter features that we believe will convince you that Object Desktop is not only reasonably priced but very inexpensive. Specific features users have asked for are answered here. Examples: 1) I want OS/2 faster! There should be a way to cache the Workplace Shell. Object Desktop adds this capability. You can now HyperCache your often-used folders and eliminate virtually all disk access when accessing these folders. HyperCache is the only third party caching software available for OS/2 so we cannot price compare but caching software on other platforms (such as DOS) cost as much as Object Desktop! 2) OS/2 users want disk compression features to save valuable drive space but are generally wary of adding device drivers or suffering a performance hit. They also want more control over what they compress and what they don't. Finally, they want to be abl e to take their compressed data to other systems that don't necessarily have a device driver based disk compression. With hard drives becoming so inexpensive, users have loudly and clearly said that what they usually do is simply Zip up their big files an d data and then unzip them. Or all the files they download or transfer from co-workers stay compressed until needed. Imagine if "Zipped" files suddenly become like folders where you could treat your zipped up data as if it were just in a regular uncompressed folder? What if we went further and even allowed you to RUN many of your programs RIGHT FROM THE ZIP file! No trick here, the power of OS/2 shows forth again through Object Desktop! Object Desktop provides Object Archives (Object Zip, Object Arc,etc.). Why re-invent the wheel when everyone already uses ZIP, LZH, etc? Object Desktop takes these files and turns them into Folder objects! You can now access your data and run many of your programs directly from the archive! This is the power of OS/2 at work! Virtually anything you can do with a regular folder you can now do with your archive files. 3) OS/2 users really do want a file manager but EVERY major file manager made for OS/2 was blind to things OS/2's special objects and capabilities, such as Shadow objects, long file names on FAT disks, program objects, etc. Object Desktop provides the Object Navigator, the first true Workplace Shell file manager. It can do all of the above and more. Because it is integrated into the Workplace Shell it uses your existing associations and other extensions you may have added to your system. 4) Corporations and end users both have asked for OS/2 to be more keyboard friendly. The crash protection and multitasking power of OS/2 won a lot of converts from DOS but not everyone was crazy about having to use a GUI. Mobile users have long requested for OS/2 to make it easier to do things with the keyboard. Object Desktop adds the Keyboard LaunchPad. You can now assign a program or whole groups of programs or projects to a single keystroke. For example, a mobile user could start their entire set of I-net applications by associating their I-net applications t o a keystroke such as Ctrl-Alt-I. What's more, you are NOT limited to programs--folders and data files are also easily added. 5) OS/2 users have often requested a way to be able to better exploit OS/2's multitasking. Object Desktop provides Virtual desktops via the Control Center. Now, you can switch between your virtual desktops and operate much more efficiently. How often has a Windows program, for example, used up the entire screen making it tedious to start other processes? Now, you can just switch to another virtual desktop and have a clean screen. It even monitors all your desktops in real-time! 6) OS/2 users have complained that accessing their program was too tedious. The LaunchPad introduced in OS/2 Warp was a big step forward but it doesn't go far enough for many users. Object Desktop provides the Tab LaunchPad. Now, you can organize your programs into different categories separated by tabs. Moreover, a "Tasks" tab i s also on the Tab LaunchPad that allows you to minimize your programs to the Tab LaunchPad. No more desktop clutter. 6) OS/2 users and IT Managers have asked for easy ways to backup their environments, standardize on a particular desktop setup, or distribute their desktop and objects to others. Object Package (new in version 1.5) now allows you to do just that. Does your corporation want to standardize on a particular desktop? Object Package can do this. Do you want to distribute particular objects in which the settings are optimized? Object Pa ckage does this. Are you or your company planning to upgrade to a new version of OS/2? (such as OS/2 2.11 to Warp or OS/2 Warp to Merlin?) Object Package can package your desktop objects to a single file, when you unpackage it, not only are your objects r eturned to the correct settings but it will register classes your classes. It's no longer necessary to spend hours reinstalling your programs and resetting up your desktop. These are just a few of Object Desktop's features! Q: What affect will Merlin have on Object Desktop? A: Object Desktop 1.5 is used by IBM today in-house. Merlin and Object Desktop won't have much in common beyond both having a close button (which you won't need to use in Object Desktop with Merlin). The look and feel improvements in Merlin are different than what is provided by Object Desktop. Which means, to get the totally improved system, you'll want to get both Merlin and Object Desktop 1.5. Q: I heard that Object Desktop makes OS/2 look like Microsoft Windows 95? A: No. Windows 95 borrowed a lot from OS/2 in terms of its look. Windows 95 has added a lot of window dressing to Windows, but it certainly doesn't have a monopoly on making things look "slick." The bottom line: one of Object Desktop's features is to enhance OS/2's visual appeal by giving OS/2 a much more modern and "slick" look. An example of this is making OS/2's buttons and controls more intuitive. These feature enhancements should not be conf used with cloning any other operating system interface. Moreover, our updates to the "look" of OS/2 were mainly to make OS/2's existing controls more 3Dish. Q: How much benefit to my productivity does Object Desktop give me? A: Users on-line and directly to us have said that using OS/2 without Object Desktop is the same as having to use Windows 3.1's Program Manager after having used the Workplace Shell. Q: How does Object Desktop compare with other products? A: There is no single product available that matches Object Desktop feature per feature. Moreover, trying to get third party utilities, applications, and other programs together not only doesn't match Object Desktop's feature set completely, it is not nea rly as cost effective. Q: Does Object Desktop do anything to reduce "screen clutter"? A: Yes. Browsemode is a feature that almost every new OS/2 user says "Why didn't someone think of this before?" It solves a fundamental headache of the GUI that's been around since the first Macintosh. When you start opening folders, it doesn't take long until you suddenly have a ton of windows all over your screen! Browsemode changes that. Once activated, when you open a child folder, it updates the existing folder window and then places a handy "up" button on the title bar to allow you to go back. Q: Does Object Desktop have "Window-rollups"? A: Yes (in version 1.5). Q: What are some things Object Desktop does to improve OS/2's general behavior? A: It does quite a few things that you won't notice right away but you'll learn to appreciate quickly. Here are a few examples: 1) Ever open a folder and have objects scattered all over the place and have to use the scroll bar to find your objects? Object Desktop gives you the option to make all your objects default to being listed in sort ordered with a single click. 2) Ever want to change the default icons for your data files and folders? Object Desktop allows you to do this. Simply drag and drop a new icon for a folder and then press the new "set as default" button -- one action time, for all objects. 3) Ever wish that OS/2 implemented "full drag"? This is the ability of having the entire window move instead of just the outline which can make it easier to place your windows properly. Object Desktop does this. 4) Ever wanted to have all your folders open up in Details view by default instead of by icon view? Object Desktop lets you do this easily. Probably the single most powerful thing about Object Desktop is that it allows you to do things with OS/2 that neither IBM nor Stardock would have thought of. It truly unleashes the power of OS/2 for you. There is an Object Desktop screenshot contest on S tardock's WWW site. On it, you'll see that users have found ways of taking OS/2 and Object Desktop to the next level of power, ease of use, and flexibility. And doing so in ways no one had ever thought of (including the developers of Object Desktop) befor e. Q: Where will I be able to find Object Desktop? A: Most likely at your local store. You can already find most Stardock products at any place that sells OS/2 software. A list of places to buy our software is available on our WWW site, http://oeonline.com/~stardock. Q: Give me a "cool" example of Object Archives in action? A: There is an OS/2 arcade game called Havoc (on OS/2 Essentials). With Object Desktop, you can drag and drop a Zip object template to your desktop, drag and drop your Havoc folder onto the Zip object and now run Havoc directly from the ZIP. On another sy stem, a user could have a video file in a ZIP that they can play right from the ZIP file. This saves them about 2 megs of disk space. Q: What else is cool about Object Desktop? Give me a couple "neato" things that it does. A: For one thing, it hooks into OS/2 to replace the Alt+Tab functionality to work similarly to what is provided in Microsoft Windows 3.1. You can type Alt+Tab and a little window showing what you are about to switch to shows up. It also places them in rec ently accessed order! Object Desktop also replaces the window list with a new and improved task list that shows the icons of what you are running. It also has a button bar that makes it much easier to manipulate your tasks. In short, the window list finally becomes a REAL task manager. Another feature that rarely gets discussed is the Workplace Shell text editor. One of the most common features used in any operating system (whether DOS, Windows, OS/2, Unix, etc) is some sort of text editor. OS/2 comes with EPM and the System Editor. Obj ect Desktop's editor is integrated into the actual operating system, which means that it loads up almost instantly and uses virtually no memory. It is also considerably more powerful than the system editor and as about as flexible as EPM. Q: I heard that Object Desktop contains no executables! How is this possible? A: Object Desktop integrates directly into the operating system via SOM. Because of this, the objects created by Object Desktop can easily be duplicated and modified by customers. For example, many users create two or three control centers to put on the d esktop: one Control Center only has virtual desktops turned on, another Control Center only has resource monitoring on, and a third one just has the clock turned on. We aren't claiming this sort of thing can't be done by conventional programs, but with Wo rkplace Shell objects, it is just a natural thing to do. In essence, Object Desktop becomes part of OS/2. It is not a "utility" or "application" in a sense. It is meant as a third party upgrade to OS/2 and because of Stardock's close relationship with IBM , future versions of OS/2 will work seamlessly with Object Desktop as well. Not to mention that because Object Desktop uses SOM to work its magic, compatibility problems are extremely rare! Q: So who is the target audience for Object Desktop? A: All OS/2 users. Our goal is nothing short of migrating every OS/2 user to Object Desktop. Any person using OS/2 should have Object Desktop. This is why we have priced Object Desktop so low (compare Object Desktop's plethora of features to stand alone p roducts or other products on other platforms that have similar features and Object Desktop shows itself as a real bargain). Stardock has also created extremely (or as one IS manager put it -- unbelievably) low priced site licensing guides. Moreover, Stard ock has very low priced OEM pricing to encourage OEMs to pre-load Object Desktop on their machines. Admittedly, our marketing strategy is aimed at corporations who have been looking for the features found in Object Desktop for a long time. For this reason , we also have great site licensing available. Many large IT shops have already standardized on Object Desktop to manage their desktops and act as their defacto environment. Most OEMs that pre-load OS/2 pre-load Object Desktop with it. Conclusions: Whether you're an IS manager looking to increase your users productivity or reduce training costs, a PC manufacturer looking to give your systems a competitive edge, or an end user who wants to turbo-charge OS/2 to a new level. As Matt Hite, a reviewer at I/O Magazine put it, "For all intent and purposes, Object Desktop is a third party upgrade to OS/2. It's what OS/2 users have been asking for all these years!" Famous Recommendations: "I haven't been this excited about a product since OS/2 Warp itself! It's the first thing I put on all my systems!" -David Barnes "Object Desktop brings the OS/2 desktop up to its potential and, in doing so, brings it up to date. And it does it so well, I predict it will be an instant hit and best-seller for OS/2 for a long time. No one who sees it will want to do without it. Keep y our eye on this company--Stardock knows what OS/2 should be and it looks as though it is single-handedly transforming the operating system into that ideal." -Nicholas Petreley, InfoWorld "The developers at Stardock have answered the wishes of every OS/2 user by providing system-level tools and objects that are tightly integrated with the OS/2 Workplace Shell to combine the very best interface elements of major PC operating systems today-- OS/2, Apple Macintosh, and Windows 95--for the OS/2 desktopObject Desktop contains the best set of tools and utilities I've ever seen for the OS/2 desktop. As a user interface consultant and author, I use Object Desktop as an excellent example of user-cen tered design and object-oriented technology." - Dr. Theo Mandel, author of "The GUI-OOUI War: The Designer's Guide to Human-Computer Interfaces." You can find more out more about Object Desktop on Stardock's World Wide Web site: http://www.stardock.com Email:sales@stardock.com Stardock can be reached at 313-453-0328 or FAX 313-453-1480. ORDERS: 1-800-672-2338
 hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/info/faq/od15faq.zip
Object Desktop v. 1.5 (Update for Object Desktop v1.5 - Replacement OBJDEFLD.DLL, 9/5/1996, Stardock Systems Inc.) Readme/What's new
To update Object Desktop, you must first shut down your computer and boot to a command line prompt via ALT-F1. From the command prompt you must manually replace the OBJDEFLD.DLL in the ObjDesk directory. First make a copy of the OBJDEFLD.DLL. CD OBJDESK COPY OBJDEFLD.DLL OBJDEFLD.BAK Now manually copy the new dll over the old file. COPY C:\PATH\OBJDEFLD.DLL C:\OBJDESK After the file has been copied, verify that the new dll was indeed properly copied by doing a directory and checking the date and size of the file. OBJDEFLD.DLL 117127 5-07-96 12:44a Once you are satisfied that the update was complete type EXIT to restart your system. If you have any questions regarding this update please contact Stardock Systems Technical Support at 313-453-0328 or support@stardock.com
 hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/system/patches/extfld.zip
Object Desktop v. 2.0 (Object Desktop, fixkit #4a, 9/2/1996, Stardock Systems Inc.) Readme/What's new
FixKit 5 -------- Defects fixed with this release: Control Center: 1. Fixed minor memory leak. 2. Fixed problem where CD ROM drives were read repeatedly on startup. Task Manager: 1. Fixed excessive showing of the Window List on boot time and other window activations. FixKit 4 -------- Defects fixed with this release: General: 1. Window control DLL would cause failure in SETUP.EXE program for Hilgraeve KopyKat, or any other package that used InstallShield 16 bit installation utility. 2. Close button would not always appear on some applications depending on load order or closing an application while another is loading (OD-010). 3. Fixed problems with PM Applications with 8K stack, such as Back Again/2 Make Service Diskettes Utility (MAKESR.EXE) and OS/2 Warp Create Utility Disks (BOOTDISK.EXE) (OD-006,OD-008). 4. Fixed non-selectable areas in .INF files viewed in VIEWDOC.EXE (VIEW.EXE). 5. Improved boot time on some systems. 6. Fixed conflict with Close button on MDI child windows on Lotus 1-2-3 for OS/2 and Lotus Freelance Graphics for OS/2 (OD-007). 7. Fixed problem with OS/2 Tutorial application where window would jump to previous position when full window drag is enabled. Final move on button up must allow window adjustment (WM_ADJUSTWINDOWPOS). (OD-019) Control Center: 1. CPU meter would sometimes "stick" at 0% (it would never start monitoring system input). (OD-CC-007) 2. Context Menus that are invoked via conditional cascade menu (such as Open->Icon View) from an object browser folder fly-out menu will no longer "stick" to the desktop. (OD-CC-010) 3. Locked windows would not match partially by window title fragment as documented (OD-CC-014,OD-CC-016). 4. Top-level windows owner by a locked window would not be identified as a locked window. 5. Window can now be resized to be much narrower vertically. 6. CPU Meter now sleeps more often, resulting in less CPU impact when monitoring system load. (OD-CC-022) 7. Removed small (2-3+ seconds) delay on shutdown of window when CPU Meter was selected. 8. Object now saves section order and locked windows when invoked via Workplace Shell save methods. 9. Fly out menus will no longer obscure the object browser button the menu was invoked from when the Control Center is oriented at the left half of the screen. (OD-CC-023) 10. Arranging Control Center sections when only browse objects are present without text will now flow browse sections properly. (OD-CC-021) Tab LaunchPad: 1. Corrected inability to drop objects from Tab LaunchPad onto another object within tab. Problem introduced with object rearrange capability in FixKit #3. 2. Clicking on a task button corresponding to a fullscreen session would no switch to fullscreen session. 3. Hint positioning on buttons near top of the screen when in tabs on bottom or tabs on top mode will no longer result in hint appearing slightly off-screen. (OD-TLP-001). 4. When hint is active, you may now invoke a context menu on a button, or activate the button (clicking the button works as expected). (OD-TLP-008) 5. Clicking on a task button on the Task tab when the button is near the top or right edge of the screen will no longer result in the menu appearing off-screen. (OD-TLP-018) 6. Task button icons now reflect dynamic changes to task window icon; previously text was inspected but not icon. (OD-TLP-019) Task Manager: 1. Fixed problem with Task Manager showing up sporadically, and not showing up for some programs. Enhanced Folder: 1. Invoking a context menu via keyboard (usually set to Shift-F10) previously would only open the folder's context menu when folder enhancements were enabled. 2. Now supplies setup data to save query. 3. Icon replacements can now be 24bit without distorting the small 20x20 icon or 16x16 icon. 4. When shift key is held down and a browse folder is clicked on, then allow message to pass through (OD-013). Enhanced Data File. 1. Icon replacements can now be 24bit without distorting the small 20x20 icon or 16x16 icon. 2. Word wrap state is now saved (OD-EDF-003). 3. Font is now properly saved between sessions (OD-EDF-002) Object Navigator: 1. Creating a folder with Warp Connect will no longer cause the title of the folder to default to the title of the replacement peer class ("LAN Server Peer Directory"). (OD-ON-009) 2. Creating a folder will now display properly in the contents pane. (OD-ON-010) 3. An internal trap could occur if a non-disk object appeared in the OS/2 drives folder, resulting in the tree pane display showing blank or showing just the Object Navigator icon. Installation: 1. Fixed problem registering classes when '.' is absent from the LIBPATH (fixed on Warp only; 2.11 systems must add '.' to LIBPATH if not already present). (OD-038) FixKit 3 -------- Defects fixed with this release: General: 1. IBM Search Manager/2 product would not display contents of search folder results with Object Desktop installed. 2. Performance has been improved in icon cache lookup, resulting in better response times with HyperDrive feature of Enhanced Folder and Object Navigator, and for displaying icons in the Object Archives objects. 3. HyperDrive now uses proper icon for Workplace Shell data file subclass instances with a custom default class icon. 4. Dragging non Workplace Shell objects from some applications (such as WebExplorer) onto Object Desktop object's view windows could cause an internal but non-fatal trap. Affected objects are: Object Archive, Keyboard LaunchPad, Object Navigator (Fast Path), Control Center, and Tab LaunchPad. 5. OS/2 Warp Create Utility Disks program (BOOTDISK.EXE) would fail before formatting floppy when Object Desktop is installed. 6. Seamless Windows applications now display proper icon in the Tab LaunchPad Tasks tab, the Control Center, and the Task Manager Enhanced Window List and Alt+Tab Task Switcher. 7. Switching to a minimized folder from the Task Manager, the Tasks Tab of the Tab LaunchPad or from the Keyboard LaunchPad would not cause the minimized folder to be viewed. Task Manager: 8. Selecting multiple items with Ctrl+ mouse selection in Window List with Enhanced Task Manager turned on would previously not select items completely. 9. Window List would not always appear when invoked via Ctrl+Esc from PM application windows that did not have a Task List item set for the top-level window. 10. Performance improvement for displaying of task list. Object Archive: 11. Elements displayed in subcomponents (subfolders) of an Object Archive were not always selectable. 12. If multiple object archives were open with contained elements viewed and one archive was closed (of the same type), objects could remain cross-hatched in the remaining object archive views. 13. Window position was previously stored for each archive view but not properly restored at all times. 14. Deleting an object archive while a view of the archive was currently open would cause a condition where a background worker thread would never shut down. Keyboard LaunchPad: 15. The Keyboard LaunchPad window initialization code is now on a thread to keep the user interface from hanging while opening the definitions view. Object Navigator: 16. A trap would occur in the Object Navigator if non-disk objects were created/moved in the Drives object folder. 17. The Object Navigator is no longer a target object listed in the Workplace Shell Copy/Move/Create Shadow/Create Another dialogs. Instead, the folder currently displayed in the view is listed in the target dialogs. 18. A slight offset of the current folder displayed in the tree view of the Object Navigator has been corrected when system is running in 1024x768 resolution or greater. 19. Performance improvement displaying folder contents. Control Center: 20. The Control Center displays drives over 1 Gig now as a fraction of the size (eg. 3.5G). (OD-CC-006) 21. Optimized repaints of virtual desktop to minimize system cycles taken. When window activation is detected, a 1/2 second delay is used to keep from taking CPU away from seamless windows applications that startup and use multimedia on startup. 22. Network drives and other drive types can now be added as sections even when they are not available. 23. Changed Control Center default priority (used during installation) to match documentation (default=Normal). 24. Dropping multiple objects onto a browser object inside the Control Center when in accept drop mode would cause multiple drop events to occur. This caused multiple confirmation dialogs to appear for dropping objects onto the shredder, for example. 25. Dropping multiple objects onto a virtual desktop pane inside the Control Center would not open all objects, just the first one. 26. The Control Center is no longer a target object listed in the Workplace Shell Copy/Move/Create Shadow/Create Another dialogs. Tab LaunchPad: 27. The Tab LaunchPad icons may now be rearranged using drag/drop operations within the top-level tab as per documentation. 28. Tab LaunchPad would previously not respect task list filter set by Object Desktop Task Manager. 29. Tab LaunchPad could trap internally during bootup when a large number of objects were restarted by the shell, possibly causing a system hang. 30. At times during startup, the Tab LaunchPad would show icons displayed 1/2 off vertically. 31. The Tab LaunchPad is no longer a target object listed in the Workplace Shell Copy/Move/Create Shadow/Create Another dialogs. 32. Task buttons within the Tab LaunchPad now display context menus corresponding to which window controls are available (ie. Move,Size,Close,etc.) FixKit 2 -------- Defects fixed with this release: 1. Possible window deadlock could occur causing system instability during paint thread in Control Center with some seamless windows applications. 2. HyperCache thread priority boosted to eliminate possible boot problems. 3. IBM Tutorial window corruption occurred. 4. Conflict resolved with other Workplace Shell products that necessitated installing either/or products due to some features missing with Object Desktop. Examples: Deskman/2, Workplace Security. 5. Object Archives would show the wrong icon for contained objects when the temporary folder (set by "SET TMP=, SET TEMP=, or the <WP_NOWHERE> folder") for a system has an open view on the desktop. 6. When using marquee selection (drawing a box on the background to select objects) on an Enhanced Folder, drawing corruption would occur on the edges of "raised" or "sunken" view styles. 7. Installation utility (not included with FixKit) has been updated to fix selective Uninstall defect where all objects were disabled after subsequent reboot. 8. Level of code should set to v1.01 in Help->About. 9. Tab LaunchPad object title hints will no longer move (usability defect). FixKit 1 -------- Defects fixed with this release: 1. Seamless Windows dialogs no longer have title bar corruption when moved. 2. Setting default icon of a folder to point to a folder inside the OS/2 templates folder will no longer cause the desktop to appear as a "folder" window. 3. Control Center hangs with Windows seamless sessions have been resolved. 4. Control Center can now monitor remove and removeable drives. 5. Control Center will not "shift" all windows from one virtual desktop to another when switching desktops (was sporadic). 6. Contol Center would try to retrieve some windows that had a very small size (<= 10x10), when these are really "hidden" windows. FixKit 0 -------- Defects fixed with this release: 1. Stack overflow (SYS3171) in OBJDWCTL.DLL has been fixed.
 hobbes.nmsu.edu/download/pub/os2/system/patches/odfxkt4e.zip
Record updated last time on: 16/12/2021 - 19:54

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