Halfbakery: Vs The Real World
Closet Halfbaker explorer   (+5, -2)  [vote for, against]
An explorer window that display halfbakery website as an unnoticable toolbar for another program

I change the title base on the remark of PeterSealy.

A lot of us seem to come to this site while we are supposedly be doing something else, you know who you are. Being a solution person you all know and love, (know anyway), I think someone here should help these poor souls to better disguise themselves among their friends, co-workers, supervisor or spouse.

Design a pop-up window with no menu or titlebar that look so similar to another toolbars in another program that even when someone are standing behind you, they won't notice you are really doing something else.
-- bing, Mar 27 2002

Sort of half baked http://www.halfbake...m/idea/MS_20Branded
[mcscotland, Mar 27 2002, last modified Oct 17 2004]

Boss Button http://cartalk.cars.com/
Another way to solve the problem. Click on the "Boss" button at the bottom right of every page on this site. [davem, Mar 29 2002, last modified Oct 17 2004]

[admin] Idea name changed from ALL CAPS to Title Case.
-- st3f, Mar 27 2002


You could build a client that did this, bing. That way it would be exactly what you want and you wouldn't have to ask the bakesperson-in-charge here to mess with it.
-- bristolz, Mar 27 2002


I just click the little box top left corner to reveal my e-mails and say I'm replying to an enquiry (when my hubby says "you're not on HB again are you?"
-- arora, Mar 27 2002


Peter, are you saying we should march for our rights. with placards and banners. notripe, bring the fireworks, just the little ones dear - not the bloody great rockets you usually hump around with you. Right we meet in Hyde Park and head off to Downing Street via Half-Baker Street. should be a laugh.
-- po, Mar 27 2002


bristolz - It seems like it is a very easy job for you. Why do not you post a html file that include the client java script here? So everyone who want to use it can copy and paste it. I don't assume everyone here can wirte his/her own code.
-- bing, Mar 27 2002


Why should she? There's a DHTML contractor at my work who will do it for you (if you insist on DHTML that is). Get in touch and I'll send you his rates.
-- mcscotland, Mar 27 2002


You assume correctly, [bing], as I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to build one. That fact doesn't preclude me from being able to think up a possible solution though.
-- bristolz, Mar 27 2002


WIP
-- phoenix, Mar 28 2002


Javascript isn't what you'd want to use, bing-o. If you're writing a client, you will want a wholly separate program, not something that runs inside a browser. Others can probably enlighten more than I can, but I'd guess that you're going to want something written in C++ or Visual Basic.
-- waugsqueke, Mar 28 2002


Why not just run the Halfbakery in an i-frame of an HTML page held on your local machine? The top of the page could display graphics of the required buttons. You could write the page in about two minutes.
-- angel, Mar 28 2002


I always wonder what would happen if a halfbaker baked his or her own idea therefore creating a self-denying logic loop. What kind of the logical paradox will one create that might change existence as we know it.

On the other thought, we would know until we do it. So here is the java code I find using a code generator on the internet. I keep the head file to give credit to the original author.

<HEAD>

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> <!-- Idea by: Nic Wolfe (Nic@TimelapseProductions.com) --> <!-- Web URL: http://fineline.xs.mw -->

<!-- This script and many more are available free online at --> <!-- The JavaScript Source!! http://javascript.internet.com -->

<!-- Begin function popUp(URL) { day = new Date(); id = day.getTime(); eval("page" + id + " = window.open(URL, '" + id + "', 'toolbar=0,scrollbars=1,location=0,statusbar=0,menubar=0,resizable=1,width=800,height=20');"); } // End --> </script>

<BODY onLoad="javascript:popUp('http://www.halfbakery.com')">
-- bing, Mar 28 2002


Huh? All that does is load HB in a pop up window (a very short one, I might add). It seems to me that what you're after here is much simpler than what you describe. I thought you were talking about something like one of the chat programs, or Yahoo Companion, or some such, which exists solely to tell you when new ideas are posted. Apparently you just want a small HB window on screen.
-- waugsqueke, Mar 28 2002


Give me a break. You want yahoo companion type program, start ask Jutta to add XML to the web site. Paying me would also help.
-- bing, Mar 28 2002


You're the only one who appears to want this thing, [bing]. Pay yourself.
-- bristolz, Mar 28 2002


bing, how much have you paid jutta?
-- thumbwax, Mar 28 2002


bing-o lad, give yourself a break. I don't want anything. It's your damn idea, not mine.

I was merely opining on what I thought your idea was about, given my misunderstanding of your use of the word "toolbar," which apparently means "small browser window." How daft of me.
-- waugsqueke, Mar 28 2002


How about a window that looks IDENTICAL to the new message window of your email program. The "To" field would be the 1/2 bakery subject, the "Subject" line would be the tagline. The body would be the body. Your coworkers would just assume that you are writing an email. The toolbar would have 1/2 bakery functionality that is described in the little toolbar pop-up help when you float your mouse over the buttons.

Here's the kicker: make a hot-key combination that toggles between the 1/2 bakery item text and some generic looking email text: Dear Sir: I am truly sorry my cheque was returned to you NSF... Even better: the generic looking email text is hidden, and is revealed, character by character, as you type something else. It would appear as if you are actually typing the bogus generic letter, but you are actually blindly typing the text for your "Meat-sicle" idea. Occasionally toggle back and forth to check spelling, etc.
-- xrayTed, Mar 28 2002


bing, bing, bing, waugs is perfectly correct to point out that your Javascript (please note the term bing, your script is NOT java code) does nothing more radical than if you opened a browser window and typed in a URL. The difference is your's is done in script, and not manually.

What I think you want is a browser (for there is no other way to view the HB in its present format) that appears more like a work-related application (lets pick Word as an example). What you would have to do to get that is embed the browser (using the IWebBrowser2 ActiveX control perhaps, or rebuild the Word GUI in Swing, and run it as a Java app) and there you go. But its your job, not Jutta's (or bristolz).
-- mcscotland, Mar 28 2002


None of this matters, anyway. It's still not going to stop bypassers from asking you what's so funny.
-- beauxeault, Mar 28 2002


I like to apology to everyone here that I am not the code wiz kid who can whip out an ActiveX java plug-in with chat function overnight I seem to make everyone believed. So I am sorry for the disappointment I might have caused when you saw the laughable JavaScript which I did not even write it myself. I am really just another lazy, goofy person who just want other people to do the hard work so I can enjoy the benefits.

Oh! what fool I am! Thinking I might get recognition for trying to actually make something out of my ideas.

Oh! where are the suicide prevention center when you needed them?

Be warned, do not attempt to bake your own halfbaked ideas! For it is forsaken because the judgement cast upon you will be by your own creation.
-- bing, Mar 28 2002


Somewhere along the line here something went awry . . .
-- bristolz, Mar 28 2002


bristolz, I don't think it is even close to rye. more like toasted bing and left in the oven too long.
-- bobzaguy, Mar 29 2002


Just to show I am a nice guy not bitter. Here is a new version.

<HEAD>

<script>

// Amazing Frameless Popup Window - Version I // (C) 2000 www.CodeLifter.com // Free for all users, but leave in this header

// set the popup window width and height

var windowW= 800 // wide var windowH= 100 // high

// set the screen position where the popup should appear

var windowX = 0 // DEFAULT from left var windowY = 0 // DEFAULT from top

// set the url of the page to show in the popup

var urlPop = "http://www.halfbakery.com"

// set the title of the page

var title = "This Is A Frameless Popup Window"

// set this to true if the popup should close // upon leaving the launching page; else, false

var autoclose = true

// ============================ // do not edit below this line // ============================ s = "width="+windowW+",height="+windowH; var beIE = document.all?true:false

function openFrameless(e){

if (e != '') { windowX = e.screenX; windowY = e.screenY; } if (beIE){ NFW = window.open("","popFrameless","fullscreen,"+s) NFW.blur() window.focus() NFW.resizeTo(windowW,windowH) NFW.moveTo(windowX,windowY) var frameString=""+ "<html>"+ "<head>"+ "<title>"+title+"</title>"+ "</head>"+ "<frameset rows='*,0' framespacing=0 border=0 frameborder=0>"+ "<frame name='top' src='"+urlPop+"' scrolling=auto>"+ "<frame name='bottom' src='about:blank' scrolling='no'>"+ "</frameset>"+ "</html>" NFW.document.open(); NFW.document.write(frameString) NFW.document.close() } else { NFW=window.open(urlPop,"popFrameless","scrollbars,"+s) NFW.blur() window.focus() NFW.resizeTo(windowW,windowH) NFW.moveTo(windowX,windowY) } NFW.focus() if (autoclose){ window.onunload = function(){NFW.close()} } }

</script>

</head>

<body> Click on the pictures to place the frameless window, You can minimize this window afterwards. <a href="#" onMouseDOWN="if (window.event || document.layers) openFrameless (event);

openFrameless('');"><img src="picture.gif" width="800" height="100"></a> <p> Click here to close both windows <form> <input type=button value="Close Window" onclick="parent.window.close()"> </form>

</body>

A frameless window will pop up where you click on the pictures. If you know how to change system background color in explorer, you can seamless blend in the popup window with any other programs display in the background. That way when you click the program in the background, it will hide the pop-up immediately.

Click on the "close window" button in the original window to close both them or "Alt+F4".
-- bing, Apr 02 2002


It's still just a javascript popup window.

Why don't you do this? Create your own stylesheet, forcing the page colo(u)rs to match your desktop color scheme. Force your browser to use it, and then everything, not just the HB, will hide itself.
-- waugsqueke, Apr 02 2002


Alt-Tab and a shitload of open windows works for me.

Downloading Gator can help you with the latter.
-- rapid transit, May 26 2003



random, halfbakery