Ace - Jump Lists
Updates to Ace - Jump Lists and Static Copy
04/20/2024
I added window relocation on startup if app window is detected off screen.
A common problem amongst Windows' apps, if an app window is on a secondary monitor and that monitor is disconnected. Subsequent launches of the app may result in app window showing up off screen.
To manually move an app window that is stuck off screen, hover above the taskbar app preview, then right-click the preview, choose move, tap the arrow key (it locks the window to the mouse cursor), then move the mouse to within view.
A common problem amongst Windows' apps, if an app window is on a secondary monitor and that monitor is disconnected. Subsequent launches of the app may result in app window showing up off screen.
To manually move an app window that is stuck off screen, hover above the taskbar app preview, then right-click the preview, choose move, tap the arrow key (it locks the window to the mouse cursor), then move the mouse to within view.
How To Create Custom Taskbar Menus Using Ace - Jump Lists for Windows
11/14/2023
I finished development for Ace - Jump Lists for Windows.
Ace - Jump Lists gives users the power to create awesome easily accessible and FAST Jump Lists! Everyone agrees, Jump Lists is the fastest way to access content on Windows systems, because the Taskbar is always there. Typical Taskbar Jump Lists are dependent on recent files and folders that serve the app ONLY. Ace - Jump Lists changes that by allowing for customizable Taskbar Jump Lists! Users can now place whatever Files, Folders, or even website URLs they want in the Taskbar Jump Lists. This changes everything!
Click the '+' button to add a new Jump Item. Jump Items can be a Group, File/Folder, or a URL. If adding a Group, click Group, enter in a Group Name, then click Add button. If adding a File/Folder, click File/Folder. If you have already created a Group, you can select a 'Parent' (Group). This will nest your new File/Folder under that Group. If you've selected a Parent and change your mind, click on 'Clear Parent' button to clear the parent combobox. To browse to a File/Folder, select either 'Add Files' or 'Add Folder', then click 'Add' button. This will launch the Windows Explorer chooser. Choose whatever items needed. For Files, you can select multiple. For Folders, you can select a single Folder. When complete, click 'Open' for Files or 'Select Folder' for Folder. New items are added to the main view list. If you had selected a Parent, new items will be nested under the appropriate Parent (Group).
Ace - Jump Lists supports drag/drop for Files and Folders from Windows Explorer. Locate desired Files/Folders, then drag to Ace - Jump Lists. Drop either over the toolbar area, or drop on top of a Group. Dropping over toolbar area will place the content at the root level of the list. Dropping over a Group will nest the content under that Group.
Ace's primary function is the Taskbar Jump List. Any content built out (Groups, Files/Folders, URLs) will be ported automatically over to the Taskbar and appear under Ace - Jump Lists' right-click context menu, referred to as 'Jump Lists'. Access the Jump List by right-clicking the Ace - Jump List app icon. There, all items mirroring the Ace main UI list will be present. You can click on whatever item you want to 'launch' the content.
In Ace's main view list, double-click a File/Folder/URL 'name' to launch the content. From the Taskbar menu right-click content, click any item to launch the content.
From the main view list, right-click any item and choose 'Edit' menu item. This will launch the item's appropriate type editing view. For Groups, there will be the 'name' field. Type in an appropriate name and click 'Edit' button. If you want to revert to original value, use CTRL-Z shortcuT. For editing File/Folder parents', the Editing view will show a list of available Groups. Select a Group or click the 'Clear Parent' to not nest item in a Group. URLs can be edited in the same manner, enter in a label and URL. Be sure to enter in valid website URLs.
Click the Delete Button (trash can icon) to remove a Jump Item. To bypass the Delete confirmation prompt - hold down the ‘alt’ key and click Delete Button. Delete is also available from each Jump Items' right-click menu. Hold ‘alt’ key while clicking that Delete menu will also bypass the Delete Confirmation prompt.
*ADVANCED STEPS* - Built into Windows is a hard-coded maximum Jump List value. By default this value is around 15 items. That means that if you create more than 15 Jump Items in Ace - Jump Lists, some of the items may not appear in the Ace jump list menu. To modify the Windows maximum value for Jump Lists. Click Start menu, type in 'run', then launch the Run app. In the 'Open' field, type in 'regedit'. This will launch the Windows Registry editor. Using the left navigation, drill down into 'Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced'. After clicking on 'Advanced' in left navigation, the right main view will list out a lot of items. Look for an item called 'JumpListItems_Maximum'. Once found, double-click it. Change the 'Base' option to 'decimal', then enter in a desired Jump List maximum number in the 'Value data' field. Click 'OK' and close. Changes should take effect immediately. If not, restart computer. If the 'JumpListItems_Maximum' parameter isn't in the main view list', right-click in the available white-space and choose 'New', 'DWORD (32-bit) Value'. Name the new item 'JumpListItems_Maximum'. Double-click the new item, set the 'Base' to 'Decimal', then enter in a number into 'Value data'. Instructions on how to do these steps can be found online as well.
Ace - Jump Lists gives users the power to create awesome easily accessible and FAST Jump Lists! Everyone agrees, Jump Lists is the fastest way to access content on Windows systems, because the Taskbar is always there. Typical Taskbar Jump Lists are dependent on recent files and folders that serve the app ONLY. Ace - Jump Lists changes that by allowing for customizable Taskbar Jump Lists! Users can now place whatever Files, Folders, or even website URLs they want in the Taskbar Jump Lists. This changes everything!
Click the '+' button to add a new Jump Item. Jump Items can be a Group, File/Folder, or a URL. If adding a Group, click Group, enter in a Group Name, then click Add button. If adding a File/Folder, click File/Folder. If you have already created a Group, you can select a 'Parent' (Group). This will nest your new File/Folder under that Group. If you've selected a Parent and change your mind, click on 'Clear Parent' button to clear the parent combobox. To browse to a File/Folder, select either 'Add Files' or 'Add Folder', then click 'Add' button. This will launch the Windows Explorer chooser. Choose whatever items needed. For Files, you can select multiple. For Folders, you can select a single Folder. When complete, click 'Open' for Files or 'Select Folder' for Folder. New items are added to the main view list. If you had selected a Parent, new items will be nested under the appropriate Parent (Group).
Ace - Jump Lists supports drag/drop for Files and Folders from Windows Explorer. Locate desired Files/Folders, then drag to Ace - Jump Lists. Drop either over the toolbar area, or drop on top of a Group. Dropping over toolbar area will place the content at the root level of the list. Dropping over a Group will nest the content under that Group.
Ace's primary function is the Taskbar Jump List. Any content built out (Groups, Files/Folders, URLs) will be ported automatically over to the Taskbar and appear under Ace - Jump Lists' right-click context menu, referred to as 'Jump Lists'. Access the Jump List by right-clicking the Ace - Jump List app icon. There, all items mirroring the Ace main UI list will be present. You can click on whatever item you want to 'launch' the content.
In Ace's main view list, double-click a File/Folder/URL 'name' to launch the content. From the Taskbar menu right-click content, click any item to launch the content.
From the main view list, right-click any item and choose 'Edit' menu item. This will launch the item's appropriate type editing view. For Groups, there will be the 'name' field. Type in an appropriate name and click 'Edit' button. If you want to revert to original value, use CTRL-Z shortcuT. For editing File/Folder parents', the Editing view will show a list of available Groups. Select a Group or click the 'Clear Parent' to not nest item in a Group. URLs can be edited in the same manner, enter in a label and URL. Be sure to enter in valid website URLs.
Click the Delete Button (trash can icon) to remove a Jump Item. To bypass the Delete confirmation prompt - hold down the ‘alt’ key and click Delete Button. Delete is also available from each Jump Items' right-click menu. Hold ‘alt’ key while clicking that Delete menu will also bypass the Delete Confirmation prompt.
*ADVANCED STEPS* - Built into Windows is a hard-coded maximum Jump List value. By default this value is around 15 items. That means that if you create more than 15 Jump Items in Ace - Jump Lists, some of the items may not appear in the Ace jump list menu. To modify the Windows maximum value for Jump Lists. Click Start menu, type in 'run', then launch the Run app. In the 'Open' field, type in 'regedit'. This will launch the Windows Registry editor. Using the left navigation, drill down into 'Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced'. After clicking on 'Advanced' in left navigation, the right main view will list out a lot of items. Look for an item called 'JumpListItems_Maximum'. Once found, double-click it. Change the 'Base' option to 'decimal', then enter in a desired Jump List maximum number in the 'Value data' field. Click 'OK' and close. Changes should take effect immediately. If not, restart computer. If the 'JumpListItems_Maximum' parameter isn't in the main view list', right-click in the available white-space and choose 'New', 'DWORD (32-bit) Value'. Name the new item 'JumpListItems_Maximum'. Double-click the new item, set the 'Base' to 'Decimal', then enter in a number into 'Value data'. Instructions on how to do these steps can be found online as well.
Ace - Jump Lists for Windows in Development
10/28/2023
I started working on a Windows version of Ace - Jump Lists. It will fashion very similar to its macOS version.
Features:
The app will likely take several more weeks to finish development on. There are some specific Jump Item operations built-in to Windows that I am testing further.
Example screenshot:
macOS version for comparison:
Features:
- Main app window
- List of Jump Items.
- Ability to add and delete Jump Items.
- Ability to add Files, Folders, and URLs. No Group support like in the macOS version.
- Ability to right-click Taskbar and launch Files, Folders, and URLs.
The app will likely take several more weeks to finish development on. There are some specific Jump Item operations built-in to Windows that I am testing further.
Example screenshot:
macOS version for comparison:
Create Custom Dock Menus Using Ace - Jump Lists for macOS
10/28/2023
Ace - Jump Lists gives users the power to create awesome easily accessible and FAST Dock Menus! Everyone agrees, the Dock Menu is the fastest way to access content on macOS systems, because the Dock is always there, but Dock Menus are dependent on recent files and folders that serve the app ONLY. Ace - Jump Lists changes that by allowing for customizable Dock Menus! Users can now place whatever Files, Folders, or even website URLs they want in the Dock Menu. This changes everything!
To utilize Ace - Jump Lists’ Dock Menu features, the Ace - Jump Lists app MUST be running. It CAN be minimized or hidden though, so it appears out of sight.
Click the '+' button to add a new Jump Item. Jump Items can be a Group, File/Folder, or a URL. If adding a Group, click Group, enter in a Group Name, then click Add button. If adding a File/Folder, click File/Folder, if you have already created a Group, you can select a 'Parent' (Group). This will nest your new File/Folder under that Group. If you've selected a Group and change your mind, click on Group or URL to clear the UI selections, then you can click File/Folder again and the Parent field should be cleared. To browser to a File/Folder, click 'Add' button. This will launch the macOS Finder File/Folder picker. Choose whatever items needed. You can also select multiple Files/Folders. Click 'Open' when complete. New items are added to the main view list.
Ace - Jump Lists supports drag/drop for Files and Folders from macOS Finder. Locate desired File/Folder, then drag to Ace - Jump Lists. Drop either over the blank UI canvas, or existing Files/Folders, or drop on top of a Group. Dropping over canvas or existing Files/Folders will place the content at the root level of the list. Dropping over a Group will nest the content under the Group.
Ace's primary mechanism to usefulness is the Dock menu. Any content built out (Groups, Files/Folders, URLs) will be ported automatically over to the Dock menu. Access the Dock menu by right-clicking the Ace app icon. There, all items mirroring the Ace main UI list will be present. You can click on whatever item you want to 'launch' the content.
In Ace's main view list, double-click a File/Folder/URL 'name' to launch the content. Clicking on the icon or path will NOT launch the content. From the Dock menu right-click app icon, click any item to launch the content. For Groups, hovering over the menu item will expand its list of children (if it has any).
From the main view list, right-click any item and choose 'Edit' menu item. This will launch the item's appropriate type editing view. For Groups, there will be the 'name' field. Type in appropriate name and click 'Done' button. If you want to revert to original value, use 'Edit / Undo Typing' (or CMD-Z shortcut). For editing File/Folder parents', the Editing view will show a list of available Groups. Select a Group or click the 'Clear Parent' to not nest item in a Group. URLs can be edited in the same manner, enter in a label and URL. URLs are NOT verified, so be sure to enter in valid website URLs.
Click the Delete Button (trash can icon) to remove a Jump Item. To bypass the Delete confirmation prompt - hold down the 'option' key and click Delete Button. Delete is also available from each Jump Items' right-click menu. Hold 'option' key while clicking that Delete menu will also bypass the Delete Confirmation prompt.
Ace - Jump Lists for macOS
10/06/2023
I am working on a dock menu builder app for macOS called Ace - Jump Lists. Ace allows users to build-out their own custom dock menu using the Ace UI. Files, folders, and URLs can be inserted into Ace, their names are then ported over to the dock menu. Additionally users can insert a "Group" element and nest files, folders, and URLs in them.
