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Got some news? Wanna see it in LSWeekly? Well, shoot me a mail at
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it in the letter.

Got a complaint? Got a compliment?  Got an idea? I'm open to all rants
and raves.  Send me a mail at demigod@meganet.net, any subject,
and tell me what you think.  I will personally reply to all e-mails
sent.

  LSWEEKLY LiteStep Related News 15.04.00 - 21.04.00
 ----------------------------------------------------

	I'm getting some strange vibes from the new development team.  It seems as
if they are abandoning Win9x.  As far as I know, not one of the current coders is even
using or testing the new builds in 9x.  Now, seeing as probably 2/3 of the LiteStep
community run a 9x Windows, this is a disturbing trend.  I can understand the want
to make features for the newer OS's but you have to remember to keep backward
compatibility with at least the current popular OS's.  Along this thread of thought
I'd like to bring up the point of older mods no longer working correctly.  Why does
updating and upgrading the core have to mean that support for older mods is gone?
How hard would it be to leave support for older mods.  From my understanding, not too
hard.  I'm getting an "elitist" feeling from these new builds and if this trend
continues, I see the user base dropping off a lot in the future of LiteStep.

- demigod

 ....................................................
                 -= LiteStep Specific =-
 ....................................................

 ---------------------------
      TOP NEWS STORIES
 ---------------------------

- LSWeekly Gets A ListServ (10:02am 20.04)

	Yup, finally I am no longer doing LSWeekly manually.  I would like to give
	a big thanks to Bryan who was kind enough to set up a bot for me.  Thanx a lot
	Bryan!!  You have helped to insure the continuation of LSWeekly!

	(source: bryan via private e-mail)

                           +---------------+

- yogib3ar Interviews NeXTer And c0mrade (9:58am 20.04)

	Over at chunkymunky, there are two new interviews with two of the more
	well known individuals in the LS community.  Makes for some interesting
	reading.  Be on the look out for more interviews from yogi.

	url - http://www.chunkymunky.com/features
	(source: yogib3ar via irc)

                           +---------------+

- LS Mailing List Has A Full Searchable Archive (9:59am 24.04)

	Bryan has moved the ls mailing list to a new server that now includes
	a full searchable archive.  It updates the archive daily and even gives
	you the hit count on your search.  Shoot on over there and type in your
	name and see how many times its mentioned (= (I only have a wimpy 128 hits)

	url -  http://wuzzle.org/list/litestep.html
	(source: LS Mailing List ~ Update)

 ---------------------------
          MODULES
 ---------------------------

- Lsbox .95 ~ Black Hawk (12:39pm 17.04)

	"From what I can tell, lsbox creates a menu from a .rc config file that can
	be used to perform different commands, etc. As I understand it, the idea is
	to replace shortcuts as a menu"

	url - http://www.blkhawk.de/
	e-mail - blkhawk@blkhawk.de
	(source:  http://floach.pimpin.net)

                           +---------------+

- Rainlendar .2 ~ Rainy (10:29am 18.04)

	"Rainlendar is a very customizable calendar that resides on your desktop and
	shows the days of the current month. The application is a Litestep plugin, but
	it can be used without the Litestep as well. You can use it even with the
	normal Explorer-shell if you like."

	New in this version:

	- Removed the Reload-menuitem.
	- RefreshDelay moved to the ini-file. There is no GUI for setting it, so
	  you'll have to edit the ini-file by hand.
	- Month & weekday names are now in the ini-file for localization purposes.
	- Changed the way alpha-transparency is calculated.
	- Magic Pink works now for the background too.
	- Auto-refreshes when the day changes.

	url - http://gamma.nic.fi/~rainy/
	e-mail - rainy@iki.fi
	(source: http://gamma.nic.fi/~rainy/)

                           +---------------+

- winctrl 1.3 ~ mirul (10:36am 18.04)

	"Winctrl.dll controls various aspects of a window using !bang commands (such
	as windowshade (roll-up), setting a maximum maximize size, etc)."

	New in this version:

	26/10/99 version 1.2
		- Added !WinAlwaysOnTop
			o Outlook refuses to comply.
		- Changed method of tracking shaded windows.
			o used API SetProp, GetProp & RemoveProp for storage/retrieval
			  of window height. Removed localWinlist. Shaded windows is
			  determined by GetProp != NULL.
			o WinUnshadeAll broken.
		- Changed !WinDeltaY to work on shaded windows.
		- Changed !WinSendToBottom so that after sending, the top app window
		 (if any) on the current desktop is activated.
		- Changed !WinShade so that when no app is active, nothing happens.

	18/4/00 version 1.3
		- Fixed for the year 2000 versions of ls.

	url - http://floach.pimpin.net
	e-mail - mirul_@hotmail.com
	(source: http://floach.pimpin.net)

                           +---------------+

- grdTray 2.1 b2 ~ gustav (12:46pm 19.04)

	"grdTray is a system tray replacement module for LiteStep which provides
	greater control over appearance, placement and icon layout."

	New in this version:

	- yet another feature has been imported from systray, AutoSizing is now
	  included!!!  Just set grdTrayAutoSize in step.rc, and you're done
	- removed a completely useless function, that I left inside the source by
	  mistake     

	url - http://home.swipnet.se/grd/ls/
	e-mail - grd@swipnet.se
	(source: LS Mailing List ~ grdTray, marches one step more)

 ---------------------------
           THEMES
 ---------------------------

- pure ~ jamesh (12:11pm 20.04)

	"The idea is that it's ultra-functional - the desktop uses deskfolders &
	shortcuts to let you browse your hard disk, start menu, net favorites, etc..
	without opening an explorer box. This replaces the popup, which I've missed
	out as i think it works out slower to use than the system I've put in..."
	
	"The systray goes over the bit of screen which is usually wasted by blank bits
	of titlebar, so you can have it visible but still use 100% of your screen
	area.
	
	"The vwm autohides at the right hand side.
	
	"There's also a hotkey that pops up an lsxcommand box by your cursor, which is
	handy.
	
	"I'm working on a different wallpaper for people who don't like bright
	white :)"
	
	url - http://www.litestep.net
	ss - http://www.litestep.net/themes/ss/pure8253.jpg
	e-mail - hampster23@hotmail.com
	(source: http://www.litestep.net)

                           +---------------+

- micromalism v1.1 (sQuirrel) ~ starfire (11:07am 21.04)

	"A clean theme for power users wishing maximum desktop space and effective
	resource usage.

	"Requires build 17-04-2000 or newer.
	
	"Features:
	* No shortcuts makes for clean environment and less resource usage.
	* Minimized programs are handled entirely through popup or alt-tab. Tasks.dll
	  is used to hide ugly desktop bars.
	* VWM is hotkey-controlled and can be shown for ease of use.
	* VWM and tray are hidden but available through both hotkeys and keymodified
	  mouseclicks.
	* Footprint is currently <650 Kb unzipped. Ideal for small-HD systems.
	* Useable with any res (only requirement is 24bpp). Good for laptops and older
	  computers.
	  
	"Resource usage could be cut even more, but I've used some perhaps unnecessary
	 modules to make the theme more graphically appealing...
	 
	"[UPDATE 21-04-2000]: Updated for build 17-04-2000. Graphics remade. Popups
	 merged and more... read the readme."

	url - http://www.litestep.net
	ss - http://www.litestep.net/themes/ss/micromalism.jpg
	e-mail - starfire@algonet.se
	(source: http://www.litestep.net)

 ---------------------------
          WEB SITES
 ---------------------------

- LiteStep.com Down (10:13am 24.04)

	The box that litestep.com, darkstep.com, darkstep.net, and other DarkStep
	sites ran on is toasted.  The hdd, mobo, and probably some other parts
	have been wiped out.  I'm not entirely sure when these sites will be back
	up and running, but keep and eye out in this section and I will try to
	keep you up to date as much as possible.
	
	(source: Fahim via private e-mail)

 ---------------------------
      GLOSSARY OF TERMS
 ---------------------------

- Module
	A module is a small program that is called within a shell.  The file is
	usually followed by .dll.(some times by .app)  A few examples of modules
	would be tasks.dll, popup.dll, and desktop.dll.

....................................

 ----
 Tips
 ----

- Newbie Tip

	Does LiteStep (or just about any other shell) crash for no reason.  Don't know
	exactly what's causing it?  Try commenting out each module you are loading
	one at a time and recycle.  This is the easiest way to figure out what is 
	crashing your shell.

- Advanced Tip

	LiteStep doesn't have a GUI config editor, but you can make one.  Using
	Shortcuts, a script.dll, and some nifty mods you can basically have
	all aspects of your shell configurable via a shortcut driven GUI config.
	Not only does this look nice, but it takes out a lot of the "How do I do x,
	y, z." mails from people using your theme.

 ....................................................
                 -= Beyond LiteStep =-
 ....................................................

 -------------------------
 Tweaking Beyond the Shell
 -------------------------

- Hacking the Windows Widgets

  This hack will tell you how to change the close, maximize/restore, minimize buttons
  on windows.  For this hack I used Softy which you can get at:
  
  http://home.iclweb.com/icl1/d.w.emmett 
  
  *MAKE A BACK UP OF YOUR ORIGINAL MARLETT.TTF FILE BEFORE CHANGING THE WIDGETS.*

	Step 1 - Goto your \windows\fonts dir and copy Marlett.ttf to a temp folder.
	Step 2 - Start Softy and goto Font Type, TrueType.
	Step 3 - In the TTF window goto File, Open, and browse to the temp dir where
	         you made the copy of Marlett.ttf.
	Step 4 - The third, forth, fifth, and thirtieth icon are the main four icons
	         that you want to change.
	Step 5 - After editing the icons to what you would like them to look like,
	         goto File, Save.
	Step 6 - Click on Yes on the popup box to save the current glyph.
	Step 7 - Close Softy and reboot into the ms-dos shell.
	Step 8 - Go to the directory where you have the edited Marlett.ttf.
	Step 9 - Type Copy Marlett.ttf c:\windows\fonts\Marlett.ttf (where c is your
	         windows drive letter)
	Step 10 - Type y when prompted to overwrite the current Marlett.ttf .
	Step 11 - Type win to re-enter windows.

 -------------------------
        Interesting
 -------------------------

** NEW SECTION **  I'll be adding in things here that I have found during the week
that I have found to be interesting.  Maybe a new OS or a shell or something.

- Seal 

	Seal is a gui interface for dos.  It's written in c++ using the freeware
	djgpp compiler and is open source licensed under the gpl.  Although it is
	in the beginning stages of being created, it looks as if it could become
	a nice replacement for win3.1 for people who still have old dos boxs that they
	use, like me.
	
	url - http://www.home.sk/public/seal/
	e-mail - stenclpmd@ba.telecom.sk
	(source: http://www.home.sk/public/seal/)

....................................

 -------------
 Latest Builds
 -------------

- Stable - b24.6 build 041700

- Daily - b24.6 build 041600
	Modified [LSAPI, Desktop2 / NeXTer / 04-17-00]
		o LSAPI:
		o Merged new code for merging images in LoadLSImage(). Thank's to
		  Gustav Munkby (grd) for the new code.
		o Removed some old junk.
		o Added the struct Message for passing messages from the WndProc to
		  the actual message handlers.
		o Desktop2:
		o Began a slight revision, to make this piece of code adhere to a
		  "standard style" that can be used in the future.

	Modified [Desktop2 / NeXTer / 04-17-00]
		o The code is now almost crystal clear, if we can apply this structure
		  to the other modules, much will have been acheived.

	Fixed [LSAPI / NeXTer / 04-17-00]
		o ParseBangCommand() didn't parse the information correctly if NULL
		  was being passed as the argument for the bang command.
		o Also fixed a memory leak in the same function, for good measure.

 ....................................

 -------------
 Mailing Lists
 -------------

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