D&Do v. 1.0 Prev Next Top
- It has an uncluttered minimalist user interface:
- A title bar
- A license label
- A prominent integrated drop target and button (the target area)
- A status line
- A popup menu (activated when you right click the target area).
- An about dialog (activated through the "About" popup menu item)
- A help display frame (activated through the "Help" popup menu item)
- An open file dialog (activated through the "Load Metascript" popup menu item)
- It accepts arguments from:
- Dropped desktop objects
- The system clipboard
- A text file known as a metascript file containing many argument list templates that can be used by the program. This file also defines the D&Do behavior
- An optional one-character key input to select one of the argument list templates (a variant)
There can be up to eleven (11) specified variants
- The normal output of the program may be saved directly into the clipboard
Note: The normal output is also known as the system output or print output.
- It accepts none, one, many or tagged drops (a desktop drop object that is associated with a metascript tag)
Note: The tagged drops feature is not available in the freeware version (the non-registered version)
- It can accept the following type of drops: Text, File and Directory
- You can specify which type of drop D&Do will accept (with a specific tag or for the untagged ones). For example, if a directory drop is specified to be accepted, D&Do will refuse any text or file drop
- The D&Do activity starts either from a click on the target area, from a drop that is associated with the last tag, or from any drop
- It alerts you visually if there is an error in a non-disruptive way (no popup window; with just a yellow flash)
- You can specify that the program executes for each drop, or once for the collection of drops
- It can display the program error code either numerically or with an associated meaningful message
- It provides a timeout service
- It displays in English or in French
- The D&Do can be set to one of the eight (8) basic behaviors.
Note: Three of them are not fully functional in the freeware version of D&Do
- The D&Do package is provided with example programs that may be used as templates for your own programs, in Python. VBA, JScript and Java
- It is compatible with almost all types of program languages
- It is fully documented (In English and French)
- Its status line displays the list of drops and the list of report messages (right-click swap-able)
- A local URL to a help file is automatically associated with each metascript file
- Its target area can be enlarged or reduced at will
- It can stay on top of the desktop screen area (through the use of an external utility, see Note below)
Note: The Java version does not provide a Stay on Top feature natively. However, you can use a freeware that enables any desktop form (including D&Do) to stay on top. One such freeware is PowerMenu and is authored by Thong Nguyen; the Web page is at: http://www.veridicus.com/tummy/programming/powermenu/. Another freeware is WinOnTop and is authored by Detlev Schaefer; the Web page is at http://www.freewarehits.de. The latter one is included with the D&Do package.
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Copyright (c) 2003 Marcel St-Amant