running tasks and system tray

[Active Colors]

fonpaolo, hey, I'm also into this idea. Can you say what you are actually doing? Additional tool for skin which can retrieve all necessary data?
In my opinion there is only one way to make exact taskbar functionality.
When you get list of all running tasks there are system processes that are not showing icons on the taskbar, so it would be useless if they will be visible on your "taskbar". It is very possible in Windows to determine whether process has window (and number of windows of specific process) or not. Then one writes a tool which can attach itself to every process and stalk system on opening processes (like antivirus programs do or different task managers) and read specific value related to windows visibility. Then filter list of processes based on the retrieved data so tool could do next steps basing on filtered list (preventing it to analyze other data from processes which do not have visible windows). Next steps are: get process icon and get window title. Then tool creates sections in ini file based on all that retrieved data: create sections for each icon, make action "when icon clicked then show process window", place windows titles near icons or make titles show as tooltips. Then this tool still running with its attached process to all other processes to check if the process is closed or not and delete processes sections if the process is closed.

Those actions are possible in theory so in practice it is also possible to make tool like this.

[jsmorley]

But I'm still searching a better way to react only if it's and .exe and have something like "-1" if it's something else.

Don't really follow. Process will only find .exe processes running. Nothing to do with .pdf and such.

[fonpaolo]

Don't really follow. Process will only find .exe processes running. Nothing to do with .pdf and such.

Let me describe what I'm trying to obtain:
The launchers I made can launch programs, files or folders, since it's already complicated for average users as is, I use the link variable to obtain the name of the program to be monitored, but if it's a link to a file I need to skip it because it isn't really a program and I already have problems to find a good regular expression to extract what I need, I don't know how and if it's possible to do it with a link to a file, I was thinking to read the extensions with something like "\w+.pdf":"acroread32.exe" and so on, but maybe it's a little too much work.

[jsmorley]

I don't know, I'm a little lost. I would think you could use IfMatch to look for .exe at the end of the variable and take different actions based on whether that matches or not.

In any case, I will let you guys dig into this. Dealing with the system tray is not something Rainmeter is really good at, and not something I would want to put the time into.

[fonpaolo]

I don't know, I'm a little lost. I would think you could use IfMatch to look for .exe at the end of the variable and take different actions based on whether that matches or not.

I was hoping to use a regular expression in this way: if it's .exe, extract the name, if not, -1, but I found nothing on manuals about this, I'm starting to think it's impossible.

In any case, I will let you guys dig into this. Dealing with the system tray is not something Rainmeter is really good at, and not something I would want to put the time into.

...and something could melt a brain just thinking about it.

[fonpaolo]

fonpaolo, hey, I'm also into this idea. Can you say what you are actually doing? Additional tool for skin which can retrieve all necessary data?
...

What is stopping me is to use several third party plugins and programs to obtain something similar but limited.
Until now I can't think on a way to duplicate most of the "simplest" functions of the Taskbar without a lot of code and probably using system resources to process all the code only to show and hide an icon and maybe something more...
There are programs I've used with my old XP to "mimic" some Vista or Seven new functions, but I don't think it could really be doable if you already have all the options natively.

[Active Colors]

I was hoping to use a regular expression in this way: if it's .exe, extract the name, if not, -1, but I found nothing on manuals about this, I'm starting to think it's impossible.

I think it is possible, but would require you to write a tool (AutoIt language should fit). E.g. here guy has written tool in AutoIt which reads service windows with class RainmeterMeterWindows (which is responsible for embedding skins on desktop (or something like this I guess)) of rainmeter.exe and this tool embed retrieved classes as windows processes with showing icons for each opened skin. I guess with only regxp that wouldn't be possible.

You can write tool in AutoIt similar to that, but it your case this tool should check whether process has icon or not. This is actually quite possible, but I don't know code criteria, sorry.

[fonpaolo]

Yes, RainThumbnail, is "his fault" if I've started to think at a Rainmeter Taskbar...

...but then I need to find someone to code all the needed tools, scripts, plugins that I'm unable to build on my own.

[Active Colors]

Yes, RainThumbnail, is "his fault" if I've started to think at a Rainmeter Taskbar...

...but then I need to find someone to code all the needed tools, scripts, plugins that I'm unable to build on my own.

Neither can I. I just wanted to give a hope that it is still possible to make this

(Sorry if I've made grammar mistakes in describing things. English is not my native language)

[Active Colors]

Yes, RainThumbnail, is "his fault" if I've started to think at a Rainmeter Taskbar...

Heh, same here. I was thinking about ways to implement that, but I can't go further my theories as I'm only rookie in programming