PureBasic Forum

Release Notes for WallX v1.40x c2010 EJN.
-----------------------------------------

Application:

- sets / replaces wallpaper with a generated image + text
- loads and auto resizes specified images / wallpapers
- updates wallpaper when detecting screen or ip changes
- supports multi monitor setups
- auto detects multi monitor wallpapers

Quick start:

1 copy wallx.exe into a some folder
2 copy a few .jpg files into the same folder
3 make sure enough of the desktop background is visible
4 inside that folder execute the following:

wallx.exe basemark "it lives!"
wallx.exe random nearby
wallx.exe kill


Command line parameters.
------------------------

Generic:

help - show this help text
silent - suppress alerts
resident - stay running and monitor changes
kill - stop any instances of wallx
delay <seconds> - delay execution for n seconds
renew <seconds> - renew wallpaper after n seconds
nouser <seconds> - renew only if user is away for n seconds

Colour / pattern:

base - diagonal yellow / black stripes
traffic - diagonal red / white stripes
red - red background
colour $001122 - specify colour in hex RGB

(other colours: blue green cyan lime black grey white brown pink)

Load:

load <filename> - load background from file
random <path> - pick (multiple) random images
random nearby - grab images nearby wallx.exe
current - use wallpaper from control panel
pairs <n> - chance on using wallx.lst pairs (0..100)
distort <n> - acceptable distortion in %
expand <n> - maximal increase in %

Effects:

fade - fade to black, top to bottom
drain - turn image b&w and darken 30%
dots - superimpose black dots (25%)
frame - thin dotted screen perimater

Text:

reverse - black on white text
transparent - text is drawn with 75% transparency
font <name> <size> - specify font name And size
big <text> - large white text
text <text|text> - draw one or more text lines

Output:

monitor all - output to all monitors
monitor <n> - output to monitor <n>
save <filename> - store generated background
save nearby - store in the same folder as wallx.exe
keep - set as permanent wallpaper

Combo:

mark <text> - a preset combination of commands
basemark <text> - a preset combination of commands

Equivalents to combo commands:

wallx mark "TEST"
wallx big ~ip~ dots text " TEST | ~host~ ~ip~ " fade
wallx basemark "TEST"
wallx base fade text " BASE IMAGE | TEST | ... | ~host~ ~ip~ "


Embedded text elements.
-----------------------

These elements will be replace with the actual IP number etc. on
every call.

~ip~ - ip number
~host~ - host name
~user~ - user name
~USER~ ~HOST~ - user or host name in uppercase
~timestamp~ - day and time at moment of execution
~monitor~ - monitor number (differs from windows)


Use.
----

The basics:

- before any other actions wallx creates a random coloured image
- all commands should be lowercase
- all commands are processed from left to right
- use doublequotes to pass spaces in textfields
- 'help' and 'kill' cannot be used in combination with other commands
- delay commands are executed before anything else
- monitor numbering may not match the one used by windows
- multi monitor images are automatically detected (by size and aspect)


Launching from the commandline / from within a batch file:

- pass proper parameters
- when using the 'resident' command you need to use start:

start wallx mark "EXAMPLE" resident

Launching via an icon / desktop / startup menu:

- create a shortcut to wallx.exe
- add appropriate parameters to the shortcut target

Loading images:

- images are shown on the specified screen(s)
- images are automatically resized / cropped to match aspect and size
- wallx tries to recognize and use multi monitor wallpapers
- the commands 'expand' and 'distort' modify behaviour
- 'random <path>' gives 10% chance on a pair from wall.set

Running resident:

- launch wallx with the parameter 'resident'
- wallx will automatically detect changes in IP and / or screensize
- on every change it will execute the given parameters again
- to kill all instances of wallx use 'kill' as in:

wallx kill

Start resident and kill later:

start wallx mark "EXAMPLE" resident
wallx kill

WallX can automatically change wallpapers. Random wallpapers every 4
seconds when the user is away for at least 60 seconds:

start wallx random nearby renew 4 nouser 60 resident


Files.
------

The wallx.cmd file:

- create a file wallx.cmd in the same folder as wallx.exe
- this file may contain any wallx commands on multiple lines
- wallx will execute this file when called without parameters

Example wallx.cmd:

; sample wallx.cmd
;
silent
random c:\software\wallpaper
mark "XPS710"

The wallx.lst file:

- create a file wallx.lst in the same folder as the images
- this is only used for the 'random' command
- contains user defined pairs of images, seperated by colons
- empty lines and those starting with a semi colon are ignored
- pairs from the wallx.lst file are shown at random (default 20%)
- use the 'pairchance' parameter to increase the chance (0..100)

Example wallx.lst:

; sample wallx.lst
;
apple.jpg , pear.jpg
sunrise.jpg, sundown.jpg


Notes.
------

Using with Vista (64):

on Vista (64) WallX will get stuck for a while when launched
from the task scheduler or from the startup folder, unfortunately
there's nothing I can do about that, it has to do with the way
Vista allows creation of new files (suggestions welcome!)...
you may want to add the 'keep' option

To launch windows next time with the last generated image:

wallx text "I'll be back" keep

Drag / drop images on a desktop icon (using a batchfile):

rem create and save this batch file
rem create a shortcut on the desktop pointing to this batch file
rem drag / drop one or more image files onto this shortcut
wallx.exe silent load %1 monitor 2 load %2

Other examples:

wallx traffic fade
wallx red big 1
wallx big ~ip~ text ~timestamp~
wallx blue big "~ip~" dots text "~host~ ~ip~" fade
wallx traffic fade big 1 dots text "MYSQL SERVER |~host~ - ~ip~"
wallx colour $FAFBFC reverse mark save "c:\wallx.bmp"
wallx pink mark "MYSQL SERVER" save nearby
wallx delay 2 mark "WHO LOVES VISTA"
wallx "blue fade font Arial 100 text CLIENT|~host~-~ip~"
wallx monitor all base monitor 1 fade monitor 2 dots
wallx load wallpaper.jpg
wallx random c:\software\wallpaper
wallx random c:\software\wallpaper transparent mark "XPS710"
wallx distort 50 expand 300 random frame big ~desktop~