TransDesk Instructions

Please read the EULA.txt file before running this program; it contains your license agreement.

Introduction

This tiny (~24KB) command-line background program allows you to remove the shading from the back of icon captions on the Desktop, and keep it removed even upon screen mode changes, Window invalidations or any other method that may attempt to replace it. It is especially useful on Windows 95/98/Me/NT or 2000.

Usage

1. Copy the TransDesk program file to where you would like it to be run from.
2. Create a shortcut to the program.
3. Adjust the properties of the shortcut and put a space after the target followed by any of the following arguments:
• -textcol BBGGRR changes the colour of the text, where BB is blue, GG is green, and RR is red in hexadecimal notation. So for example if you wanted blue text on a transparent background, use -textcol FF0000. The default is white (FFFFFF) if not specified.
• -sleeptime [number] changes the polling interval to ensure the desktop stays transparent, where [number] is the number of milliseconds to check the desktop. The default is 2000 (2 seconds).
• -quit ensures the program quits after making the desktop transparent (so it does not run in the background periodically checking the desktop for transparency). The default is not to quit.
4. Move the shortcut to the desired location (your Startup folder is recommended).
5. Run the shortcut if you have not already.

Experimenting with & Shutting the Program Down

As this program is command-line driven and has no interface whatsoever to ensure its small size, you must terminate it within the Task Manager if you want to shut it down (and have not used the -quit command). If you want to run another process as well to experiment with the shortcut, then you should close the previous instance of the program first:

1. Hold CTRL and ALT, and press DEL ONCE.
2. Open the Task Manager if it is not open already.
3. If on Windows NT/2000/XP, click the Processes tab. On 9x and Me, do not click anything.
4. Select the task "TransDesk" or "TransDesk.exe", and end its process.

Points to Note

• On Windows XP, most Themes produce transparent shading behind the Desktop text and therefore this program is not always necessary in that case.

Remember, this program is FREEWARE, so feel free to give it to anyone you want!

Kindest regards, Gregory Maynard-Hoare

... (please leave the "(GMHNoSpam)" in the subject title along with the brackets - I have strong e-mail spam filters in place for obvious reasons. If you remove it from the subject, it is highly unlikely I will see your e-mail!)

Version History

• V1.00 (15 Oct 2003) : First version, unreleased.
• V1.13 (25 Jul 2004) : Gave TransDesk an icon and released it as Freeware.

Credits

• Borland for Delphi 4.0 (which I used to write this program)
• Markus Oberhumer & Laszlo Molnar for UPX (to compress the EXE)
• Thomas Hauck for the e-mail address encryption!
• ...and finally, thanks to YOU for using this program!