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• Visual C Tricks
PACT supports
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Designed for Windows 95/98 and Windows NT (Tested with Windows 98 RC1, and NT 5.0 Beta 1). [Save Layout Homepage]
ContentsShort Introduction (Read Me)
Short Introduction (Read Me)When to use SL Save your icon layout before you install any new software, a new version of Windows, or a shell extension, and before you move the task bar or any application bar, or change the screen resolution. Include your SL file into your backup! You can restore the layout on another version of Windows 95/98, NT 4.0/5.0, or on a different PC!
Usage To save your layout, double-click the SL file on your desktop. To restore, right-click the SL file and select 'Restore Layout'.
Command Line Options
Tip: Restore Layout at Startup Create a shortcut in your Startup folder that consistently restores your layout each time you start Windows. The Target line of the shortcut should be similar to this: "C:\Program Files\PACT Save Layout\sl.exe" /r "C:\Windows\Desktop\Layout1.sl"
License You have the license to use PACT Save Layout 98 for evaluation purposes without charge for maximum of 30 days. You can order PACT Save Layout 98 online at http://www.pact1.com/order/. To send your order per e-mail, fax, or mail, please print out the registration.txt.
Welcome to Save Layout!Welcome to PACT Save Layout 98! This tool will help you to get more confidence to your desktop. You intuitively know the layout of your desktop icons, where an icon is located, the color of the icon. This way you can locate an icon much faster than by searching through an alphabetic list! PACT Save Layout 98 makes sure you can save your favorite icon layout with one click, or even automatically with a timer or scheduler, and reliably restore different layouts exactly when you want it. Now you can really use the full functionality of your desktop!
Setup and UninstallJust start SL98.EXE to setup SL. You'll be asked to confirm the default installation path and options. SL can be uninstalled like every Windows 95 compatible program by selecting Start - Settings - Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs. Or double click uninstall.exe in the installation path.
How do I save my layout?When you start SL.EXE for the first time after the installation, you will recognize a new file on your desktop, named 'layout1.sl'. This file contains your saved desktop icon layout. You can rename, move, or copy this file wherever you want. However, when renaming the file you should keep '.sl' as the extension. When you right-click, i.e. when you click with the secondary mouse button on this icon, you'll notice three entries at the top of the context menu: Save Layout, Restore Layout, and SL Help.
Save Layout To save the layout at any time after the first start, you can select Save Layout in this context menu. Please note, that the file you clicked on, gets overwritten without notice. You should backup this file regularly to save yourself from loosing data. As you can see in the context menu, the first command, Save Layout, is bold and the default. In other words, to save your layout at any time you can simply double-click the SL file. Now, when you have changed the layout, added new shortcuts to the desktop, or renamed or deleted a file, you just double-click on the SL file again.
Restore Layout To restore the saved layout simply click with the right mouse button on the Save Layout '.sl' file and select 'Restore Layout'. All saved icon positions will get restored without further notice. However, icons without a saved position will stay where they were before. Again, there will be no confirmation to prevent you from restoring a layout you didn't really wanted. You should verify that you have already saved the current layout in another file.
Make a copy! Don't leave yet without making a copy of your SL Save Layout file at a secure place, for example another folder named d:\backup\important, as you should do with all your important files. Why?? Everybody once in a while selects the wrong command inadvertently. It happens to me regularly and to everybody I've asked. Imagine your icon layout is just completely dearranged and you select Save Layout... well, your previously saved layout is gone forever. By the way, I don't think a confirmation box would help because you tend to confirm them automatically after a while... Better you make another copy every day or set a timer to do this for you.
Multiple Layouts If you wish to save several different layouts, for example for different screen resolutions, you may wish to copy the Save Layout file and rename it to something like 'My layout 800x600.sl'. To do this, right-click on the icon and select Copy, then right-click on the desktop and select Paste. Now change the resolution, arrange your icons accordingly and save the layout into this copied file by double-clicking it. Important Save your icon layout before you change your desktop resolution or move the task bar. And use it before you install any new software, install a new Windows version or any other shell extension!
Adding a ShortcutYou might ask for a key combination to invoke SL. You may already know that you can add a key combination to start any program or document through the use of a shortcut. For example, to implement Ctrl+Alt+S as a key combination to save your layout, you just need to
Note, that you can only press Ctrl+Alt or Ctrl+Shift in combination with another key. You need to keep the shortcut on the desktop or somewhere in or below the Start Menu for the key to work. Also, it might be confusing when you have two shortcuts with the same key... To invoke the program, you can simply press Ctrl+Alt+S from wherever you are, i.e. you do not have to select the desktop first.
Command Line OptionsInstead of a right-click, you can also use the following options in a shortcut or batch file. Please remember, using the switch /s, an existing file in PATH always gets overwritten without confirmation. You might want to implement a scheduled batch routine or save the layout at another place, like a network homepath, but still start SL from the desktop. Add /s to specify the path to save to, or /r to specify the path to restore from. Tip Restore your layout at Startup. Create a shortcut in your Startup folder that consistently restores your layout each time you start Windows. The Target line of the shortcut should be similar to this: "C:\Program Files\PACT Save Layout\sl.exe" /r "C:\Windows\Desktop\Layout1.sl"
Sound and Jump OptionsYou can change the associated sounds for Save Layout and Restore Layout by selecting Start - Settings - Control Panel - Sounds. In the rare case you should hate the jumping icons or the confirmation sound, you can also turn it off. However, you need to add the following keys to the registry: REGEDIT4
Why is it so Difficult for Windows to Save the Layout?You might wonder why the layout is not saved automatically by Windows itself. Usually this is the case! Windows 95/98 as well as Windows NT 4.0/5.0 do save the layout when the user logs off or shuts down Windows. Actually, for any other folder it is done as soon as the folder is closed, so you don't have so much trouble here. However, the desktop cannot be closed short of logging out and leaving Windows. Let's think about it: there are some cases in which this method cannot work! A power failure before the save, when you inadvertently select Arrange Icons, when the desktop (Explorer) has to restart for whatever reason, or when another program initiates a refresh to the desktop because a file type has been changed, and for other reasons. Beyond that, there is one inherent problem: when you change the display resolution from, let's say, 1024 down to 640, or size the task bar to over half of the screen, half of your icons will be hidden and inaccessible. What now? You would need a tool to save and restore the appropriate layout, and not mechanically but at your decision only. PACT Save Layout 98 enables you to handle all the situations described above. You will have the relaxed feeling to have a saved layout, in a file, on a second disk, in your backup. Or several different layouts, you can switch between. Layout files, you can restore exactly when you wish, and that you can transfer between different PCs and Windows installations as you need.
Can Microsoft do it Better?What comes first to mind to prevent a layout from not being saved is to control each change, movement, and renaming of icons on the desktop. In that case you'd never have an unsaved layout. The desktop itself is simply a control, a COM or ActiveX control, and this control could best handle the saving of any changes in the icon view. But if it would, this would produce a lot of overhead, to watch and save every change, and not only for the desktop but for every use of this control. Actually, it's a rather widespread and absolutely handy control and if it were any bigger and slower it wouldn't do any good to anybody. Well, that's not that good of an idea. Also possible to implement this watch dog function would be in the parent application of the desktop control, the Explorer, or to enter a "hook" in the command message exchange of the operating system to filter out the related messages. Well, Microsoft did not do that, and to be honest, I wouldn't like to do this work either. I do not know a tool that implements such a hook. If you think about it more closely, even if we had this functionality, it would only handle one half of the problem, the power supply failure, but not the problems when another program initiates a restart to the Desktop or when you unwontedly select Arrange Icons from the desktop's context menu. The automatism would jump in and save the changes. Your 'good' layout would be lost. OK, you might ask to confirm the saving after each and every change but do you really want to do this? There is no other solution, really: when you want to save your layout, click on Save Layout. Keep a copy of your saved layout. If it happens that you need to restore it, click on Restore Layout. That is how SL works. Could it be done any better?
Why does SL use a File instead of the Registry?The difference is important especially for users of remote profiles saved on a server. As long as you keep the SL file on the desktop, the whole desktop folder should be transferred to your profile path automatically. The idea of using a file is to give everyone the opportunity to move, copy, and backup the settings as easily as possible and as often as everyone wishes. I think, this is easier with a file than with a bunch of registry keys. Besides, Microsoft recommends to not save more than 2 KB of data into the registry but instead to refer to a file. With 50 icons on your desktop, each SL file is about 2 KB. Also, it is possible to transfer your layout between Windows 95/98, Windows NT 4.0/5.0, or another PC by merely copying the file. If you have both, 95/98 and NT installed on one machine you can keep your one and only Save Layout file at one location.
Evaluation and RegistrationPACT Save Layout 98 is a test version for evaluation only. You are hereby licensed to use this software for evaluation purposes without charge for maximum of 30 days. If you use this software after the 30 day evaluation period a registration fee for a full version per mail or online at http://www.pact1.com/order/ is required. You may allow other users to evaluate copies of the unregistered Shareware. All evaluation users are subject to the terms of this agreement. You can order PACT Save Layout 98 online at http://www.pact1.com/order/. To send your order per e-mail, fax, or mail, please print out the registration.txt.
Distribution of SharewareAll PACT Shareware software may be freely distributed, provided that: 1 Such distribution includes only the original archive supplied by PACT Software. You may not alter, delete or add any files in the distribution archive. 2 The distribution does NOT include a registration number. In particular, you may NOT distribute a registered version of PACT Software. 3 No money is charged to the person receiving the software, beyond reasonable cost of packaging and other overhead. 4 The sale of and or distribution of registered copies of this software is strictly forbidden. It is a violation of this agreement to loan, rent, lease, borrow, or transfer the use of registered copies of PACT software and products. 5 Shareware vendors are permitted to redistribute this shareware version on a shareware CD, provide the shareware version on a shareware website, or pre-install the shareware version on new hardware, subject to the conditions in this license, without specific written permission.
CreditsMy thanks go to all people I've ever met, particularly the hundreds of people I had the honor to explain how to use software. You helped me to understand... Special thanks to my beta testers! Without the help and support of the bug-hunters I would never have released this program. Especially I'd like to thank Kai, Jui, Alex, and the rest of ClubIE Team 10 for helpful ideas and usability hints. To my fellow members of ClubWin www.clubwin.com and ClubIE www.clubie.com, and to everybody else for sharing critics and ideas!
[Save Layout Homepage]
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