HoverDesk Tutorial - Configuring the Task Tiles
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Configuring the Task Tiles

To configure the task tiles we need to open the HoverDesk Configuration window, so right click the main tile and select Configuration.
In the left side click Taskbar Settings.

Taskbar Texture: is used for applying the textures to the tasks.
Taskbar Options: is for various other options such as font, stretchable sections, orientation.

Let's start at the top and work our way down.

Applying the Textures.

Click the browse button for the Normal Task. You should immediately be in the Pixel Perfect theme folder, (if not you'll be in the themes folder, just double click the Pixel Perfect folder) Look for the .bmp file called task.bmp and double click it.

Now click the browse button for the Active Task. You should immediately be in the Pixel Perfect theme folder, (if not you'll be in the themes folder, just double click the Pixel Perfect folder) Look for the .bmp file called taskA.bmp and double click it.

For the hover task image I just want to use the active task image so click the browse [insert image] button for the Hover Task. You should immediately be in the Pixel Perfect theme folder, (if not you'll be in the themes folder, just double click the Pixel Perfect folder) Look for the .bmp file called taskA.bmp and double click it.


Click OK and see how it looks so far.



Still not looking perfect, so we'll need to configure it a bit more.
Right click the main tile and select Configuration, then Taskbar Settings.
The next thing to set is the maximum width the tile will be.


Configuring Max Width, Stretchable sections, Font and Placement

Task tile Max Width: is the maximum width the tile will be.
Set it to 145 for this theme. *Note you can change this to whatever suits yourself. People with a low res such as 800X600 or 1024X768 may want to reduce it slightly.

We want the rounded corners to keep their shape and not to be stretched.
Since I designed the bmp I know that the width I don't want to be stretched is 15 pixels from the left and the stretchable bit ends at 17 pixels from the left.
So in the Stretchable Section type 15 into the X1 box and 17 into the X2 box

In the bottom box Taskbar Options we can configure the font, orientation and the area which the taskbar will use.

Show Caption on tasks: Ticking this box will make the task tile have a text description of the task running.
Unticking the box will hide the text and just show an icon for the task. For this theme we want to show the text so please tick this box.

Underneath this is the font selection box.
Almost all of the theme uses the Tahoma font so far, so let's stick with it.
Click the font button and select Tahoma size 8 bold.

Next is the font colors.
Click the normal button, then click define custom color. Set the colors to red = 255, green = 183, blue = 11
Click the active button, then click define custom color. Set the colors to red = 192, green = 192, blue = 192

Caption Max Width: will set the length of the text label.
Since the task image is set to a max width of 145 let's try typing 116 into the Caption Max Width box. Remember there's an icon taking up some space in the task as well.
Caption Offset Y: will offset the text label vertically.
To try and centralize the label in the image try typing 8 into the Caption Offset Y box.
Taskbar Direction: Displays the tasks either horizontally or vertically. For this theme please select horizontally.




A new feature for HVD 2.4 is that the tasks can be set inside a certain area of the desktop. If the tasks start to go outside of this area HVD will start to shrink the tasks (much like normal windows does) so that all tasks can still be viewed.

Setting the Taskbar Area

Taskbar Start X: Tells HVD where the taskbar will start.
We don't want to put any tasks inside our left menu. Since the left menu is 100 pixels wide let's start the tasks at about 105.
So in the Taskbar Start X box type in 105.

Taskbar End: Tells HVD where the taskbar will end.
We don't want out tasks to start running ontop of the systray, but the systray changes size frequently.

For an 800 res: set the Taskbar End X to roughly 650
For a 1024 res: set the Taskbar End X to roughly 874
For an 1152 res: set the Taskbar End X to roughly 1002
For a 1280 res: set the Taskbar End X to roughly 1130
For a 1600 res: set the Taskbar End X to roughly 1450


Taskbar Start Y: Tells HVD where the taskbar will start vertically.

For an 800 res: set the Taskbar Start Y to 574
For a 1024 res: set the Taskbar Start Y to 742
For an 1152 res: set the Taskbar Start Y to 838
For a 1280 res: set the Taskbar Start Y to 998
For a 1600 res: set the Taskbar Start Y to 1174

OK that was all quite a bit complicated and maybe some might feel rushed.
Just to make sure you've followed all the above correctly, your configuration window should look something like this.
*Remember this is a picture of me setting up my theme for a 1280 res so some figures may differ slightly from yours. E.g.. Taskbar End X and Taskbar Start Y

Now Click OK.

And you should have task tiles looking something similar to this



They still don't look so hot do they? That's because there's still more configuring to do!
Let's move on and complete the set up.


More Task Options

Right click the main tile again and select Configuration, in the left side click Taskbar more....
We've already been in this window to set up our systray (the bottom box - Systray Options) Now we're only interested in the top two boxes.

Icon/Tile Color: Tells HVD what size icons to display, where to display them within the task image and a color for the task (if not using a texture)
Misc Options: Tells HVD what 'special effects' to add to the tasks.

Let's start at the top again.

Configuring the Icons.

Icon Size: anything from 16X16 to 64X64. For this theme we want the icons to be 16X16. If this isn't set already please set it now.
Icon Offset X: Offsets the icon horizontally. For this theme try setting it to 8
Icon Offset Y: Offsets the icon vertically. For this theme try setting it to 8
Tile Color: is for use with themes which don't have bmps designed for the tasks. Since we do have bmps we'll ignore this for the time being.

Click OK and see how it's looking.

Well the icons seem to be placed in the tile a little better. But it still needs a lot more configuring done to it, so right click the main tile and select Configuration, in the left side click Taskbar more.... again

Adding 'Special Effects'

Now we're moving into the middle box Misc Options

Make Transparent: Is for use with task tiles which contain the pink color in them.
For this theme our tasks don't have pink so please make sure this box is not ticked.

Show Border: Tells HVD to add a border around the task, making it look like a button. It's a great feature for themes which don't use textures for the tasks
For this theme we are using a texture and it looks silly with the border so please make sure this box is unticked.

Blend Active Tile: When a task is active HVD will apply a color tint to the active task tile to differentiate between inactive tasks.
Again this is great for themes which don't use textures for the tasks, but we are using a texture and it doesn't look right, so please make sure this box is unticked.

Group Similar Items: Say for example you had two web pages open, normally (in windows for example) you would have two separate tasks for these web pages. HVD can make similar tasks such as two web pages open appear to be one task. You would click the one task and a small pop up menu would appear letting you select which task you wanted. The main purpose of this is to save space when lots of tasks are running.
Me personally, I never use this feature so I will leave it up to yourself whether or not to tick the box.

Moving over to the right of the configuration window you will see:

Outline Label: This is a new feature for HVD2.4 Ticking the box will add a 1 pixel border around the text label of a color of your choosing.
For this theme we do want a border so tick the box and then click the outline color button then define custom color. Set the color to red = 40 green = 40 blue = 40

Drop Shadow on Label: Another new feature for HVD2.4 Ticking this box will add a drop shadow effect to the text label only of your task tile (not the icon......yet ;)
For this theme we do want a drop shadow (might as well use all these new features) so please make the box is ticked.

Shadow Depth: Tells HVD how many pixels of shadow to apply to the text label.
For this theme we're using this feature so set it to 2

Task spacing: Tells HVD how much of a gap (in pixels) to leave between tasks.
For this theme set it to 3

Now click OK and you should notice the tasks look perfect!!!
Try making a task active to ensure there are two different text colors (active and inactive)
Also hover over the tasks and ensure the hover image is working.

Tip: You can assign your own icons to any task you wish. Simply open windows explorer, find the icon you want to apply then drag it onto the task tile. HVD will copy this icon from the folder it was in to the theme folder (for use when exporting themes)