Change the window area in Windows - vb.net

I have an application (chat) that I am developing for our company (special requirements). We are mostly using WinXP computers. I want it to be topmost and docked to the right, the problem is, I don't want it to overlap other windows that people are working on.
Is there a way to change the default area that other programs can maximize to? Basically, I want it to look something like this:
Is something like this possible? I'm using VB.net so all .net answers are accepted.
Thanks!

Take a look at the following codeproject article:
Application Desktop Toolbars
It seems to do what you require.
This article is about Application Desktop Toolbars, which are
applications that can align to the screen much like the taskbar. The
article will develop a base class for developing such apps.

Related

VB6 applications in Windows 10

I moved a few of my applications to WINDOWS 10 and one of the issue I noticed - which is not really an issue with functionality but rather the colors. Msgboxes seem to not have the top bar anymore (where TITLE goes) - it's actually there, but it's so light that it's difficult to see where the top bar is and the rest of the msg box. does anyone know how to tweak it so that it looks more defined just like it did when it was run in XP or Win7
The controls implemented from the OS. You need to change properties on the operation system. Maybe this could help:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-start/change-application-background-color-window-10/167b133e-62f4-4eae-9425-2b9a6019bded

Windows 8, Metro app: About dialog box guidelines or suggestions

Are About dialog boxes "dead" in Windows 8 Metro apps? I looked over quite a few apps and screenshots of apps in the Windows store, and did not find any "inspiration".
Is there any guidelines from Microsoft or any article that discusses this issue?
What do you think is the best way to show a dialog box/popup that shows the app name, version, author and a link to the app's home page?
I am thinking of a icon button in the bottom appbar, something like "About Appname", that opens a popup with this information. I am using C# and XAML.
You would place the About into the Settings pane via the Settings Charm using the Setting Contract. You can see the About in almost all of the apps in the Store today. Quick start on adding Settings can be found here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/hh872190.aspx
Guidelines for app settings here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh770544.aspx
Take a look here.
It lets you create dialogs/flyouts very easily from a UserControl. A few lines of boiler plate and you are done. Takes care of animation, UI management etc.

VB.Net form as part of desktop

I've spent a while searching around and I can't find a solution to this:
I have a transparent, borderless form that displays a clock. I can load this just fine, but I want the clock to be part of the desktop, so it cannot take focus, is behind other applications, and is not hidden with Win+D (similar to applications like RainMeter).
I need the solution to work with VB.Net (I'm using 2010)
Thanks in anticipation
Take a look at the following codeproject article:
Application Desktop Toolbars
It seems to do what you require.
This article is about Application Desktop Toolbars, which are
applications that can align to the screen much like the taskbar. The
article will develop a base class for developing such apps.

Silverlight Outlook Bar

I am was looking for an outlook bar control or the xaml to make it look like one just like the one on the windows azure. I cant imagine that microsoft uses a third party control
Thanks in advance
If you mean the Ribbon across the top, there's a few.
a free one on CodePlex:
http://slribbon.codeplex.com/
And from vendors:
http://www.telerik.com/products/silverlight/ribbonbar.aspx
http://www.devexpress.com/Products/NET/Controls/Silverlight/Bars/
If you mean the bit down the side it's easy enought with a stackpanel.

What programming languages have access to the WinAPI?

I'm looking to start a new programming language and for my first task I want to overlay some text on another applications window, similar to the guy in this post:
Overlay text on some else's window - HUD
Clearly from that post, this can be done in VB.NET, and extrapolating from that, I can probably safely assume that C++\C# can also do this similarly.
My question is; are there any other languages that can do the same? Can Ruby do it? :)
I'm looking for the following capabilities:
Enumerate open windows to find the one I want to overlay on top of.
Overlay text on the 3rd party apps window. (Rich text is a bonus)
Detect window bounds so I can resize the text when the user resizes the window.
Allow click-through of my created text so it doesn't interfere with the 3rd party apps functionality.
Any ideas?
If you want to use Ruby, you have two options: IronRuby and "classic Ruby".
I guess IronRuby would be the preferred option on Windows as it runs on top of .NET and has access to full Windows API through that.
If .NET is too much for your needs and you need to do something simple, then classic Ruby might be a better fit.
For classic Ruby, check out these pages:
Ruby and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows Support
Beware: argument packing and unpacking is not very convenient.